Super St. Anthony’s crowned WDFL Premier champions after showdown with Shamrock Celtic

Shamrock Celtic - 1

For the first time in the club’s history, St Anthony’s are Wicklow League Premier Division champions – but the extraordinary way that they got there necessitates its own explainer.

On 85 minutes, they seemed dead when Rob Keogh rose highest to head Shamrock Celtics in front and on their way to spoiling the party.

On 87 minutes, they seemed buried when Tony Harris was sent off for a second yellow card, with the impending upset sucking the air out of the room at Finn Park.

On 89 minutes, Ronan O’Kelly’s freak goal brought them back into it, a hopeful flick of the right boot connecting flush and sending a volley up and over the head of Ben Turner.

Then, as the game ticked into 90, Shane Doyle got on the end of a knock-down to squeeze into the back of the net for the most famous goal in St Anthony’s history.

While the trophy lift will have to wait, Wednesday night was a big one in the history of St Anthony’s. In their first season back in the top tier, they were one win away from dethroning St Peter’s as champions, giving the occasion an air of expectation.

That same occasion seemed to get the better of the hosts at times. It was a sluggish, sloppy showing from Freddie Hamilton’s team, who were put under immense pressure by an away side desperate to spoil the party.

Anthony’s struggled to maintain any foothold in midfield, where Dean Noble, Chris Ffrench and Jack Crowley dominated.

Noble had a shot on the turn trickle wide on four minutes and, on nine minutes, they should have taken the lead.

Luca Rampersaud slipped Jensen O’Connor in down the right. He cut the ball back from the endline to Jack Fox who blazed over the bar when he should have scored.

Chances were few and far between for the champions-elect but, on 41 minutes, they should have taken the lead. It came from a long ball up the field from goalkeeper Daniel Kavanagh.

His punt was brought down brilliantly by Shane Doyle, who deftly flicked it into the path of Blake Ryan, who could only hit his shot over the bar.

Compared to the first half, the second was a little bit cagier with fewer in the way of chances. The St Anthony’s midfield was more solid with Jamie Kelly – who often broke forward in the first half – playing closer to Matthew Kennedy.

Meanwhile, Ronan O’Kelly grew in stature with more space afforded to him.

What chances there were predominantly fell to Anthony’s. Blake Ryan – a bag of tricks on the right – delivered a corner which flicked off the head of substitute Patrick Woods and narrowly wide.

With nine minutes to go, Tony Harris, who was shown his first yellow card minutes earlier, sent a free into the box which was touched down by Kennedy to Shane Doyle, only for the striker to miss the target.

And then chaos began.

Rob Keogh thought he had snatched the win when he flicked a glorious header into the far corner from a Dean Noble corner.

Harris was then shown his marching orders before, on 89 minutes, Woods flicked a long ball into the direction of O’Kelly, who swept his right foot and connected with a glorious volley that flew past Turner.

And as the game ticked into additional time, it was Doyle’s turn, once again benefiting from a Woods knock down to squeeze a shot home and clinch a first ever Premier Division title.

St Anthony’s: Daniel Kavanagh; Michael Gray, Tony Harris, Mikel Counihan, Daniel McCann; Jamie Kelly, Matthew Kennedy; Blake Ryan, Ronan O’Kelly, Cian Davis; Shane Doyle. Subs: Patrick Woods for C Davis (68), Lewis Stokes for M Kennedy (83).

Shamrock Celtic: Ben Turner; Luke Messitt, Andrew Earls, Rob Keogh, Killian Devine; Jensen O’Connor, Jack Crowley, Chris Ffrench; Jack Fox, Luca Rampersaud, Jensen O’Connor. Subs: Stuart Cox for J Fox (68).

Referee: Mark Wynne.