A MUDDY, mucky out day in the FAI Harp Lager Cup at the end of which the out look was only marginally less murky. A couple more draws and five further cancellations ensured that seven ties have still to be resolved. And, on the day that was in it, they were the lucky ones.
Plenty more would wish their ties hadn't gone ahead, and for once Shamrock Rovers and Shelbourne were in agreement off the pitch as both managers, Ray Treacy and Damien Richardson, concurred that the RDS mudbath had not, after all, been playable for the plum tie of the round - a forgettable scoreless draw. They meet again at Tolka park tomorrow night.
The same could probably have been said for all six venues that were passed fit yesterday, and, in time honoured fashion, the conditions proved a great leveller in helping to provide more than a fair quota of Cup shocks.
Performance of the day goes to the Ulster Senior League side Fanad United. The FAI Intermediate Cup holders travelled to the Carlisle Grounds in Bray to take on Pat Devlin's Wanderers, this season's runaway First Division leaders, Shield winners and League Cup semi finalists. Not alone did they hand Bray only their fourth defeat in 25 games this season; they did so by 4-0.
Having taken the lead against the run of play five minutes before the interval through two goal striker George Grier, Fanad were effectively presented with the tie five minutes after the resumption when Ray Kenny was dismissed for handling on the line and John McIlwaine converted the resultant penalty.
"An unbelievable result," declared manager Eamonn McConigley. "We would have settled for a draw coming up here. Conditions weren't great but we seemed to adapt better than they did. After the penalty we never looked back. We tried to keep going for 90 minutes and get a result, and that's what we did."
No one, but no one, will relish following Fanad out of the hat in Friday morning's draw (at 8.30 a.m. on Radio One) and the prospect of heading to the wilds of Traigh A Locha in the Fanad peninsula.
No less meritorious was Kilkenny City's 2-1 win at Belfield Park over last season's runaway First Division winners UCD, even allowing for the students' annual brittleness in the Cup. Once again, a penalty shortly after half time was the pivotal moment, the derisory laughs initially greeting Brian Arrigan's theatrical dive turning to outrage when Alex O'Regan pointed to the penalty spot.
Kilkenny manager Alfie Hale maintained it was a penalty, but conceded it was one of the best dives he had ever seen. His much changed team still had to win the tie after Terry Palmer's equaliser, and did so through their only survivor from last season Aidan Cooney.
"We came up with high hopes because we felt the students are a very good footballing side, an open side," said Hale. "But I wouldn't see them as a typically Cup winning side. With the weather conditions the way they are and Cup football being what it is, a shock was always on the cards."
At TEK's tiny Stradbrook grounds, Cork City ground out a 1-0 win that was not without its scary moments, while the Cup holders Derry, moody as ever, began the defence of their trophy with a listless scoreless draw at home to First Division St James's Gate. Joining Fanad in the second round will be another junior side, last season's quarter finalists Avondale United.
