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Dunning hits winner

AC Celtic 3; Ardagh 2

The final scoreline would suggest that AC Celtic"s victory over Ardagh was a highly entertaining and action-packed encounter at Athlone IT, but in truth the game was largely uneventful and quite a scrappy affair until it sparked into life during the closing stages and produced a breathtaking finish.

The game was hampered for the most part by the unfavourable weather conditions which severely restricted the capabilities of both sides.

With five minutes of the game remaining, Ardagh held a 1-0 lead courtesy of a Finn Hartman strike in first-half injury time. That was how the score remained until five minutes from time when a flurry of goals arrived. During this period, the game swung both ways before Celtic eventually claimed victory in the dying seconds.

The game started rather slowly as the difficult playing conditions evidently affected the players. Ardagh produced the first major chance of the game in the 13th minute. Darragh Carrigy crossed from the right to Kevin Leavy but the Ardagh striker headed the ball just wide.

Two minutes later, the home side created their first chance and very nearly scored. A through ball was played to Clive Harris on the edge of the box where he chipped the ball over Ardagh "keeper Leeanne Keegan and looked to have broken the deadlock, but the ball instead hit off the post and was cleared away.

With 26 minutes gone, AC Celtic briefly livened up the game with another decent chance but again failed to make the most of the opportunity as Clive Harris" first-time low shot from the edge of the box drifted wide.

Just as AC Celtic were beginning to pose a threat, Ardagh"s attack, which had been virtually non-existent, sparked into life and sensationally produced a goal. Krispin Bliszczynchzi burst into the AC Celtic box but was tripped and a penalty was awarded. Fin Hartman took the penalty but his effort was parried away by "keeper Kieran Cleary, but Hartman got himself on the end of the rebound and slotted the ball into to make it 1-0 on the brink of half-time.

The opening to the first half was rather subdued, but the second half"s opening was almost completely lifeless. During the first 15 minutes the only real talking point involved a chance 5 minutes in for Ardagh, with a first time shot by Finn Hartman from the edge of the box but it proved no trouble for "keeper Cleary.

Chances were proving few and far between. The hosts did not even test the visiting goal until the 17th minute of the second half when Celtic"s Ian Malone controlled the ball before shooting from just inside the box but his shot was blocked en route to goal.

With the end of the game drawing ever nearer, it seemed Ardagh would go on to claim victory. However, with only five minutes of normal time remaining, AC Celtic grabbed an equaliser out of nothing to turn the game on its head. After Ardagh "keeper Leeanne Keegan fumbled a long-range shot, Gerry Menton pounced and slotted the ball into the net to make it 1-1.

Celtic"s surprising goal sparked the game into life and the result was a breathtaking climax to proceedings. Just minutes after equalising, AC Celtic again attacked the Ardagh goal, leading to the award of a penalty. Ian O"Reilly stepped up to take the kick and made no mistake as he powerfully struck the ball past a helpless Leeanne Keenan.

It appeared that AC Celtic"s turnaround would be enough to claim victory as the game entered injury time. However, the visitors" broke up the pitch and caught the Celtic defence unaware, and when they finally managed to regroup they simply could not clear the ball to safety, and were eventually punished as Krispin Bliszczynchzi pounced on the loose ball and slotted it home to make it 2-2.

It now appeared we were destined for extra-time as the game entered its final seconds. However, another twist in the tale was still to come.

With the Ardagh supporters still celebrating on the sidelines, having seemingly escaped defeat, their joy soon turned to despair as AC Celtic retook the lead straight from the kick-off, attacking down the left wing with Shane Dunning finishing off the move with a tap-in.

This piece of action proved to be the game"s final incident as AC Celtic snatched victory in a barnstorming finish.

AC Celtic: 1. Kieran Cleary; 2. Aaron Moran; 3. TJ Greene; 4. Ian Rosney; 5. Paddy Sheriff; 6. Gerry Menton; 7. Ian O"Reilly; 8. Shane Dunning; 9. Clive Harris; 10. Ian Malone; 11. Roy Wykes. Subs Used: 12. Aaron Garvin; 13. Adam Tobin; 14. Terry Rush.

Ardagh: 1. Leeanne Keegan; 2. Kevin Finnan; 3. Ronan Batachay; 4. Chad Costello; 5. Fergal Keenan; 6. Finn Hartman; 7. Rory Sullivan; 8. John Keogh; 9. Krispin Bliszczynchzi 10. Darryl Carrigy; 11. Kevin Leavy. Subs Used: Mark Farrell, Dan Sullivan.

Referee: Adam Daly.