U19 Shield QF Report: Dundalk 0 - 3 Cabinteely

Dundalk under-19s' season came to an end on Saturday afternoon as they slipped to a 3-0 defeat to Cabinteely in the Shield quarter-final at Oriel Park.

With seven of the squad in Stephen Kenny’s matchday 18 on Friday night – three seeing gametime – It was inevitable that it would take them a period to get into their stride.

However, the away side struck early to put pay to any thoughts of a settling-in time.

Ruis Ganiya, who was lively throughout the encounter, flashed a right wing cross through the Dundalk box and his opposite winger, Paul Fox, slammed the ball to the net from close range to open the scoring in the fourth minute.

The game was balanced and somewhat cagey for the rest of the half as both sides seemed to cancel each other out before openings could be prised.

A couple of Cian Flynn headers thumped the side netting but failed to trouble the visiting goalkeeper, who excelled when clawing out a close range header from the prolific Jack O'Keefe.

The second half began with the same pattern which had dominated the opening period, as both teams passing the ball well but coming unstuck when approaching the opposition penalty area.

Ganiya was a constant threat on the wing for Cabinteely while striker Jordan Andre kept the home defenders busy throughout.

For the home side, James Woods and Adam Finnegan battled strongly throughout, while Gavin Smith did well in an unfamiliar right back role.

As the half drifted towards the hour mark the Dublin side extended their advantage with Andre converting a penalty, the ball striking the unlucky Lyons on the legs as it made its way into the net.

Both teams exchanged a number of pot shots and long angled free kicks which were cleared by the opposition defence and it looked like a winning margin of two as the final whistle approached.

However, substitute Ross Moloney created space for himself in the Dundalk penalty area before shooting past an exposed Lyons in the final moments of the game to move the Stradbrook side further in front.

It marks a disappointing end to the season for Dundalk under-19s but one they should be proud of having achieved success in the Enda McGuill Cup earlier this year.

Cabo march on to the semi-finals, where they will face one of Shamrock Rovers, Derry City or the winner of Finn Harps and Shelbourne.

Dundalk: Matt Lyons; Gavin Smith, Eric Whelan, Jack Traynor, James Rice; Dean Watters, Adam Finnegan; Cian Flynn, Aaron Townley, James Woods; Jack O Keefe.

Subs not used: Scott Prendergast, Sean O Hanlon, Sean Whelan.

Cabinteely FC- Sean Hyland; Adam Maher, Andrew Mc Govern, Jamie Broderick, Conor Murphy; Jack Hudson, Ruis Ganiya, Craig Canty (Ross Moloney 78), Eoin Stokes, Paul Fox (Ryan Hannon 81); Jordan Andre (Sean Price 87).

Subs not used: Conor Maguire, Ciaran Butler, Andrew Twamley, Ethan Farrell.