Joe Gormley’s second-half goal saw Cliftonville dump St Patrick’s Athletic out of the Setanta Sports Cup last night.

COMING up to two years on from the hand that rocked the world, and there’s still no getting away from it.

THE Professional Footballers’ Association of Ireland (PFAI) is to set up a referees’ seminar as calls for more communication between players and match officials arose following Sunday’s FAI Ford Cup final.

PENALTIES saved and penalties paid were the twin themes of the post-match reaction in the Aviva Stadium yesterday, as Sligo Rovers celebrated and Shelbourne fumed.

SHELBOURNE’S Stephen Paisley might have been the man of the match but there was no doubt who was, in American football parlance, the Most Valuable Player in yesterday’s FAI Ford Cup final.

Shelbourne 1 Sligo Rovers 1 (Sligo win 4-1 on pens)

ONE of the quotes of the domestic season a few years back came from Sligo Rovers boss Paul Cook in reference to his combative midfielder and fellow scouser, Danny Ventre.

GALWAY UNITED’S season from hell continued last night with this battering by Bray inflicting another unwanted record on the Westerners.

Dundalk 1 Shamrock Rovers 2

Drogheda United 2 Dundalk 2

DEREK DOYLE, their match-winner in Europe last week, maintained his scoring flush with a well-taken double, but it wasn’t enough as St Pat’s failed to get the win required to regain the leadership of the Premier Division yesterday.

GOALS from Dean Bennett, Johnny Breen, Mark Quigley and Daniel Kearns saw Dundalk come from behind to record a comfortable 4-1 win over 10-man Galway United in the FAI Ford Cup third round.

JASON BYRNE was denied a penalty and then stretchered off six minutes from time as Dundalk and Bray Wanderers played out a poor scoreless draw at Oriel Park last night.

St Patrick’s Athletic 0 Bohemians 1

ST PATRICK’S ATHLETIC boss Pete Mahon has kept alive the dream that the men from Inchicore can win the FAI Cup for the first time in 49 years with a 3-1 victory over holders Sporting Fingal in Saturday’s quarter-final at Richmond Park.

Sligo Rovers 1 Shamrock Rovers 2

Stephen Ireland has been nominated as best overseas player of the year by the Professional Footballers’ Association of Ireland (PFAI), despited his continued absence from the international squad.

STEPHEN KENNY was left to rue what he described as an “outrageous” penalty decision that sent Cork City on their way to a vital victory in the race for a Europa League spot at Turner’s Cross last night.

Derry City 1 Cork City 1

SHAMROCK ROVERS hampered Cork City’s golden opportunity to restore their stuttering claims on the League of Ireland Premier Division at Turner’s Cross last night, leaving Leeside with a deserved share of the spoils.

JEFF KENNA has admitted to feeling the pressure as St Patrick’s Athletic slipped to a seventh defeat in eight matches when showing little resistance on Saturday night against a Cork City side who notched their biggest win of the season.

Republic of Ireland 1-3 Poland

WE KNOW about winning ugly but this was more a case of drawing ugly as neither Shamrock Rovers nor Cork City were able to live up to their reputations as sides who like to get the ball down and play.

Bohemians 0 Derry City 1

Richie Winter has been appointed to referee Saturday’s eircom League of Ireland Cup Final between Wexford Youths and Derry City.

Cork City 1 Derry City 1

Shamrock Rovers 3 Cork City 0

Galway United 0 Bohemians 2

Finn Harps 0 Cork City 1

Sligo Rovers 1 Waterford United 2

Derry City 0 Galway United 0

DESPITE giving an admirable account of themselves, Shelbourne, the former giants of Irish football, couldn’t turn giant killers at Tolka Park, as a first half Roy O’Donovan penalty was enough to see Cork City through to the next round of the FAI Ford Cup.

As part of the on-going referee exchange programme between the FAI, IFA and SFA, Belfast-based IFA referee Hugh Carvill will take charge of the Derry City v Bray Wanderers premier division fixture at the Brandywell on Sunday May 7.

Shamrock Rovers 2 Dundalk 1

Shelbourne 1 UCD 2