Cockhill Celtic seal breathless FAI Senior Cup win over St Mochta's

Sub Adam McLaughlin’s stunning hat-trick and a heroic extra-time brace by Garbhan Friel inspired Cockhill Celtic to a breathless FAI Senior Cup win over St Mochta’s.

Cockhill Celtic 5 St Mochta’s 4
(after extra time)

With the last throw of the dice and with penalties looming, Friel rose majestically to power home a Christy McLaughlin corner with his head.

It was, finally, the decisive strike after two absorbing hours at the Charlie O’Donnell Sports Grounds.

Not even when Friel scored a penalty in the fifth minute of extra time to put Cockhill 4-3 in front was the drama close to being done.

Michael Scott, who also netted in normal time, equalised in the 117th minute, finishing after Harry Doherty thwarted Karl Somers at close quarters.

McLaughlin netted a wonderful treble inside the space of 24 second-half minutes as Cockhill came from two goals down to advance to into the first round proper with the League of Ireland big guns.

St Mochta’s, leading 2-0 after goals in the first half by Liam Brady and Stephen Donnelly, were reduced to ten men on the hour when Luke McWilliams was sent off after scything into Luke Rudden.

Just three minutes later, McLaughlin - with his first touch having only just been sent on - deliciously converted a free kick and Cockhill were poised for a comeback.

Within a minute, though, Scott got around  Doherty and fired high to the roof of the net.

Cockhill weren’t about to surrender and McLaughlin repeated his trick 15 minutes from the end. A Jimmy Bradley cross was only partially clear and, from distance, McLaughlin took aim before soaring a beauty right into the top corner. A postage stamp would barely have been affixed with as much precision.

In the 87th minute, McLaughlin smashed home from a penalty after McBride was taken down, completing his hat-trick.

St Mochta’s, with former League of Ireland aces Glenn Crowe and Mark Kenny on their coaching staff, hit their hosts on a breakaway to take the lead in the 20th minute. After Gareth McCaffrey saw his shot parried by Doherty, Liam Brady tucked in from the rebounded.

Doherty saved a sweeping effort from McCafrey, after a tidy move involving Somers and Liam Brady and the former Brighton and Charlton youth stopped saved superbly from Liam Brady’s first-time volley.

However, he was powerless when St Mochta’s doubled the lead in the 40th minute when Heaney helped on a corner kick with his head and Donnelly nodded in

Just two weeks out from their FAI Intermediate Cup final showdown against Rockmount, Cockhill were hit with a double injury blow in the first half with Keegan Hegarty and Lee McColgan both forced off - ailments that will surely be a worry with the countdown clock ticking ever closer to the big day.

Late in the first half, the always-tricky McBride was denied by James Quinlan as Cockhill sought to cut their arrears in half.

Adam McCarron was inches from pulling one back ten minutes into the second half, but the big midfielder headed just the wrong end of the post.

Cockhill showed all of their old qualities to hit back and force the afternoon to an additional period.  There, McLaughlin handed the responsibility for the second spot kick to Friel, who duly obliged.

Still, it wasn’t won and Scott threw the gauntlet back to Cockhill and it was former Ulster boxing champion Friel who landed the decisive blow just as the bell was about to sound.

Cockhill Celtic: Harry Doherty; Lee McColgan (Christy McLaughlin 29), Oisin McColgan, Jason Breslin, Keegan Hegarty (Lee McLaughlin 17); Daniel Doherty (Jimmy Bradley 62), Adam McCarron (Adam McLaughlin 62); Luke Rudden (Stephen Duffy 62), Corey McBride, Fionn McClure (Peter Doherty 104); Garbhan Friel.

St Mochta’s: James Quinlan; Gareth Brady, Sean Heaney, Glenn Shannon, Luke McWilliams; Eoin Massey, Alex O’Hanlon (Denis Moran 77), Karl Somers; Stephen Donnelly (Harry Comey 69), Liam Brady (David Philips 84), Gareth McCaffrey (Michael Scott 56).

Referee: Barry Maxwell.