Junior Cup joy for Garvey Seconds against students

Garvey Seconds made the long trip south last weekend to take on University College Cork in the first round of the coveted Irish Junior Cup.

After their first, and possibly decisive, defeat in the league a week ago this game was a potential season ender if things went badly. The Seconds gradually began to get on top of their opponents as the first half progressed and took the lead midway through the half. Philip Stirling deflected in from an Ian Harbinson cross-shot from the right. Garvey looked to press on and were only curtailed by some questionable umpiring decisions that at one point saw them down to nine men after green cards for their central defensive pairing of Paul Fleming and Adam McCann. It remained 1-0 at half time.

Within 5 minutes of the restart Garvey had scored their deserved and ultimately clinching second goal. Intricate link up play from Stirling and Patrick Keery saw Keery find enough space at the top of the circle to spin and lash a thunderous shot past the UCC keeper into the bottom corner. Keery’s celebration matched the quality of the strike and the occasion. He almost added another moments later but just couldn’t turn in a rasping reverse stick effort from Ian Harbinson. Garvey controlled the game until the customary frantic cup-tie ending as the students desperately fought to stay in it. But there was no way past the impregnable Stuart Chisholm who kept out a late string of penalty corner efforts. 2-0 it finished and while Garvey could have had more they will be pleased to have controlled the game and kept a clean sheet on the ever-difficult trip to Cork. The boys will look forward to the draw in early December.