Kentstown undone by battling Kells side

It would have been understandable if Kells/Blackwater had travelled to Kentstown thinking that they had little or no chance of victory in this Meath & District League Challenge Cup clash on Monday afternoon. With just a handful of wins in the MDL Div 2 this season, Kells/Blackwater weren't exactly setting their season alight. They were also without a couple of regulars for this game. Despite their difficulties they turned the formbook upside down to carve out a win and send their Div 1 opponents tumbling out of the competition with two goals from striker Patrick Mooney and one from defender Craig Mooney at the death. The win indicated that the romance of the cup is alive and well as few could have forseen Kentstown Rovers losing this one. After all it was the Rovers who enjoyed a good run in the FAI Junior Cup before they got their P45 from the competition in the lead up to Christmas. Despite the elimination they had put together a decent run. Yet little went right for them on this occasion and they had few complaints at the final whistle. They knew that on the day they didn't deserve to progress to the next round. This was a major boost for Kells/Blackwater who were thrown out of the MDL last season for fielding ineligable players. The club badly needed some kind of restorative pick-me-up and they got it here overcoming the opposition and a bumpy surface to progress. Kells/Blackwater were under the cosh for long spells, particularly after the break when they faced a strong, icy breeze yet they displayed the necessary defensive fortitude to retain their 2-1 interval lead before tagging on a third and clinching goal in injury-time. The ability to absorb pressure allied to some opportunistic finishing won the day for Kells/Blackwater who took the lead against the run of play after just eight minutes. The impressive Paul Cullen won the ball in midfield, dispossessing Kentstown's new signing Lee Duffy. Once he got the ball under control Cullen neatly threaded a pass through the Kentstown defence to Patrick Mooney who stayed calm before skilfully shooting home. It was the kind of start that Kells/Blackwater wanted. It was also an extremely short-lived lead. Straight from the kick-off Kentstown moved the ball up field and Duffy was brought down in the box. Referee Camillus Perry pointed to the penalty spot. Kentstown captain Shaun Doyle fired home the penalty. Surely now the highly fancied home side would push on to win. It didn't turn out like that. With 23 minutes played Kells/Blackwater embarked on one of their occasional attacks forward. A long delivery was played from midfield, Patrick Mooney got to the ball first just outside the box and chipped the advancing Keith Shiels. Just as the ball was about to enter the net a Kentstown defender cleared. Kells/Blackwater claimed the ball had crossed the line. Kentstown players sternly argued otherwise. Referee Perry had the final say and he deemed it to be a goal. It wasn't that Kells/Blackwater created many goal chances. They didn't. Most of their energy went into defending and with Cullen and Craig Mooney solid at the heart of the defence they did just that extremely well. They also worked hard and fought for every ball. John Rennicks and Neville Kelly toiled away in the engine room while the pacy Sam Obembe was a constant threat in attack. Another hero for Kells/Blackwater was Dean Peppard who made a number of excellent saves from David Bowens, Derek Bowens and Doyle. Kentstown may have been discommoded by the fact that the game was played on their second pitch as their better surface up the road was deemed unplayable. Kentstown were mainly restricted to long-range, dipping efforts with Derek Ratcliffe, Andy Lynch, Duffy all shooting over the bar rather than under. They needed more guile in front of goals, but on a sticky surface and a crowded goalmouth clear-cut chances were rare. With the seconds ticking in added time Kells/Blackwater broke from defence. Craig Mooney made the most of a mix up in the Kentstown defence to slot to an empty net and complete a shock result for the visitors who, as the old soccer cliché goes, were over the moon with the result. Kentstown were left sick as a parrot. Kentstown Rovers - K Shiels; R McDonnell, C Lynch, S Doyle, S Gargan, K Dempsey, D Ratcliffe, A Lynch, D Lynch, L Duffy, G Toal. Subs - Derek Bowens for C Lynch, David Bowens for D Lynch, S Emmett for A Lynch. Kells/Blackwater - D Peppard; H Egan, S Murray, P Cullen, C Mooney, J Rennicks, N Kelly, S Obembe, G Wright, P Mooney, S McGeough. Subs - E Beggy for Wright, A Galligan-Edwards for McGeough. Referee - Camillus Perry (Meath Branch ISRS).