Miserable seven days for Tipperary league champions with double cup exit

FAI Junior Cup Quarter-Final

GOREY RANGERS 1 PEAKE VILLA 1

(After extra-time, Gorey Rangers win 3-0 on penalties)

There was heartbreak for the second weekend in a row for Thurles side Peake Villa when they exited the FAI Junior Cup on penalties in Gorey on Sunday afternoon.

The game was an ultra-cagey affair, with both sides giving each other the height of respect in the early stages.

The tie caught fire in the tenth minute when Gorey took the lead after some brilliant play down the right wing saw Adam Territt cut in and score.

However, while the north Wexford side were still celebrating Villa hit straight back, and good build-up play between Keith Cahill and Pippy Carroll, saw Carroll find Ronan McGuire in space in the area, and he found the bottom corner of the net to the delight of the travelling crowd.

The game settled back down after that, with defences on top, and there were no more chances of note in the first half.
The second period saw Peake Villa press higher and they were nearly rewarded when Ronan McGuire had a great chance ten minutes in, but his effort was well saved by the Gorey Rangers goalkeeper.

The Wexford team got back into the game near the final whistle and came close, only for a great defensive clearance by Dale Loughnane, but in the end it finished level at 1-1.

Extra-time could not separate the sides, with the best effort for Peake falling to Micheal Quinlan right at the death, with his effort just going wide of the post.

Penalties are a lottery and it wasn’t to be Villa’s day, missing their first three, while the Wexford side were deadly from twelve yards, and this saw them through to the semi-final for the second year in a row on a 3-0 penalty shootout scoreline.

Having lost out to Waterford Villa in the Munster Junior Cup the previous week, Peake Villa will now have to pick themselves up to capture some TSDL silverware.