Arc Rovers retain the Jackie O’Driscoll Premier Cup following their dramatic penalty shoot-out win over Cork Hospitals
Arc Rovers who won the Jackie O’Driscoll Premier Cup for a second time following their nail biting 4-3 penalty shoot-out win after a 1-1’ draw with Cork Hospitals at St. Colman’s Park
Arc Rovers retained the Jackie O’Driscoll Premier Cup following their dramatic penalty shoot-out win over Cork Hospitals at St Colman’s Park.
The final brought the curtain down on the CBL’s last winter campaign before the bold move to calendar football next February.
Cork Hospitals had won the team’s two league meetings earlier in campaign by the odd goal in two high scoring encounters.
With Arc going into final after wins over DHF Grangevale and five time winners Doolan’s Cow as well as being holders after last season’s penalty shoot-out success over Swyft and Cork Hospitals attempting to make amends for the 2023 defeat to Doolan’s, the scene was set for a close contest between two evenly matched teams.
Cork Hospitals made their intentions clear from the first whistle that they were intent on scoring the first goal.
Inside the opening three minutes Wymin Sivalumar forced Dean Cummins to save down low at his near post and concede the first corner of the final.
Despite being on top in the opening half, Hospitals were denied by a well marshalled Arc back-four with Gavin McCarthy particularly impressive.
Arc began to turn the screw in the final eleven minutes and sensed that a match winner was there for the taking.
First, Dylan Cruise O’Shea’s cross picked out Paudie Cotter inside the area.
The lively striker, who scored the winner in the shoot-out last season, executed a Billy Tabb esque bicycle kick which went narrowly over the angle of post and crossbar.
A minute later Cotter cut in from the left to unleash a shot which bounced off the top of the crossbar.
Two minutes later Kane Murphy chased a high ball into the area and as goalkeeper Eoin Kennedy advanced, Murphy fell over as the ball eluded both players. Referee Grahame Duffy correctly immediately waved away appeals for a penalty.
The deadlock was finally broken in the first minute of extra-time. Straight from the kick-off Jamie O’Neill went scampering down the left before crossing towards the six yard box.
A scuffed clearance fell invitingly for Sivakumar who beat Dean Cummins low into the right-hand corner for the lead for Cork Hospitals.
Arc were left with no option but to go all out in search of an equalizer.
They had to wait until two minutes into the second-half of extra-time that the pendulum would swing in their favour.
A long ball out of defence was won by Murphy whose cross from the end-line was fell between Hospitals’ defender and Arc substitute James Moynihan.
After both players fell over, referee Duffy deemed there was enough contact to award a penalty-kick and dismiss central defender Richard Bambury for a second yellow card offence.
Murphy’s subsequent spot kick was brilliantly saved by Kennedy at full stretch. But, from the rebound Faolán Linnane in his attempt to clear inadvertently knocked the ball into his own net.
Hospitals weathered the blow to get to extra-time without conceding a second.
Arc, who missed their first three kicks in the semi-final shoot-out win over Doolan’s must have thought that their luck had run out when Kennedy saved Murphy’s first kick and Brian Kelly failed to convert the holder’s first kicks in the shoot-out.
With Hospitals leading three-two a match winning kick was squandered to keep Rovers’ hopes alive.
Goals from Cotter and Gavin McCarthy took the tie to sudden death and presented long serving keeper Cummins with the opportunity to thump home the winner and seal back to back silverware for his club.
Huge congratulations are extended to Rovers’ dedicated management team of coaches Daniel Leahy, Jack O’Keeffe and Sean Downey along with team manager Dean Cummins.
Condolences to Cork Hospitals’ coaching team of John Browne and Gavin Woods who’ve tasted defeat for the second time in three seasons.
Luck may not have been on their side of the losers but Cork Hospitals are sure to be back at the cutting edge of finals in the near future.
CBL league secretary Peter Tavers presented the winning trophy to captain Brian Kelly and man-of-the-match trophy to Gavin McCarthy.
Eoin Kennedy: Sean Kent, Matthew Tiffany (Vaibhav Naik); Faolan Linnane, Richard Bambury; David Mullins (Eoghan Heaney), Tadgh Whelan (c), Dara Flanagan; Wymin Sivakumar, Conor O’Halloran (Marc O’Connor), Jamie O’Neill (Leon Lucey).
Dean Cummins: Conor Ryan (Adam O’Connor), Shane Herlihy (Graig Roche); Gavin McCarthy, Brian Kelly (c); David McGuire, Paudie Cotter, Dylan Cruise O’Shea; Kane Murphy, Gregg Harrington, Tyrese Rahem (James Moynihan).
Grahame Duffy; Chris Sheehan, Stephen Madine, Denis Cronin.
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