The St Ita’s Reserves brought their League Cup campaign to a positive conclusion on Sunday morning with an impressive 6–3 victory over Athea United B in Ashford.
With a 10:30am kick-off, the Saints started brightly, picking up where they had left off in the previous week’s encounter with Knockaderry. They created plenty of early opportunities while also defending resolutely, with some excellent blocks and interventions from goalkeeper Pádraig Sweeney keeping Athea at bay.
The opening goal arrived in the 10th minute when a superb assist from Sweeney released Denis Murray, who made no mistake with a composed finish. Murray doubled his tally just ten minutes later, latching onto an excellent through ball from Jack Hennessy before finishing clinically to put the Saints firmly in control.
St Ita’s continued to dominate for the remainder of the first half, creating further opportunities and controlling proceedings. Jason McCarthy was outstanding with his energy and tireless work rate across the pitch, while Oliver Flanagan’s determined tackling and no-nonsense defending helped maintain the pressure on the visitors.
Half-Time: St Ita’s Reserves 2–0 Athea United B
The Saints resumed the second half in much the same fashion, continuing to dictate the game. Shane McCarthy came close to extending the lead with an excellent opportunity, but unfortunately couldn’t find the finish.
The third goal soon followed. A quickly taken corner from Jack McAuliffe found Martin Mullane, who picked out Darren Fitzgibbon at the back post to head home.
Athea pulled one back in the 60th minute, but St Ita’s responded almost immediately. In the 66th minute, Denis Murray completed his hat-trick following an assist from substitute Kai McMahon, who made an immediate impact despite playing in an unfamiliar position.
Athea’s Tony Ahern reduced the deficit again in the 80th minute before Jason McCarthy released Jack McAuliffe two minutes later. Jack took on his marker and got his effort away, with the shot taking a deflection on its way into the net.
Jack Hennessy then got the goal his performance deserved, having been unfortunate with a couple of earlier attempts. Ahern added another for Athea to bring an entertaining nine-goal contest to a close.
Full-Time: St Ita’s Reserves 6–3 Athea United B
This was a thoroughly deserved victory for the Reserves and a reward for the hard work and improvement shown by the squad in recent weeks. Despite being without several key players, every one of the 13 players who represented the club can be extremely proud of their contribution.
