O’Keefe From The Spot Keeps Ericsson In The Pot
Sunday 3rd March 2013. CCFL Division 3 Shield.
Ericsson Athlone 2-1 St James.
A second half penalty from Tony O’Keeffe sent Ericsson Athlone through to Round 4 of the CCFL Division 3 Shield in a tough battle against St James.
With the scores level at half time, St James had their sideline numbers reduced before the break as their manager, who doubled up as the linesman, was sent off for dissent. The dismissal meant the coach had to watch the rest of the game from the other side of the perimeter fence while passing the flag to another member of the visiting bench.
Ericsson themselves had their numbers reduced when substitute Rafal Novak was booked and shortly after sent off for kicking the ball away and dissent. The game was then delayed while the striker, who had been on the pitch less than 25 minutes, protested the decision with a string of expletives in Polish!
With tough tackling and plenty of warnings on both sides, the game finally came to an end after close to 6 minutes additional time.