Inny FC’s heroes claim famous win over Shamrock Rovers
Before we begin to speak about Inny FC, let’s talk about the club they beat last Saturday. Shamrock Rovers have won more League of Ireland titles and FAI Cups than anyone else in Ireland. They were the first Irish team to enter the European Cup. They were the first Irish side to reach the group stages of a European competition, have beaten Bayern Munich in their history, and this season their underage teams have defeated Ajax, Manchester City, Monaco and Arsenal. On Saturday they lost to Inny.
Think about that for a second. Shamrock Rovers have the pick of players from Dublin, which has a population of 1.5m. Inny FC play in Streete, population of 400. This was some result for the boys.
It came on the back of hard work, disciplined defending, great goalkeeping and then in the final quarter, moments of magic from two players, Patrick Wallace and Senan Brody, who scored a goal each.
Heroes were everywhere. Goalkeeper Colm O’Rourke had the game of his life, deservedly collecting the man of the match award. Defenders Darragh Orme and Liam Doyle combined effectively yet again, while guest player, Cillian Ralleigh, produced a monumental shift.
In Jack Hegarty, Inny have discovered a new star. He was immense on Saturday after being called in at the last minute and is now going to be a full-time addition to the squad.
Then there was James Nea, another braveheart defender, whose use of the ball was as good as his ability to prevent Shamrock Rovers attackers getting it. In attack Adam Bracken and Senan had fabulous games, linking well with the dynamic duo in midfield, Oisin Keana and Patrick Wallace.
Indeed it was their combination, Oisin providing the initial cross, Senan helping it towards Patrick, who in turn, crossed onto Senan’s head, that resulted in the Inny equaliser, 15 minutes from the end.
That gave the team a lift. Chances followed. Darragh came close with one shot; Patrick closer with two more before the winning goal came six minutes from the end, Senan’s superb through ball collected by Patrick who supplied a magical finish.
There was still work to do and as a team they all did it selflessly, no one more so than Oisin O’Farrell who sacrificed his attacking game for the day to do an outstanding job as a man-marker. Only for him doing that, the game wouldn’t have been won.
The prize, the Cook Cup, is the second trophy they have won this season along with the Longford and District League. They have now won 50 out of 59 games played across the last two seasons, an outstanding record.
Inny U12s: Colm O’Rourke, James Nea, Liam Doyle, Darragh Orme, Cillian Raleigh; Patrick Wallace, Oisin Keana; Jack Hegarty, Senan Brody, Oisin O’Farrell; Adam Bracken