The dream dies

St Peter"s brave odyssey in the FAI Junior Cup came to a halt at the final stage when they were defeated in the showpiece decider in Tolka Park by Ballymun Utd on Sunday. The Athlone side had made history by becoming the first team from the town in 71 years to reach the final of the coveted junior cup. Despite the phenomenal achievement, though, Peter"s will be sorely disappointed at not displaying their best form in a game in which Ballymun Utd deservedly triumphed. The Dubliners" slick interchanges and three-man centre-midfield proved too much for Peter"s, who rarely threatened despite a typically gutsy and resilient display. That said, the game was still in the melting pot deep into injury time, with only a 96th minute penalty finally putting the nail in Peter"s coffin. Peter"s were without regular full-back Eoin Fox through injury. Declan Fallon slotted in at right-full whilst Brian Caldwell was given a starting berth up front in a two-man attack with Patrick Craughwell dropping to the bench. Ballymun were first into top gear and midfielder Richie O"Brien struck Keith Hynes" left-hand post after only three minutes. It would not be the only occasion that Ballymun"s attacking midfielders proved a thorn in Peter"s side. With official man of the match Jamie Gilbert shielding the back three throughout, allowing O"Brien and the impressive Peter O"Reilly to break from centre-midfield, St Peter"s midfield duo of Stephen Mullan and Adrian Carberry found themselves out numbered too often. After the Dubliners dominated the opening quarter hour, Peter"s began to find their passing range and settled into the game. Despite bossing possession for the next twenty minutes or so, Peter"s had little to show for their control bar an Adrian Carberry snapshot that was easily saved. Ballymun struck the woodwork for the second time on 36 minutes when Gilbert dispatched a rocket from 25 yards which bounced down from the crossbar on the line and into the hands of the relieved Hynes. At the other end, a minute later, an audacious cross-shot effort from Mark Sherlock from wide on the right had the Ballymun keeper clawing air as it whistled narrowly wide. Tricky winger Robert Keeley was proving a handful for Athlone and he went close with a long-range effort on 43 minutes following a misplaced Stephen Mullan pass. The second half began in a similar pattern with the Dubliners coming roaring from the traps. A penalty claim was waved away in the opening minutes before Keith Hynes was forced low at his near post to parry a flick on from a free-kick. Ballymun were beginning to turn the screw as they maintained a relentless attacking intensity. A sweeping move on 57 minutes ended with Keith Hynes smothering David Kane"s effort after Noel Downey had cleverly headed the ball down to his strike partner in the six-yard box. Eventually on 64 minutes, the pressure told with Kane sweeping possession wide on the right to the marauding O"Brien who slipped a neat ball into space for the stretching O"Reilly to loop a first-time effort into the far corner of the net. The same player showed his undoubted class nine minutes later with a curled effort from 20 yards that drifted just wide of Hynes"s left-hand post. Peter"s reacted to the setback by raising their game but were unable to create any real clear-cut chances although a David Donohoe free-kick did ask questions of the Ballymun rearguard. Ballymun took the sting out of the game in the final ten minutes to such an extent that referee Donie O"Gorman restored Peter"s fans hopes by allocating seven minutes of injury time. However, as time ticked on it was Ballymun who created the openings as they took advantage of the growing spaces in the Peter"s defence. Keeley and sub Mark Behan had promising opportunities late on but the Peter"s defence survived until the 96th minute when late sub Paschal Dillon was ruled to have bundled over Christopher Sheridan in the box, after Keeley had created the danger by skipping past the challenge of Craughwell. Sheridan himself took on the responsibility and blasted his spot kick into the top left of Hynes" goal to confirm the victory. Peter"s will have no complaints on the day as they were defeated by the better side in a game that held the attention throughout. The couple of hundred Peter"s supporters who made the trip to Tolka Park were vocal in their support throughout and recognised the magnitude of the achievement in reaching the final. However, Peter"s will feel they left their best form at home, though they were not helped by a recent fixture glut which must have sagged the energy from their legs. Best for Peter"s were Tom Silke and Rory McGowan in central defence and up front Mark Sherlock, who worked hard to capitalise on scraps, also deserved credit. Overall, Peter"s wing players and full-backs needed to be more involved to help counter-act Ballymun"s five-man midfield whilst the front two, admittedly on scant service, needed to do more to exploit the three-man Ballymun defence. Despite the defeat, it was a magnificent roller-coaster ride for Peter"s who claimed the notable scalps of former winners, Clonmel Town, Westport Utd and Carrick Utd in the nine rounds that preceded the final. ST PETER"S: Keith Hynes, Declan Fallon, Paul Murphy, Tom Silke, Rory McGowan, David Donohoe, Adrian Carberry, Stephen Mullan, Michael Collins, Brian Caldwell and Mark Sherlock. Subs: Craig Tone for Collins (66 mins); Craughwell for Sherlock (81 mins) and Dillon for Donohoe (92 mins). BALLYMUN UTD: David Conroy, Paul Doolan, Christopher Sheridan, Keith Murray, Richie O"Brien, Peter O"Reilly, Liam Byrne, Jamie Gilbert, David Kane, Noel Downey and Robert Keeley. Subs: David McDonnell for Byrne (58 mins); Mark Behan for Kane (82 mins); Stephen Flynn for Keeley (93 mins). REFEREE: Donie O"Gorman (Limerick).