Corinthians magnanimous after cup final defeat as St Joey's grab win with 'crazy goal' from 'keeper

It was the first goal conceded by the Leeside outfit in 660 minutes of play.

St Joseph’s goalkeeper Dylan Kane celebrates after scoring his side's winner against College Corinthians at the Carlisle Grounds in Bray. Picture:  Seb Daly/Sportsfile

St. Joseph's AFC 1 

College Corinthians 0 

The record books will show that St Joseph's AFC (Sallynoggin) were the 2023 FAI Youth Challenge Cup champions – the first time they have lifted the trophy in 22 years.

But the fact that the only goal College Corinthians conceded in 660 minutes of play saw them suffer an agonising final defeat at the Carlisle Grounds in Bray last Saturday afternoon cannot be underestimated.

Saints’ goalkeeper Dylan Kane was the unlikely match-winner as his 32nd-minute long punt found the net.

“It was a crazy goal. They had other chances as well. They got their goal. They took it when it came. We didn’t take our chances. We’re obviously very disappointed. But we’ll drive on,” said College Corinthians manager Peter Healy whose side had won the FAI U17 Cup last year.

But he was magnanimous in defeat. “We have to start by saying congratulations to St. Joeys, they won the game. It’s over 90 plus minutes. We can talk about all the details. They won it.” 

Before kick-off, the Douglas based side had kept six clean sheets in 570 minutes of action in their previous six matches in the competition.

The vital moment of the contest arrived in the 32nd minute.

Dylan Kane – with the aid of a strong breeze – kicked long from his own penalty area. The ball bounced over his opposite number Eoin O’Flynn and rolled into an empty net.

“We huffed and puffed and tried really hard. I’m pretty proud of all the lads. Some days it just doesn’t work out. We didn’t score. You don’t win games unless you score a goal” remarked Healy.

“We had better chances; we had lots of chances. The boys worked really hard. I’m really proud of all of them. We pulled it out last year (at U17). We were hopeful and confident enough coming up before kick-off. That’s football.” 

In the 87th minute, there was almost deja-vu. O’Flynn’s long kick bounced in the box. But Dylan Kane showed why he picked up the man of the match award by punching off his goal-line.

“Our lads defended like absolute trojans. Hats off to Corinthians, they had a lot of the ball and put us under a lot of pressure. Our backline and midfield line were magnificent” beamed St. Joseph's manager Stephen Foy after the final whistle.

The Dubliners had scored an amazing 43 goals in their previous six matches in the competition.

While admitting he did not know their opponents had not conceded previously in the Cup, Foy said of the vital score: “The wind gets a bit strong once it gets above the stand at the ground. Dylan was the unlikely hero. Credit to their keeper too. He made several saves in one-on-ones. We had chances on the counter-attack late to put the result to rest.”

St. Joseph's AFC: Dylan Kane; Adam Deans, Tadhg Kane, Scott Higgins, Aji Habeeb; Josh Bishop, Kian De Sousa (Reese Kavanagh half time); Alan Seruga, Callum Curley, Brian O'Meara Emmanual Ogunsaikon 75); Callum Byrne.

College Corinthians: Eoin O'Flynn; Daniel McCarthy Noah Ryan 71), David Healy, Jerry Murphy, Ben Heinen; Eric Cunningham, Luke O'Donnell Robbie O'Brien 86); Harry Quilligan, Matthew Broderick, Rian O'Riordan (Brian O'Sullivan-Connell 55); Conor O'Sullivan (Kristian O'Callaghan 90).

Referee: Alan Franklin (Wexford).