Shels 2 Rovers 3

[bitored]

Yessssssssssss!!!
What a result.... touch and go at times but we got there!
Can we go on from this? We should beat Galway (shouldn't we?)

[Sheridan]

Well done, chaps, just saw the goals on TV3; Gaffney's in particular was a peach. Would never have guessed that Sligo were capable of a result like this on the evidence of what I saw at Whitehall last month, but well done. Nice to see a Division One side (whether Sligo or Galway) in the semi.

[TheRealRovers]

well done to the lads. it's gonna be very hard against Galway

[A face]

Shelbourne 2-3 Sligo Rovers
After extra-time
The Cup’s propensity to surprise was amply demonstrated once more at Tolka Park on Thursday night when Shelbourne, the Premier Division’s clear leaders, were ousted by struggling First Division side Sligo Rovers.

Steve Feeney rose to meet Ian Rossiter’s free kick in the 104th minute of the game, sending Rovers into a lead they would defend successfully to the last whistle for an upset that will go down in lore.

It is a result – and a match – that has had few equals over the past years. And although it is not the first surprise in this year’s competition, it is by a distance the most compelling.

The holders, Derry City, were edged out of the competition by Galway United last weekend in another upset, but whereas the First Division side enjoyed home advantage on that occasion, and Derry, second from bottom of the Premier table, hardly went into the game on the back of a good run of form, neither of those circumstances were present on Thursday night.

Sligo held their own against Shels in their own back yard on Sunday evening, but were still considered fortunate to force a replay, and the Reds, four points ahead of their nearest rivals in the league and narrowly beaten in the difficult surroundings of Ljubljana in a Uefa Cup match last week, were widely expected to complete the job without too much fuss second time around.

However, they will be licking their wounds this morning, after a resounding Cup tie, which included extra-time, two sendings-off, a comeback from two goals down and – most importantly of all for the game to attain classic status – the underdog coming out on top.

The game also saw one of the most remarkable goals ever seen at an Irish venue, when Ollie Keogh, the former Galway United man, spotted Shels keeper Steve Williams off his line and lobbed the keeper from all of 45 yards out.

That came after just 15 minutes, and brought an end to a bright opening by the home side, which had seen Jason Byrne hit the woodwork – the striker must be wondering what he has to do to score against the Bit o’Red after also rattling a post during the first game last Sunday.

And with still ten minutes remaining before the break, the tie looked out of reach of the favourites, after John Gaffney beat Williams with a 25-yard screamer and the home side were reduced to ten men when defender Dave Rogers, in his folly, kicked the ball away and incurred a second yellow card.

Two goals and a man down, Shelbourne responded well to the adversity, pulling a goal back through Ollie Cahill shortly before the interval, the winger cutting inside the cover to beat Ciaran Kelly in the Sligo goal.

Shels were gunning for the equaliser from the restart, and amazingly Byrne again hit the post with Kelly beaten all ends up.

Byrne and the subs, Ger McCarthy and Wes Hoolahan, had bright moments in attack, but it appeared as if it would all be in vain as the game-clock ticked deep into injury time.

In the fifth minute of added time, Byrne broke through and was hauled to the deck just outside the area by Sligo’s erstwhile county GAA star Michael McNamara. A professional foul, and referee Dave McKeon had no hesitation in reaching for the red card.

That in itself was little consolation for Shels, who were faced with a free kick from outside the area when Byrne had been set for a clean run on goal. Nevertheless, the striker made little of the apparent injustice and stepped up to curl the kick to the net to send the game into an extra half-hour.

With the sides numerically equal for the first time in an hour, and the momentum with Shels after recovering from two goals down, they were expected to go on and complete the triumph.

But there was to be one last twist, with Feeney getting on the end of Rossiter’s free to send the travelling support into raptures, and his side into a quarter-final clash with their Connact and First Division rivals Galway United, which ensures there will be at least one representative of the league’s second tier in the last four of the competition.

Shelbourne: Williams, Heary, Crawley, Doherty, Rogers, Morgan (D. Baker, 113), Crawford, R. Baker (Hoolahan, 60), Cahill, Byrne, Geoghegan (G. McCarthy, 71).

Sligo Rovers: Kelly, Rossiter, Miller, O’Dwyer, McNamara, Feeney, Gaffney (Quinn, 94), Keogh (Purcell, 90 mins), Cretaro , O’Brien (Gorman, 97), McTiernan.

Referee: D McKeon (Dublin).


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