The 1st round of the Irish Junior Cup saw Glendermott having to travel to Belfast to play a very well known Rosario FC. Glendermott got of to the perfect start when Stuart McCandless beat his man down the line and put in a great cross, which the defence couldn't clear and Adrian Donaghy gladly pounced and buried his left footed strike into the top of the Rosario net. Glendermott had a few breaks that they could not take advatnage of creating very little. The longer the first half went on the more Rosario grew in confidence. Glendermott were on the back foot when a Rosario long ball caught out the high lying defence, to which the Rosario striker brought the ball down with a great 1st touch and tucked the ball away with a very calm finish. Not long after that a Rosario midfielder had a very misfortunate injury, colliding with the Glendermott midfielder and landed awkwardly resulting in a dislocated knee. The match was then transferred onto the neighbouring pitch as the teams waited on the ambulance to come. With 13 minutes of the half left, it was very closely contested between both sides but Adrian Donaghy took advantage of the sleeping Rosario defence and played an inch perfect cross with Jordan Abbott calmly tapping into the Rosario net.
The 2nd half started with a fast pace, with Rosario on the front foot resulting in the Glendermott keeper David Croft being called into action on more than one occasion. Glendermott had to defend a number of corners to keep the home side getting an early equaliser. With Rosario pushing futher and further forward Stuart McCandless broke free, only to be brought down in the penalty box, which captain Ricky McClelland scoring making it 3-1 giving Glendermott a bit of breathing space. The longer the match went on, the more chances Rosario created and finally cracked open the defence making it 3-2. Not long after that, Rosario scored their 3rd, which angered the away side as a Glendermott player had been down injured in the build up to the goal.
Due to the earlier injury the two sides discussed with the referee whether to go straight to penalties or play a shortened extra time. Being on the back foot for the majority of the 2nd half, Glendermott had their penalty takers picked, only for Rosario to decide they wanted extra time. Glendermott came out of the traps early and battled for every ball even with cramp setting in. Glendermott won a throw which was taken quickly to Ricky McClelland who held of two Rosario defenders for 30 yards and hit the shot across the keeper, making it 4-3. Rosario had a few more chances to which the Glendermott defence stood tall and defended with every inch of their body. Ricky McClelland got the ball infront of his own penalty box and played a pass in behind Rosarios right back, where Stuart McCandless' pace reached and carried on with a good finish from a very acute angle making it 5-3. In the dying seconds of the match a lapse in concentration from the tired Glendermott right back saw the home side pull one back, but seemed to be too little too late.
In a brillant tie played by both sides, a lot has to be praised for the referee, who handled the game very well, considering the main incident of the Rosario midfielders match ending early, in which Glendermott wish a speedy recovery. Finally, a special mention has to be said for the fans who travelled to Belfast and watched a long three and a half hour football match. It wasn't pretty at times but with everyone fighting for each other, the Brown Bears got the result they wanted.
Rosario 4 - 5 Glendermott (AET)
