Crescent United 2-1 Crossmolina (aet)

Crescent United guaranteed themselves a merry Christmas with a 2-1 extra time win against Crossmolina at Mervue in the Connacht Cup on Sunday. In a contest that was anything but a Christmas cracker the Galway sides power and fitness proved too much for their rusty visitors to cope with over an arduous two hours. Crossmolina finished their league campaign over two months ago and their lack of match practice combined with a quagmire of a pitch taxed their weary legs too much to allow them to be effective in the extra periods. The first half was notably short of Christmas cheer as the two sides huffed and puffed their way through a hodge-podge sequence of tackles and misplaced passes in a stop start tempo akin to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Ten minutes elapsed before the sparse crowd were treated to a shot on target, a header by Crescent's Sos O'Connell which barely warmed the hands of visiting goalie Johnny O'Hora. Another quarter of an hour of uninspired midfield combat passed before Crescent threatened again. Johnny King's incisive pass set up Joe Crean in the Crossmolina box but he failed to connect with the ball from 8 yards out much to the visitor's relief. A game crying out for some Willy Wonka-like invention mustered up a few more scoring opportunities before the interval, as the Mayo team gradually began to impose themselves on the game. In the 28th minute Crescent goalie Tony Cooke nearly cost his side a goal when he delayed his clearance and was caught in possession by Eoin Syron and Derek Greham. Syron's tackle dispossessed him and Jason Canavan shot instantly from 20 yards but his shot trickled wide right. John Corcoran was at the hub of all of Crescent's attacks in the first half and he nearly scored the goal his performance deserved in the 41st minute when he was set up by King, but his shot from 20 yards out curled agonisingly wide. Crossmolina responded within a minute when Greham volleyed Steven Canavan's left wing cross straight at the Crescent custodian. Greham dribbled through the home defence in the final minute before seeing his shot from 15 yards out being saved. The second half witnessed a more open game as tired legs began to leave spaces for some football to be played in. Johnny O'Hora tipped over a dangerous 25 yard drive by Crean in the 50th minute. Four minutes later a foul on Greham yielded a free kick for Crossmolina 20 yards out from goal. After striking a previous effort harmlessly at goalie Cooke, Joe Keane blasted this one venomously only to have it tipped over by the keeper. The impressive Joe Crean nearly gave Crescent a 55th minute lead when the ball fell to him on the edge of the box after a goalmouth scramble, but his shot screamed just wide of the left post. In the 58th minute Greham glanced Flaherty's left wing cross wide and the same two players combined for a glorious chance 3 minutes later. Flaherty's corner was headed goalwards by Padraig Whittaker but a Crescent defender blocked the effort which then fell to Greham who scooped the ball over from 6 yards out. A scrappy game got the goal it needed in the 65th minute when Nolan's corner was punched into his own net by unfortunate Crossmolina goalie O'Hora. Crossmolina, unperturbed, pushed forward in search of an equaliser and they were rewarded within ten minutes after winning a corner. Crescent could only half clear the danger and Greham struck a crisp volley to level the tie at 1-1. Substitute John Duggan could have secured Crossmolina's passage into the next round when he raced onto Paul McGuinness' 85th minute defence splitting pass which left him with only the goalie to beat. But he fluffed his golden opportunity when he pushed the ball wide of the goalmouth thus ensuring that extra time would be required. Only 5 minutes into the extra session Corcoran scored the winning goal for Crescent from yet another corner kick mix-up. He pounced on a loose ball in the penalty area and fired home from 8 yards out to break Crossmolina hearts. Jason Canavan spurned an equalising chance when he bravely contested a 50-50 ball with Cooke but his effort popped over the bar. Crescent nearly doubled their lead in the second period of extra time when a sweeping counter attack culminated in a right wing cross but the Johnny O'Hora parried the Crescent striker's header over the bar with a stupendous reflex save. This capped a fine personal display by the keeper and if a few of his colleagues, besides the impeccable Paul McGuinness, had played at their normal level it could have been the Mayo side advancing to the the next round. 

Crescent - T Cooke, N Duffy, N O'Hara, D O'Connell, G Pole, J Crean, C Nolan, D Lynch, J Corcoran, S O'Connell, J King 

Crossmolina - J O'Hora, J McGuinness, J Keane, P Whittaker, M Loftus, E Syron (J Duggan 70), S Canavan, P McGuinness, P Flaherty, D Greham, J Canavan

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