Date:          24.06.2023

Match:        Johnstown vs Borora Juniors

Kick-off:      11:30

Venue:        MDL, Navan

Borora Juniors players:

1. Oisin McInerney

2. Liam Brady

3. Rocco Genockey

4. Matthew Morris

6. Lochlann Reilly

7. Eoin Murphy (Capt.)

8. Keelan Sheridan

10. Drew Donaghy

11. Cameron McGarry

12. Joseph McGarry

13. Aaron McGivern

Substitutes:

5. Thomas Whelan

9. Kevin Fitzpatrick

Players absent:

Callum Teixeira

Cillian Ryan

Oisin Sheridan (Injured)

Jack Moore

1st Half:


Without a doubt one of those games you just didn't want to end! Borora travelled to the MDL in navan to take on Johnstown in Round of 32 of John Harte Cup. In heavy and warm conditions the early stages of the first half were very competitive in midfield with Borora penned in the own half for long spells in the half but sheer determination from the visitors back line of Rocco Genockey, returning Liam Brady, Matthew Morris and Keelan Sheridan kept Johnstown at bay. Added to the back line was keeper Oisin MacInerney who made a number of saves and clearances from his box. Midfield set up of Cameron McGarry, Lochlann Reilly, Drew Donaghy and Aaron McGivern battled hard to retain possession and create chances to give their team the lead. Joseph McGarry and Eoin Murphy completed the line up for the visitors. 


Given this was a Cup match, Borora knew that they would have to raise their game against a team that they played in the league a few weeks earlier and suffered defeat but this was not going to be the case on this occasion. Given the early pressure from Johnstown, Borora did manage to gradually create chances and put the home team under pressure. The introduction of Kevin Fitzpatrick and Thomas Whelan during the first half also managed to help Borora turn the game. Thomas Whelan stepped into defence for Matthew Morris while Kevin Fitzpatrick took his usual place up front replacing Joseph McGarry. Kevin has his work cut out for him considering the Johnstown back line he was up against but he continued where Joseph McGarry had left off. 


As the game began to turn in the visitors favor, Borora were given a free kick some 30/35 yards from goal. Lochlann O'Reilly stepped up to take the free kick. Expecting the ball to be crossed into the box, Lochlann decided to take his chances on goal and so his clean connection in hitting the ball saw the shot rise up into the air towards goal and when it looked as if the shot was going to just go over the crossbar, it began to drop towards the goalkeepers left hand side and crept in between the keepers hands into the angle of goal between crossbar and post. This is when Borora started to believe it was going to be their day. 


Johnstown did continue to create chances and were brought level on 37 minutes when a through ball caught out the Borora back line to round Oisin MacInerney in goal to level the game. Borora didn't let their heads down after this and continued to be competitive for the rest of the first half. 

Half Time: Johnstown 1 - 1 Borora Juniors 

2nd Half:

Second half saw more action than the first when there were a further four goals to be had. However, just 2 minutes into the half, Johnstown were awarded a penalty for handball as the visitors defence were attempting to protect themselves from the ball hitting them from close distance. There could not be any argument over the aware of the spot kick as it clearly struck the hand of the defender. Johnstown forward stepped up the put the home side ahead and turn the score around BUT Oisin in goal had other ideas. As the ball was hit, he moved to his left and in making contact with the ball managed to push the ball away from goal the visitors managed to rush in and clear their lines - score stayed at 1-1. Just 5 minutes later, Borora were ahead 1-2. This is how quickly a game can turn around. Lochlann O'Reilly latched on to a through ball to round the keeper and put his team in the lead. However, in line with how Borora's season had gone on occasions, they were quickly pegged back on 49 minutes with the score going to 2-2. The tension was now creeping into the players both on and off the pitch with coaches on both lines also feeling nervous as any potential goal could be a winner. Again, it was Johnstown who took the lead with just 18 minutes of the second half gone. A strong looking offside allowed Johnstown in on goal to finish calmly and take a 3-2 lead. Borora still knew that there was time to get back into the game and during a strong team talk during drink break, Borora decided to go for it. A lot of pressure ensued from the visitors were awarded for their persistence with 7 minutes to go. At this time Johnstown were leaving themselves open and that man again Lochlann Reilly raced through on goal to finish with a goal (hattrick) that went in off his knee - they all count! This brought the sides level and only what Borora deserved.  

Final whistle blew on 80 minutes which meant the game went to extra Time.

Full time (80 mins): Johnstown 3 - 3 Borora Juniors

Borora took to extra time in the heat the stronger team with a  number of changes made through out to keep players fresh. Just 5 minutes into the first half Drew Donaghy put the visitors ahead and despite a number of further chances it wasn't until the second half that they managed to secure the win (3-5) when Lochlann O'Reilly scored his 4th of the game in the 8th minute of 2nd half. A truly competitive game throughout but great win for Borora who will now face Robinstown FC at home in the next round over the next few weeks. A performance from Borora that lifted the spirits and a performance that you can only be proud of.

This was another vastly improved performance again from the visitors following their previous improvements in recent league match (which you can only be proud of) against Drogheda Town and this will need to be shown in the next game also. Huge congrats to each individual who took part in this exhaustive game. 

Beyond excellent contributions throughout from every single player for Borora, it was a team effort!

Yellow Cards: Borora Juniors: Drew Donaghy & Matthew Morris

Full-time result:  Johnstown 3 - 5 Borora Juniors 

                             37' 49' 58'          O'Reilly 27' 47' 73' 98'

                                                       Donaghy 85'

Player of Match: in a fantastic display from ALL players (no exceptions) involved on the day, it was the truly majestic performance from Lochlann O'Reilly in a number of positions on the pitch (midfield and defence) on the day that stood out in particular. As impressive as Lochlanns four goals on the day were, they paled in comparison to his sheer determination to help his team through to the next round.