Farrell to the rescue for last gasp Nobber

Brian Farrell has bagged a few important scores for Nobber in his time. Few can have been as crucial, or as dramatic, as the last of the two goals he netted in this Leinster Club IFC quarter-final against hosts Bunbrosna on Sunday. On a day when the wind seemed to blow directly from the Arctic, Farrell showed an ice cool temperament to superbly steer the ball to the corner of the net from an injury-time penalty when his side trailed by just a point. He could have taken the easy option and knocked it over the bar to force extra-time. He went for broke and reap the dividends. It was a textbook spot-kick, despatched with enough power and pace to beat Bunbrosna goalkeeper Damien McCormack who dived full-stretch yet was still unable to prevent the ball from nestling in the corner of the net. When asked if there was a message sent out to Brian Farrell to slot the ball over the bar and ensure extra-time rather than take the risk of finding the net Nobber manager Davy Cahill replied, “no, it’s getting cold here this evening!” The penalty was one link in a chain of dramatic events that unfolded in a tense, action-packed final few minutes that was white knuckle ride for both sets of supporters. With three minutes to go Nobber’s Alan Farrell picked up a second yellow card and was sent off. Shortly afterwards his team put together an attacking move that led to the penalty. Colin Clarke, Andrew O’Brien and Darren Lambe combined to work the ball forward to Brian Farrell. He shot goalwards, the ball rebounded off the woodwork. A goalmouth scramble ensued with Clarke and Fiachra McEntee among the Nobber players who sought to steer the ball to the net. The scramble ended with referee Brian O’Shea blowing his whistle and spreading his arms to indicate a penalty for a foot-block by a Bunbrosna player. Despite a lengthy delay Farrell converted with considerable aplomb for his second goal of the game. Nobber supporters had to endure another minute or so of action when their team defended tenaciously to maintain their two point advantage - and a ticket to the semi-finals. Nobber had a considerable breeze at their backs in the opening half. They deservedly led 0-8 to 0-5 at the interval with five points from Brian Farrell and one apiece from Niall Farrell, McEntee and Gavin Farrelly. The Meath IFC champions produced a mixture of the good and the bad in that eventful opening 30 minutes that was distinguished by a number of significant events that helped the turn the game in their favour. There was the incident after 15 minutes when Bunbrosna’s chief dangerman Peter Tormey was brought down going through and referee O’Shea signalled for a penalty. Upstepped Barry O’Mara to take the kick, but Nobber’s netminder Christopher O’Reilly proved equal to the task diving to divert the ball away. Referee O’Shea was never far from controversy and Cahill felt that the two penalty decisions, one to each side, were “dubious”. He also felt that his team got a big lift when Christopher O’Reilly dived to save Bunbrosna’s spot-kick. Then just before half-time Bunbrosna were reduced to 14 men when Andrew Whitney was sent off following a brief altercation. In traditional fashion the dismissal spurred on the afflicted team. There were only 10 minutes gone in the second-half when Bunbrosna drew level and looked poised to kick on to greater things. In response Nobber conjured up their first goal on 42 minutes. It came at a time when they badly needed a pick-me-up and showed the type of attacking verve that has already made this year memorable for them. McEntee and Niall Farrell worked the ball forward to Andrew Hayes who produced a clever flick to release Brian Farrell. The centre-forward took a few steps forward before steering the ball home. Bunbrosna hit back with a goal of their own soon after from O’Mara to help them edge a point ahead going into the closing seconds. Then Nobber won their penalty and Brian Farrell did the rest. Cahill was delighted with the win and the semi-final spot, but he is also looking to the longer term and his troops, he felt, will have benefited greatly from what was a real tester against a superbly fit and eager Bunbrosna side. “We have to step for the senior championship next year and the more games we get in this competition the better we will be prepared for that,” he said. Nobber - C O’Reilly; P Weldon, B O’Reilly, A O’Brien; G Weldon, P McEntee, C Clarke; A Farrell, G Farrelly (0-1); N Farrell (0-1), F McEntee (0-1), B Heffernan; A Hayes (0-1), B Farrell (2-6, five frees, 1-0 penalty), D Lambe. Bunbrosna - D McCormack; C Newman, A Finnan, S Walshe; N Kiernan, L Mitchell, C Lyons; P Walshe, A Whitney; R Scally (0-1), F Newman, F Finnan (0-4, three frees); P Tormey (0-5, two frees), B Maguire (0-1, free), B O’Mara (1-0). Referee - Brian O’Shea (Dublin).