UCD (2) 5 Bray Wanderers (2) 5 (UCD win 7-6 on pens)
UCD secured the first final spot in the eircom FAI Under-21 Futsal League with a thrilling penalty shoot-out victory over Bray Wanderers at the National Basketball Arena.
The Students needed spot-kicks to win it after a remarkable 5-5 draw in normal time in the first of the two semi-finals with keeper Declan O’Donnell the hero.
After a tense opening start Bray were awarded a penalty in the ninth minute and Gary McCabe stepped up to slot home from the spot-kick to open the scoring.
UCD equalised five minutes later when Bray keeper Gavin Snograss could only parry and Eoin O’Cinneide reacted well to volley home.
Bray regained the lead after a brilliant move involving James O’Shea and Sean Fitzgerald that ended with David O’Sullivan smashing home from ten yards.
But the Students responded immediately with O’Cinneide tapping home
from close range just ten seconds later.
McCabe regained the lead for Wanderers with a stunning free-kick from 15 yards just over two minutes into the second half.
Wanderers then lost Mark Duggan to a second yellow card and their luck further dipped when Darren Forsyth levelled for the Students six minutes into the half.
UCD then went in front with ten minutes left, James O’Sullivan poking past Snodgrass to make it 4-3.
With four minutes left McCabe struck his hat-trick with a ten-metre penalty to level it up at 4-4.
But calamity struck for Bray keeper Snodgrass when he came out his box but misplaced a pass straight into his own goal to hand UCD a bizarre lead.
Snodgrass redeemed himself somewhat with a couple of excellent stops to deny Ger O’Callaghan a decisive sixth goal for the Students.
Those saves proved vital as with just two seconds on the clock under-19 international James O’Shea struck home to send the game into penalties.
UCD: Declan O’Donnell; Damien Kelly, Killian Gallagher, David Last, Shane Flynn, Greg Bolger, Tim Purcell, Ger O’Callaghan, Fran Moran, Eoin O’Cinneide, Darren Forsyth, James O’Sullivan.
Goals: O’Cinneide 2, Forsyth, Snodgrass og.
Bray Wanderers: Gavin Snodgrass: Sean Fitzgerald, Niall Merriman, John Meagher, Jack Douglas, Mark Duggan, Gary McCabe, Paul Dunphy, David O’Sullivan, James O’Shea, Robbie Manley, John Broderick.
Goals: McCabe 3 (1 pen), O’Sullivan.
Penalties – (UCD go first). Kelly saved 0-0; McCabe scored 0-1; Purcell scored 1-1; Manley scored 1-2; Bolger scored 2-2; O’Sullivan saved 2-2; O’Cinneide scored 3-2; Broderick saved 3-2; Gallagher saved 3-2; O’Shea scored 3-3; J O’Sullivan scored 4-3; Douglas scored 4-4; Forsyth scored 5-4; Fitzgerald scored 5-5; Flynn scored 6-5; Dunphy scored 6-6; Last scored 7-6; Meagher missed 7-6. UCD win.
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