Monread march into cup quarter-finals
Lee Kenna-Baldwin scored Monread's third goal and created so much throughout the game.
One week removed from their Major Sunday side's quarter-final loss in the Leinster Junior Cup, Monread's Premier 1 Saturday side kicked off in the Last 16 of the Leinster Senior League Larney Baker Cup.
Glasnevin were the visitors to Kerdiffstown Park on Saturday afternoon, with Monread running out three-goal winners after a dominant second half.
The Dublin club will be left wondering how this went so wrong for them - twice hitting the woodwork, twice missing open goals, and the concession of red card midway through the second half all compounding their woes.
This Monread outfit are currently second in the Premier 1 Division, five points off top spot; while Glasnevin are one rung above in the Premier Division, but are precariously positioned at third-from-bottom, but it was the Naas club who looked the superior of the two teams across the 90 minutes.
The hosts started brightly, looking comfortable and patient in possession, with plenty of zip going forward.
An intervention from Glasnevin centre back Darragh Sterritt denied Lee Kenna-Baldwin from opening the scoring for Monread inside ten minutes, with a brilliant clearance header off the line.
Both sides deployed 4-3-3 formations, with Monread's trio of Ultan McAleese, Alex Scully and Wes Hawkins controlling the pace of the opening 20 minutes.
The visitors began to find some purchase out wide midway through the first half, but their final ball was letting them down. Conor Gerrard hit the side netting off a nice corner move from Glasnevi, and moments later Alonso Houlihan broke free down the right, but his shot could only kiss the butt of the post before trickling wide.
Monread regrouped, with Kenna-Baldwin releasing Eoin O'Neill, who saw his thunderous left-footed strike superbly saved by Glasnevin goalkeeper Calum Atkinson. The hosts had another great chance on the half-hour mark, but Atkinson made another fine save, this time to deny Dean Fennessy who had been played in on the right by Kenna-Baldwin in a mirror-image of the previous chance.
That was the last big moment of the half as it ended scoreless at the break.
Monread finally broke the deadlock eight minutes after the restart thanks to some tenacious pressing from their front three. Fennessy made a great block to stop Aaron McGlue from clearing his lines, Kenna-Baldwin pounced on the stray ball and played in the unmarked O'Neill who lifted the ball over Atkinson and into the net.
The hosts remained on top after the goal and went close to doubling their lead moments later when Fennessy cut the ball back into the box where Kenna-Baldwin's flying volley went just over the bar.
Down the other end, a backtracking Colm Nolan needed to stretch ever fibre of his body to get a finger tip on the ball after Cian Gerrard and tried an audacious chip of the keeper. Alonso Houlihan should have scored on the follow-up, but he somehow managed to head high and wide of the open goal.
Monread introduced fresh legs midway through the half, with Alex Donnelly-Swift and Oreste Byrne coming in, and they paid dividends almost immediately. Each had a hand in sending O'Neill clear through, where a tug on the jersey on the edge of the box from last man back, Robert Howard, led referee Krzystof Michura to flash a straight red card at the Glasnevin midfielder.
The Dublin side should have equalised shortly afterwards, however, when Cian Gerrard whipped a ball across the Monread goal; his full-back partner Finn Clarkin arrived unmarked at the back post but somehow conspired to send his header wide of the open goal.
Monread punished the visitors just five minutes later, when substitutes Donnelly-Swift and Byrne combined down the right, getting the ball into space where Was Hawkins was arriving, curling a sensational shot into the back of the net.
And the home side were in for their third and final goal just two minutes later, when Byrne was again the creator, slipping in Kenna-Baldwin who made no mistake one-on-one with Atkinson.
The 3-0 win sends Monread safely through to the cup quarter-finals.
Colm Nolan; Jamie Reid, Daniel McMullen, Alan Crowe, Tiarnan McAleese; Ultan McAleese, Alex Scully, Wes Hawkins; Dean Fennessy, Lee Kenna-Baldwin, Eoin O'Neill.
Alex Donnelly-Swift and Oreste Byrne for Reid and Scully (both 61), Ross Coogan and Rory Scully for Fennessy and Hawkins (both 78), Stephen Quinn for Crowe (81).
Calum Atkinson; Finn Clarkin, Aaron McGlue, Darragh Sterritt, Cian Gerrard; Conor Gerrard, Gavin Reid, Robert Howard; Alonso Houlihan, Kiefer Trappe, Sean Higgins.
Subs: Alan Murphy for Sterritt (inj, 48), Lucas Thompson for Higgins (71).
Krzystof Michura.
