IT WAS THE silence that spoke the loudest around Leckview Park tonight.
Letterkenny Rovers 0 Athlone Town 1
After extra time.
Just as Letterkenny Rovers were eyeing up a penalty shoot that they’d certainly deserved for their endeavours over two nights and almost three-and-a-half hours of action, they were hit by a late, cruel sucker punch.
With three minutes of extra time remaining in this FAI Senior Cup second round replay, Leckview was stunned when Alan O’Sullivan steered Emeka Onwubiko’s cross past Rory Kelly from six yards.
[adrotate group=”42″]It was harsh and it was perhaps unjust that Rovers had to lose in this manner and there was nothing but pained expressions around the ground, save for the handful who’d made the journey from Westmeath.
Play had swung up to that point from end-to-end with Kevin McGrath having been denied by Ryan Coulter with Rovers’ best opening of the extra period, while Athlone had flashed a couple of warnings across Kelly’s brow.
It was a night of what ifs and what might have beens for Eamon McConigley’s Rovers, whose brave voyage is over.
[adrotate group=”41″]Steve Okakpu-Emeka twice went close to winning it for them in injury time at the end of normal time, first seeing a daisy-cutter cleared off the line and then crashing a header off the crossbar.
The closing stages were dramatic and frenetic.
Athlone’s Val Feeney thought he’d won it as he steered goalwards after Rovers goalkeeper Rory Kelly parried away from Onwubiko, but David Shovlin got back to make the vital block.
[adrotate group=”63″]Athlone cried foul when Alan O’Sullivan, in the same, messy period, surged away only for play to be called back for an Athlone free, just when it seemed as if O’Sullivan had target-in-sight and trigger-at-finger.
By that stage of proceedings, it felt like an age since, just after the tea-time kick-off that Rovers had a glorious chance to hit the front.
There were 11 minutes gone when Christy Connaghan, after a good move involving Tristan Ferris and Okakpu-Emeka, saw his rolled shot turned around the post by Ryan Coulter’s fingertips.
The majority of the 400-or-so in attendance thought the deadlock had been broken and it was a chance from which Connaghan will feel he should have hit the net.
[adrotate group=”65″]Paul Boyle had similar regrets in the 24th minute.
The Letterkenny centre-back found himself with only Coulter to beat after Darren McElwaine knocked down David Shovlin’s free-kick, but the Athlone ‘keeper stood strong to make the save.
Boyle had an earlier header that flew wide while McElwaine headed over after he was picked out by Paul McVeigh’s cross and a wonderful one-handed save from Coulter denied Boyle in the sixth minute of the second half.
Rovers did beat Coulter on the half-hour, but Packie Coll’s offside flag cut shot Okakpu-Emeka’s celebrations.
In between all of that, Athlone did offer some reminders that they were from the League of Ireland.
[adrotate group=”64″]Rovers came under a little heat in the early moments, with Jack Tuite stabbing right into Kelly’s eye-line after just 50 seconds.
Kelly is now based in London, where he works for Platinum One, and made a dash home for the game, arriving at Leckview just minutes before kick-off.
Kelly was called into action by his namesake, Athlone’s Adam Kelly, in the 36th minute, but the Rovers goalkeeper flung himself out to the right to beat away a stinging drive.
Feeney curled a delightful effort wide and Rory Kelly had to be alert to gather off the head of Simon Dixon as he met a tantalising delivery from Daniel Purdy.
Kelly was called into action again five minutes into the second half as Feeney, after cutting inside Ferris, was denied by another good save from the Buncrana man.
[adrotate group=”67″]Purdy twisted a free kick wide, sub Emeka Onwubiko’s fired wide of the far post when he broke clear and Fletcher saw a 30-yard shot whistle narrowly over the target.
Letterkenny sensed blood when McElwaine wriggled away and caused a moment of panic, but Kevin Farragher cleared with McGrath snooping intently in the area, but they were left to wonder and reflect when O’Sullivan, finally, broke stalemate for the winner.
Letterkenny Rovers: Rory Kelly; David Shovlin, Tristan Ferris (Jonathan Minnock 67), Paul Boyle, Terence Shiels (Kevin O’Donnell 105); Kevin McGrath, Mark Forker, Christy Connaghan, Paul McVeigh; Steve Okakpu-Emeka (Brian McVeigh 96); Darren McElwaine.
Athlone Town: Ryan Coulter; Jack Tuite, Kevin Farragher, Simon Dixon; Marco Chindea, Val Feeney, Adam Kelly (Emeka Onwubiko 67), David Cassidy, Ian Fletcher; Alan O’Sullivan, Daniel Purdy.
Referee: Michael Connolly (Donegal).
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