Douglas Hall do enough to beat Kinsale in U17 Gussie Walsh Cup

Kinsale 2 Douglas Hall 3

Douglas Hall advanced to the next round of the Daly Industrial Supplies U17 Gussie Walsh Cup after a hard-earned victory against Kinsale at the magnificent facilities at Madden Park last Saturday morning.

The Premier League side Douglas Hall led 3-1 at half-time with goals from Colm Tynan, Michal Szaganski and Josh Carey. However, it was the performance of the Gary McCarthy Trophies Man of the Match Joshua Dunne that certainly caught the eye with three assists. 

Kinsale, who play in the U17 League 1A, had Dylan Prior on the scoresheet and also had goalkeeper Dylan O’Sullivan in sparkling form between the posts in the first half.

Kinsale pulled a goal back in the 56th minute when Cian Duke scored from the penalty spot and pushed hard for a deserved equaliser but Hall keeper Sean O’Reagan-O’Herlihy pulled off two spectacular saves in the final minutes to ensure his team’s victory.

The Hall took an early lead only after two minutes. Joshua Dunne made a strong run down the left wing and when he whipped in a beautiful delivery, Colm Tynan nipped in at the near post to score. 

The game was level 1-1 six minutes later, Dylan Prior received a pass on the edge of the box by Anas Al-Masri and he turned his defender to strike an unstoppable effort high into the roof of the net. 

Kinsale’s net-minder O’Sullivan had to be alert in the 16th minute when he had to parry away a powerful effort from the Hall’s James Kennefick. 

The game was very open with both sides playing some terrific football and Kennefick came close again three minutes later. He danced his way into the Kinsale penalty area, however, O’Sullivan made a very brave save at his feet. 

The Hall made their pressure tell in the 28th minute when they regained their one-goal advantage. Dunne’s corner was met by Michal Szaganski and he powered his header into the net to lead 2-1. 

The home side had a glorious chance to level the game three minutes later when Cian Duke was through on goal but O’Reagan-O’Herlihy raced off his line to make an excellent save. 

The visitors doubled their lead in the 41st minute and again it was Dunne who produced another killer pass to the near post for Josh Carey to score from close range.

It was the home side who made the better start to the second half and had a good opportunity five minutes from the restart when Al-Aasri made a great run into the Hall box, however, it took a very timely block by Ciaran Glavin. 

Kinsale were given a lifeline in the six minutes later when Duke was upended in the Douglas box and a penalty was awarded by referee Alan O’Connell. 

Duke dusted himself down and took the responsibility to take the spot kick and expertly slotted home for his side to trail 3-2. 

In fairness to both sides, they kept playing attacking football and when Harry Tett saw O’Sullivan off his line, his cheeky chip had the keeper scrambling, however, he recovered to make a smart save. 

Kinsale had two great opportunities in the final minutes, first it was Corey Allman who forced an excellent save from O’Reagan-O’Herlihy and when Darragh O’Sullivan’s powerful effort was heading for the top corner of the net, the Hall’s keeper specifically tipped his effort over the bar.

KINSALE: Dylan O’Sullivan, Darragh Kingston, Harry Cahill, Joe Barry, Corey Allman, Art Rahilly-Scully, Alex Long, Dylan Prior, Anas Al-Masri, Cian Duke, Filip Roborecki.

Subs: Darragh Kelleher for Prior (64), Darragh O’Sullivan for Cahill (72), Tadgh McCarthy for Al-Masri (78).

DOUGLAS HALL: Sean O’Reagan-O’Herlihy, Matt Daly, Joshua Kinsella, Colm Tynan, Michal Szaganski, Ciaran Galvin, Joshua Dunne, Kevin Healy, Josh Carey, James Kennefick, Charles Creedon.

Subs: Harry Tett for Creedon (53), Zack Doyle for Galvin (84), Rian O’Sullivan for Carey (87).

Referee: Alan O’Connell.