Westport leave Strand Celtic beached

Westport leave Strand beached


ROUND 5
Westport Utd  4
P Keegan 40, 56, D Horkan 62, 86

Strand Celtic  0

Neill O’Neill
Castlebar

WESTPORT United reached the quarter-finals of the Connacht Junior Cup on Sunday with a routine disposal of Sligo side Strand Celtic.
In chilly conditions at Milebush Park (which served as the venue owing to the closure of The Sports Park), Westport were utterly dominant, and this match saw them score some of the best goals they are likely to get this year.
Phil Keegan and David Horkan, flown in from his Scottish base especially for the game, netted a brace each, but Westport also controlled the possession in the middle and were never uncomfortable at the back. Goalkeeper Gary Cunningham struggled to keep warm and was relatively untested for the 90 minutes. Strand Celtic can make no complaints about the manner of their exit from the competition.
Phil Keegan retained his place in the side from the last round against East United of Galway, and once again more than justified his selection. It took 40 minutes for the breakthrough to come but it was worth waiting for, and the crowds in the stand, numbed by the Arctic wind, were probably more delighted than the players, as the possibility of extra time all but disappeared with Keegan’s thunderous shot.
Collecting the ball on the left, Keegan cut inside one player, glanced up, and went for glory from a tight angle five or six yards outside the box. Strand goalkeeper Stephen McCormack, who had earlier denied David Hoban, was rooted to the spot where he stood as the ball, swerving in flight, whistled over his head into the top corner. It was a fantastic strike.
Eleven minutes of the second half had elapsed when Keegan doubled his tally, again in impressive fashion.
Following some good build-up play down the middle, Keegan assumed possession on the edge of the area and, dropping his left shoulder, he perfectly placed the ball in the far corner of the net with the inside of his right foot. It was a sublime finish and anybody watching the Chelsea versus Manchester United FA Cup tie later on Sunday will have seen Eden Hazard imitate Keegan perfectly, as he scored the first of Chelsea’s comeback goals.
Back in Milebush, while the result was never in doubt, the game was put to bed just after the hour mark, when David Horkan volleyed from the edge of the area. It followed an impressive link up between Horkan, Gerry McLoughlin and Dave Hoban, with the trio keeping the ball in the air with a touch each, until it hit the net. It ran Keegan’s first strike close for the pick of the goals, but didn’t quite trump it.
Having used all their subs, Westport played the last ten minutes with ten men when Colm Keane injured his foot and was unable to play on. It had no bearing on the result, however, and the game was entering its final minutes when substitute Alan Carroll won a free kick near the corner flag. He whipped a lovely ball into the danger area and Horkan rose unchallenged at the back post to head home from close range.

Westport United
G Cunningham, K Joyce, M Geraghty, J Lawless, A O’Malley, D Cameron, S Tagg, G McLoughlin, D Horkan, P Keegan, D Hoban.
Subs used: C Keane for Joyce; A Carroll for McLoughlin; N Tierney for Tagg.

Strand Celtic
S McCormack, CS Lee, S O’Donnell, R Doyle, C Grey, F O’Hara, R Lynch, G Melly, M Devins, R O’Donnell, S Brannigan,
Subs: M McCallan for Melly; C Atkinson for McCallan; D O’Brien for Grey.

Referee: M Halligan