We advance to the last 16 of the FAI Youth Cup after a tough win away against Granagh United in Askeaton .
After having the worst possible start in which we conceded after 15 seconds we regrouped and slowly began to do dominate the possession . We were back level after 13 minutes when a great run on the left wing by Ryan Dolan saw his shot across the face of the goals parried out by the keeper where Gareth Hickey Brosnan reacted quickest to drill the ball home .
From here on we had the better chance to take the lead . Paddy Collins saw his well hit drive from distance brilliantly saved as it looked destined for the top corner . Gareth Hickey Brosnan was next to go close but his shot was again saved by the keeper which he finger tipped over the bar . Ferdia o Brien finally beat the keeper just before the break but saw his shot hit the bottom of the post before being cleared to safety .
The second half saw us again on top of the possession stakes with the home side looking to hit us on the counter attack who were using their fast paced players very effectively . We took the lead after 67 minutes when after a good passage of possession Paddy Collins curled the ball into the far top corner from out side the penalty area giving the keeper no chance . Our lead didn’t last long and it was level within four minutes after we lost the ball around midfield with too many players looking to get forward and we were caught on the counter attack and the tall Granagh striker made no mistake with an excellent finish . The remainder of the game was very nervy with neither side wanting to lose it but he best chance fell to Sean Dukes whose volley from six yards out cannoned back of the crossbar .
So to extra time the game went and neither side created any clear chances in the opening ten minutes . But in injury time the Granagh keeper went to throw the ball out but it slipped from his grasped , he dived onto the ball just outside the penalty area when the referee awarded a direct free kick . Ferdia o Brien stepped up and fired an unstoppable shot into the top corner to give us the lead at the break .
The second half saw Granagh throw everything at us but we controlled the game and out shape to see out the game . Granagh did have one final chance in the last minute when they sent a long free kick into the box which they flicked towards goal but Conor Hurley reacted quickly to save and see us into the next round .
Man of the Match was Gareth Hickey Brosnan who never stopped going for the 110 minutes of the game helping out all over the pitch when he was needed .
Team; Conor Hurley , Aaron o Keefe , Segun Duyile , Jamie Clifford , Tommy Lynch , Ryan Dolan , Paddy Collins , Emmanuel Abubakar , Ferdia o Brien , Sean Dukes , Gareth Hickey Brosnan .
