Forth Celtic v Shamrock Rovers (Wexford Cup Final)

Surprise pairing in Wexford Cup Final as Forth Celtic faced Shamrock Rovers in Ferrycarrig Park this afternoon. Forth Celtic looked slightly the tidier but a more direct Shamrock Rovers looked the more likely to score in the first half. Lawlor in the Forth Celtic goal made a great save from Quirke of Shamrock Rovers on the quarter-hour mark. Harris of Rovers then volleyed a yard or two wide of the Forth Celtic goal when a free-kick rebounded back to him. Best chance for Rovers then came when Quirke had a great one-on-one chance but he shot a bit meekly straight at Lawlor. 0-0 at half-time with Rovers looking the stronger.

Forth Celtic started strongly in the second and were awarded a free in an advanced position and then won a corner. The controversial decision of the game came on seven minutes when a Forth Celtic header from a corner looked to be over the Rovers’ goal-line and the referee awarded a goal. He then consulted his linesman and changed his decision to a peno for Forth Celtic and a red card for Rovers’ Shane Cullen, presumably for handball. Forth Celtic’s peno was converted by Adam Beary and Rovers were facing a mighty task to get back into the game. The neat passing of Forth Celtic then came to the fore as Shamrock Rovers struggled to recover from being a player down. A Forth Celtic header was cleared off the Rovers' goal-line and was followed by Forth’s Cathal Dowd having an effort cleared off the goal-line. Neat Forth Celtic passing set up Adam Beary again and he finished comfortably for 2-0. It soon became 3-0 as Adam Beary bagged his hat-trick with a neat shimmy and a finish to the top corner. With a minute to go in the game, a “schmozzle” led to a red card apiece. 3-0 a tough scoreline for Rovers after a decent first half.