Rockmount are the best intermediate team in Ireland for the second year in a row

Rockmount 1

Cockhill Celtic 1

(Rockmount win 4-3 on penalties AET)

MANAGER Eddie Kenny and his players wrote their names into Rockmount folklore by becoming the first team from the northside of the city to retain the FAI Intermediate Cup by beating Cockhill Celtic 4-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in normal time at the Showgrounds in Sligo on Sunday afternoon.

After Cian Murphy hit the fourth penalty, Cockhill missed in sudden death and that keeps the cup at Rockmount Park for the first time ever.

After Adam Crowley gave them the lead, Lee McColgan cancelled this out with a penalty and that set up a tense affair that was a true final in every sense of the word.

Cockhill Celtic dominated the opening exchanges, but Rockmount did manage to draw the first save of the game from a Cian Murphy free-kick.

It was a similar situation when Cian Leonard broke the ball down for Luke Casey and he rolled it narrowly wide inside the area.

While the Donegal side were having the majority of possession, Rockmount were showing that they were able to cut through and cause serious problems. 

The first time that Cockhill created something was through Corey McBride picking out Luke Rudden, and his side footed attempt was easily saved by Brendan O’Connell.

Rockmount grew into the game by targeting the left wing. Eoin Murphy and Luke Casey were outstanding in that part of the pitch, with the latter putting in a low cross that narrowly missed Leonard on the penalty spot.

He then won his side a free-kick and Eoin Murphy’s ball in was stabbed home by Crowley in the 17th minute.

Their lead lasted just five minutes, as Cockhill Celtic won a penalty from foul on Rudden by Jason Sexton. 

Lee McColgan took this and used the inside the post to put in the equaliser.

The Ulster Senior League side were re-energised once the game restarted, as the continued to command the flow of the game while having the majority of possession. 

The more they played, the more they grew in confidence, and a quick passing move ended with the Rockmount defence blocking a shot from Fionn McClure.

Adam Mylod came on for The Mount at the end of the first half and one of his first touches in the opposition half carried him into the box and he fired narrowly wide.

The whistle to start the second half brought a new sense of tension into the atmosphere at the Showgrounds. 

The tempo of the game got a lot slower with chances becoming a rarity during this period of the game.

Cian Murphy excellent for Rockmount as they kept things tight at the back, and restricted Cockhill to nothing more than a few half chances. Nathan Broderick went the closest for The Mount, and this was stopped by Harry Doherty.

Rockmount manager Eddie Kenny freshened up his team in the final ten minutes by bringing on Bradley Walsh and Jake Courtney.

Cockhill did manage to get a cross into the box and Brendan O’Connell dealt with this before Christy Fildara McLaughlin could get a touch. Rockmount tried to break from the goal-kick and James Bradley stopped Walsh from breaking through.

The teams could not be separated over 90 minutes and extra-time was called for. 

Cockhill had the majority of possession in the first period, and the best chance they could create was Stephan Duffy hitting the side netting. 

Rockmount won a free kick after the break and Danny Aherne hit this well over the intended target.

The shoot-out began with Aherne scoring for Rockmount and then Eoin Murphy missed. 

McBride had the opportunity to put over the winning penalty for Cockhill and he sent this over the bar. Cian Murphy sent the goalkeeper the wrong way and then another penalty from the side from Donegal went wide.

That did it, Rockmount were crowned Intermediate Cup champions with a dramatic victory in sudden death after making the lengthy journey to Sligo.

Cockhill Celtic: Harry Doherty; Lee McLaughlin, Lee McColgan, Peter Doherty, Oisin McColgan, James Bradley, Adam McCarron, Corey McBride, Luke Rudden, Garbhan Friel, Fionn McClure.

Subs: Christy Fildara McLaughlin for McClure (60), Adam McLoughlin for Rudden (87), Jason Breslin for McColgan (90), Daniel Doherty for McLoughlin (90), Stephan Duffy for McCarron (102) 

Rockmount: Brendan O’Connell; Jack O’Sullivan, Cian Murphy, Adam Crowley, Jason Sexton, Hughie Sexton, Eoin Murphy, Danny Aherne, Cian Leonard, Nathan Broderick, Luke Casey.

Subs: Adam Mylod for Sexton (39), Bradley Walsh for Leonard (78), Jake Courtney for Broderick (82), Martin Connolly for Courtney (119) Referee: John McCarthy.