Extra time winner puts Thirds through in cup

The Thirds played some superb football against a team one division above them.

The visitors took the lead on the fifth minute when the big centre back climbed high to head into the roof of the net from a corner.

Slane were playing good one touch football through the midfield, Blakely found Hanna who spread the ball wide to Boyd who lobbed it into the space wide for Fairley to race in and his effort shaved the wrong wide of the post.

Adair raced past his marker up the right and whipped in a dangerous cross and Blakely nodded just wide.

Thompson and Kelly were solid in the central positions at the back for Slane and the Doc Gamble was firing in some hefty challenges to thwart the Abbey attacks.

Corbet threw the ball up the line to Boyd who launched it up field and Fairley raced in and beat the defender to the ball but his effort was well saved.

Porter and Blakely combined and the latter found Hanna free and he swivelled and hit his shot wide.

Slane came out the second half and pushed the visitors deep into their own half and again Fairley tested the keeper who again was equal to it.

Stevie Adair couldn’t believe his luck when the keeper somehow pushed his goal bound effort wide of the post.

Adair’s perseverance and persistence up the right paid off when he won the ball off the left back and he crossed to Hanna inside the box and he hammered it past the advancing keeper and into the roof of the net for the equaliser.

Neil Gamble was the stand in Slane keeper acting the monkey for the day and he pulled of a good save low to this right.

Porter had his shot charge down and Fairley hit over from the follow up.

The game went into extra time and the visitors broke the offside trap and the number four rattled the ball past Gamble and into the net. 2-1

Willy Sproule watched his neat lob over the keeper bounce back of the bar and the scramble in the box was cleared.

Neil Kirk found Renick Malcolmson and twice had his effort was charged down in the penalty area as Slane pushed for the equaliser and the visitors had all their players behind the ball in some frantic defending.

Overall a great performance by the Slane team who will do well in the league if they can put a shift like that in every week.

Player of the match for Slane was David Blakely.

Team: N Gamble, D Gamble, M Corbet, W Thompson, G Kelly, S Adair, D Blakely, A Boyd, J Porter, G Hanna, J Fairley, N Kirk, W Sproule, R Malcolmson.