Five goal thriller between Mayo sides in cup thriller

A FIVE goal thriller unfolded at Celtic Park on Wednesday night with Castlebar Celtic defeating Westport United 3-2 after extra time, in the Connacht Under-18 Cup.

There was a healthy attendance for this provincial showdown and just two minutes into the action the hosts were awarded a spot-kick, after the advancing Westport custodian fouled the raiding Matthew Daly just inside the 18 yard box.

Oran Murphy was given the spot-kick responsibility, but his effort flashed narrowly wide.

The game was being played at a high tempo and Castlebar mustered the lead on 13 minutes. A peach of a through ball from Kian Redmond released the scampering Matthew Daly and the latter’s delicate finish rustled the back of the net.

Castlebar were motoring along nicely, and the Hoops doubled their lead on 23 minutes, courtesy of a sublime finish from outside the box by Murphy.

However, Celtic momentarily switched off and one minute later the eager visitors pulled a goal back. A chance was created for Ben Holmes and his marvellous finish was warmly greeted by the away supporters.

United trailed 2-1 at the interval and their comeback hopes appeared to suffer a set-back seven minutes into the new half, when Matthew Scahill picked up a second yellow followed by a red card.

The red and black regrouped and they restored parity on 61 minutes, courtesy of the influential Holmes.

The sides were still level at the full-time whistle and extra-time was required to determine a winner.

On 106 minutes, Castlebar scored what proved to be the winning goal, when Adam Burton broke clear and duly rustled the back of the net. United’s vehement appeals for a free-kick in the lead up to Celtic’s third goal were waved away by referee Eric Eaton.

Westport tried to find a way back into the game, but Castlebar held on to record a slender victory.