Sparks fly as Torro edge out Johnstown in thriller

Torro 2 Johnstown 0 U16 John Harte Cup Final

IN one of the feature games on NECSL finals day last Saturday, Torro United showed great defiance to take the victory over rivals Johnstown in the u-16 John Harte Cup final at the MDL in Navan.

The sides had met this season on two occasions with Torro United failing to get the better of Johnstown on both occasions, bu, when it mattered most they were able to pull a victory out of the bag.

Johnstown started the game well and tested Torro 'keeper Eoin Clynch on a few occasions. There were some fantastic early challenges particularly from Johnstown, making the most of the slippery conditions with hard but fair sliding tackles.

Around 10 minutes in you could sense an early momentum shift. Jack Collier found himself almost through on goal before he was fouled just outside the box. The resulting free kick gave Torro the early lead. Joey Byrne with a beautifully lobbed ball that went straight into the bottom corner of the net.

Minutes later Torro thought they had doubled their lead. Cian Newman swung in a lovely ball into a dangerous area. With a flick of the heel, Sean Brady finished beautifully but he was judged to be offside.

Credit to the Torro defence, they were very strong and resilient. Their centre back Jamie Keane led by example and didn’t put a foot wrong all game.

A second chance presented itself to Joey Byrne in the form of another close-range free kick. He struck it brilliantly again and it rattled off the crossbar. Sean Brady could not capitalise on the rebound.

Conor Smyth had a fantastic chance to level the game for Johnstown. His inside the box volley whisked past the post. Killian McCarrick also came close. His long-range effort would be the last piece of action of the first half as Torro led by the single goal at the break.

Torro continued to mount the pressure in the second half and eventually got a second goal courtesy of a lovely top corner finish from Jack Collier. It was a top-class goal from a skilful player who had a super game.

Torro got a chance to make it three when Cian Newman played a lovely ball through to Conor Harding. Harding forced a good save from Dennis Jurca. As hard as Johnstown tried, they couldn't break down the very strong Torro defence.

Torro went down to 10 players late on when Jack Collier picked up a second yellow for booting the ball away. Collier gave a cheeky wave over to the frustrated Johnstown supporters as he left the pitch and his side held on.

After the game tempers frayed and mini melee broke out between the players. It took a while for calm to be restored and while it was a disappointing conclusion it was a hugely entertaining contest.

Torro United - Eoin Clynch; Conor Harding, Ronan McNight, Jamie Keane, Michael McMahon, Blake McGarry, Andrew Crawford, Joey Byrne, Cian Newman; Jack Collier, Sean Brady. Subs - Darragh Weldon for Brady 58mins, Daniel Moran for McGarry 65m, Oisin Christie for McNight 72m, Dylan James for Newman 75m.

Johnstown - Dennis Jurca; Cormac Maguire, Killian McCarrick, Ferdia Maguire, Sean O’Connell, Senan Colgan; Sean O’Brien, Conor Smyth, Josh Quirke; Max Curtis, Jake O’Callaghan. Subs - Aaron O’Donoghue for Smyth 52mins, Raphael Emmanuel for O’Brien 61m, Conor Hannigan for McCarrick 64m, Chris Ehimen for Quirke 70m.

Referee - Pat Henry; assistants - Niall Byrne, Stuart Harpur.