Trim Celtic's hopes shot down by Sheriff

Despite putting up a tenacious performance Trim Celtic lost 2-3 to Dublin side Sheriff YC in the Leinster Junior Cup semi-final at Clontarf today.

Given little hope against the a side who won both the FAI Junior Cup and the Leinster Junior Cup last season Trim Celtic pushed their opponents to the wire.

The MDL representatives led twice in this encounter with Derek Donohoe pouncing on a early mistake in the Sheriff YC defence before skilfully netting the opener.

The Dublin side equalised early in the second-half through a Kevin Lynch strike.

Again Trim Celtic went in front this time with a superbly-taken James Goggins penalty on 53 minutes after Ian Keenan was fouled.

Six minutes later Sheriff YC equalised a second-time with Lynch hitting a stunning effort from long range to the top corner.

It wasn't until the 73rd minute that Sheriff YC, who did most of the pressing, got what proved to be the winner with Sean Fitzgerald firing home from a free just outside the box.

In the closing minutes Donohoe delivered a dipping shot that went just over but Sheriff YC held on to progress to the final.

Despite the result Trim Celtic can be proud of the effort they made against an accomplished side.