13th March 2017
Report by Sean Spenser
Skibbereen Community School 5 - 2 Fermoy
When the draw for the 4th round of the Munster Cup came out with Skibbereen to play Fermoy at home it was sure to be a tough match. It was the perfect day for a good game of soccer with blistering heat shining down onto the hard Lyre grass. Seven minutes into the game a long ball resulted in Donnachadh Maguire rounding the Fermoy goalkeeper. Just as he was about to let fly the goalkeeper made a fantastic last ditch tackle. Unfortunately for him it fell right to Jamie O'Driscoll who was very composed and just chipped it into the open net. 1-0 and you'd have to say the goal was coming. Ten minutes later Fermoy whipped a ball into the box and it was deflected right on the head of Fermoy's big number 9 allowing him to head past Cormac McCarthy in goal.
Just a mere three minutes later, Fermoy had a free-kick at least 35 yards out. The free kick taker took a shot which looked like it would be dealt with easily by Cormac in goal, however it hit off one of the players in the crowd sending it in the opposite direction. Cormac did excellently to get his body to it. However one of the Fermoy attackers had followed the ball in allowing him to latch onto the ball after Cormac had saved it. He had an open goal and finished calmly.
Two minutes from the half time whistle Jamie O'Driscoll picked it up out wide. He nutmegged his man and as he was just about to cover up for his mistake Jamie pulled out an absolutely outrageous piece of skill which involved a step over and pure magic, leaving his man for dead. He got just inside the box and slid it to Isaac Harte who took his time taking a touch and calmly finished in the bottom left corner. Going into half time it was 2-2. A very even scoreline considering Skibbereen had had most of the ball, whereas Fermoy had had the shots. A thrilling first half which looked to make a close second half. Six minutes into the second half a cross by Skibbereen was cleared outside the box. As it fell to Jamie O'Driscoll 25 yards out, he saw the keeper off his line and lobbed it over the top of him first time. A brilliant goal in a brilliant game to make it 3-2.
Seven minutes later Feilim O'Donovan hammered the ball on the volley from well inside his own half to Isaac Harte on the opposite side of the pitch. Isaac knocked it past his man inside the box and finished in the right hand corner off the post. A remarkable achievement considering he was on the left hand side of the box. Three minutes from the final whistle a scintillating display of passing in a triangle formation from Jack O'Brien, Isaac Harte and James O'Neill allowed James to play a fantastic through ball into Liam McCarthy who slotted home past the keeper. A Barcelona-esque goal with some astonishing passing shown all round. The final score of 5-2 was probably a bit unfair on Fermoy, but Skibbereen's dominant second half performance was the key to the victory.
Man of the Match: Jamie O' Driscoll - The winger worked tirelessly tracking back and going forward all day, but his accolades are not for his hard work, but for his extravagant skill and finishing ability. The ability to create something out of nothing is a difficult one to find, but Jamie showed that he had it multiple times throughout the course of the day. The pitch was in perfect condition for his style of play, fast, skillful and creative. A great team performance from Skibbereen, but also a great individual performance from Jamie.
Starting XI: Cormac McCarthy, Feilim O'Donovan, Eoin Murran, Robbie Minihane, Tomás O'Mahony, James McCarthy, James O'Neill, Jamie O'Driscoll, Liam McCarthy, Isaac Harte, Donnachadh Maguire.
Substitutes: Jack O' Brien (Donnachadh Maguire), John Leahy (Eoin Murran), Cillian Gray (Isaac Harte).
