Sporting Fingal 4-1 Athlone Town

Sporting Fingal cruised into the quarter-finals of the FAI Ford Cup with a convincing victory over Athlone Town at Morton Stadium.

Gary O’Neill’s left-foot screamer opened the scoring early and Fingal’s top-scorer Conan Byrne added a second in first-half stoppage time with a deflected free-kick.

Byrne netted his 15th of the campaign with a superb header after 57 minutes before Noel McGee pulled a goal back from the penalty spot twelve minutes from time but Robert Bayly made it 4-1 on 88 minutes.

Athlone, without the influence of cup-tied pair Austin Skelly and Mark Salmon, struggled to contain the in-form Fingal side and conceded on 11 minutes

Gary O’Neill looked to going nowhere when he received a pass from Shaun Williams 30 yards out but the striker turned in an instant and buried a wicked shot high into the top corner for a spectacular opening goal.

Robbie Benson had the chance to bring Athlone level on the half hour mark when Brian Gannon’s error allowed him a clear shot on goal but the teenager snatched at his shot and it sailed harmlessly over the bar.

Byrne made it 2-0 in first-half stoppage time when his free-kick took a deflection off the head of Kieran Reilly in the wall to wrong-footed goalkeeper Alex O’Reilly.

Town were denied a genuine penalty claim two minutes after the restart when Reilly was bundled over in the box by Shaun Maher.

Byrne then rubbed salt into Athlone’s wounds by putting the tie beyond them on 57 minutes when he popped up at the far post from Lorcan Fitzgerald’s left-wing cross to powerfully head his second goal of the evening into the net.

Athlone did pull a goal back twelve minutes from time after Maher was penalised for a foul on Benson and substitute Noel McGee sent ‘keeper Darren Quigley the wrong way with the spot-kick.

However, Fingal pressed home their supremacy late on and two minutes from full-time Robert Bayly raided through from midfield and applied to cool finish to make it 4-1.

Sporting Fingal (4-3-3): Quigley; Gannon, Maher, Paisley, Fitzgerald; Bayly, Foley (Zayed 75), Williams; C. Byrne, O’Neill (Corcoran 70), Kirby

Athlone Town (4-5-1): A. O’Reilly; N. O’Reilly, Hardy, Hope, Cleary (Hamm 30); Georgescu, Hayes, Reilly (McGee 59), Benson, Tyrell; Place (Mernagh 71)

Ref: R. Rogers.