Two see red as Rangers fall to Athenry

CORRIB Rangers slipped to their first defeat of the season when exiting the Umbro FAI Junior Cup at Westside on Saturday afternoon as Athenry secured an injury time equaliser and then went on to fire home three more in extra time against a home side that finished the contest with nine players.All is fair in love and war and in dreadful conditions this was a full blooded affair as two highly rated sides went head to head. There was no shirking responsibility from the opening whistle and, with Rangers enjoying the advantage of the elements, they dictated matters as the visitors lined out in a 4-5-1 formation in order to combat the pressure.Straight from the kick-off, Barry Moran wasn’t far off target as he let fly from half way and on three minutes Mark Joyce flashed a header off the crossbar. The start set the trend as the home side kept pouring forward and visiting custodian Adrian Cronin was kept busy with some routine and smart saves. In front of him Stephen Rabbitte, Ronan Kinneen and the Byrne brothers, Emmett and Packie, worked hard to keep Moran and Joyce at bay, but O’Brien, Smyth and Connell were providing Rangers with a platform to maintain their dominance from midfield. On 14 minutes, a Moran free kick brought a save from Cronin, with Joyce and Connell failing to hit the target with the resulting rebounds. The former Galway United striker was a constant threat from set pieces and twice later tested the custodian from outside the box.Now while the vast majority of the action was going one way, Athenry had their fleeting moments in attack and could have broken the deadlock on a number of occasions, but Cathal Fahy and Jonathan Mernagh spurned the opportunities presented. They also lost midfielder Paddy Quinn through injury on the half hour mark and he was replaced by Conor Cannon.The visitors had a huge letoff on 35 minutes when Martin Connell drilled in a cross from the left and Emmett Byrne stooped low to head clear and he knew little of where the ball went as it crashed off the underside of the crossbar.However, Rangers made a deserved breakthrough five minutes later. Connell played a one-two with Moran at least thirty five yards out and even Cronin couldn’t make it to the top corner to keep out a stunning strike as the home side made it 1-0. In the closing minutes of the half, Ger Bane was off target with a header, while Cathal Fahy did likewise at the other end.On the resumption it was the turn of Athenry to take over and very quickly home goalkeeper John Egan displayed the same ability that Cronin did when the shoe was on the other foot. Two smashing early saves thwarted Fahy and Mernagh, before Conor Cannon curled an effort off target. It was now the turn of the Rangers rearguard to batten the hatches. In fairness to them, they certainly kept the visitors at bay after the early anxiety and Athenry looked much less of a threat in attack than the home side did in the first half. Because of the conditions it was difficult to keep the ball in play from set pieces as a series of deliveries just drifted over the end line. As the game entered the closing stages, Athenry by now long playing with just three at the back began to display some of the urgency that they started the half with.They were helped by the second yellow card gathered by Gary Murray as he dragged down Mernagh on the edge of the box on 79 minutes. In the closing minutes Gary Forde, Mernagh and Crowe all tested Egan, before the visitors rescued the game with the equaliser on 91 minutes. A Crowe short corner short to Fahy was returned and on this occasion the international midfielder picked out Stephen Rabbitte in a crowded area. With a flying volley the right full cracked an effort beyond Egan to tie up matters at 1-1. Extra time, then, and just like in the opening half Rangers started with wind advantage, but it was Athenry who seized the initiative from the off and two minutes in, Jamie O’Driscoll slipped substitute Brian Mannion through and he powered a left footed effort beyond Egan to make it 2-1. In their next attack Mernagh raced through and while it appeared that the challenge of Egan was good just inside the box, the match official pointed to the spot and Rabbitte gleefully slammed home his second of the day for a two goal advantage.Rangers’ Shane Flaherty obviously said too much to referee Tony Geasley about the incident and he was red carded to reduce the home side to nine players. Athenry made it 4-1 on 96 minutes when Mernagh raced clear before rounding the custodian and firing into an empty net and in the process gave the visitors a passage into the next round.CORRIB RANGERS: Egan, M O’Connor, Flaherty, Murray, Bane, O’Brien, B O’Halloran jun, Smyth, Joyce, Moran, Connell. Reserves: Small for O’Halloran (77mins), J O’Connor for Smyth (82mins), B O’Halloran for Connell (100mins).ATHENRY: Cronin, Rabbitte, Kinneen, P Byrne, E Byrne, O’Driscoll, Fahy, Crowe, Forde, Mernagh, Quinn. Reserves: Cannon for Quinn (inj-29mins), Hynes for Fahy (100mins).REFEREE: Tony Geasley.