Athlone CC 1-8 Patrician Newbridge 1-6:MIDFIELDERS RAY Connellan and Rory McManus led the way as Athlone CC moved into the quarter finals.
With the sides tied at 0-2 apiece after 20 minutes, Athlone gradually began to turn the screw with the help of a strong wind. Eoin Fallon shot past Tom Kinsella for a goal two minutes later and that was quickly followed by points from Connellan and McManus.
Just as the game seemed to be slipping away from Patrician, Ryan Houlihan rounded off a fine team move with a goal to leave Athlone 1-5 to 1-3 ahead at half-time.
Patrician’s star player Ronan Fitzgibbon scored the only two points of the first 15 minutes of the second half. A Connellan free nudged Athlone back in front with nine minutes to play but Fitzgibbon popped with an equalising free four minutes into injury-time to send the game into extra-time. Athlone were finally able to shake off the home team in extra-time after two points from Connellan.
ATHLONE CC: M McMahon; M Flannery, B Shaughnessy, J Donohue; C Mulry, R Daly, D Donnelly; R Connellan (0-5, two frees), R McManus (0-3, two frees); E Fallon (1-0), R Morris, D Brookes; S Farrell, R Donohoe, M Darling. Subs: O Milton for Mulry (41); M Keenan for R Donohoe (54); Mulry for Fallon (70).
PATRICIAN NEWBRIDGE: T Kinsella; A Scully, K Scully, T Kealy; A Murphy, D Hartley, L Healy; R Moore, A Burke; C McConnell, D McHugh; R Fitzgibbon (0-6, five frees), R Houlihan (1-0), L McDermott, D Dempsey. Subs: K Lynch for McDermott (52); D Malone for Dempsey (56); C Kavanagh for Kealy, Cathal Hanafin for Burke (both 60); Burke for Moore (64); C Hanrahan for Lynch, McDermott for McConnell (65).
Referee: P Keogh (Carlow)
After extra-time
