Ireland denied in Copa final

The Irish lads returned to the packed Oval in Maspeth less than 24 hours after topping Cyprus 4-1 on penalties in the semi-finals following a scoreless 120-minute battle.
They came out flat in the first half allowing Albania, who pulled off a last gasp 2-1 win over Argentina with nine men in Saturday’s other semi-final, to take a 3-0 lead before 400 mostly pro-Irish fans.
Ervin Makishti [30th] — the Albanian hero against the Argentines — Alex Haxhiari [40th] and Christian Turizo [45th] left Ireland with a mountain to climb after 45 minutes.
A pep talk by manager Paul Doherty seemed to rally the Irish who came out strong for the second half.
Two minutes in, forward Kurt Smith swiveled and shot fiercely from the edge of the box only to be denied by Albanian goalie Daniel Suarez.
The Albanians were at sixes and sevens. But they’d break away in the 55th minute to extend their lead.
Goal number four came from Argent Duka, the other Albanian scorer against Argentina, who outsprinted big ginger-haired Irish skipper Alan O’Hara on the right and fired past goalkeeper Alan Reilly.
A minute later, Garth “Croaker” McCrory won Ireland a penalty.
Conor Hunter, who’d run himself into the ground against Cyprus the previous night, stepped up to notch his fifth goal of the tournament – making him joint top Irish scorer with Smith.
The Irish then piled on the pressure.
Hunter could have pulled another one back in a goalmouth scramble [70th].
The drama started with the towering O’Hara rising at the far post to nod down a corner. The ball clipped the base of the near post where Hunter was lurking. Incredibly, the striker’s first time effort was blocked by a defender on the line and in the ensuing melee, the ball was cleared away.
It would be the Irishmen’s last best chance despite continued pressure on the Albanians.
Confident of holding out, Albania introduced mid fielder Elis Llagami, a former Brooklyn College standout who continues to play despite losing his left arm after an injury a few years ago.

REACTION
Albania manager Oliver Papraniku had kudos for the Irish and the fight they put up.
“It was a great game and a lot closer than the score [indicates],” he said. “Ireland have a great team and put a lot of pressure on us.”
His Irish opposite, Doherty, attributed the loss to the extra time effort against Cyprus, but still lauded his men for playing their hearts out.
“I think last night’s game took a lot out of us,” he said. “I’m disappointed for the lads. They put in a lot of effort. They gave me 110% and they weren’t supposed to get out of the group.”
Drawn in what was considered the “Group of Death” in the first round, Ireland beat Colombia 3-2, lost 3-2 to France and then edged Trinidad & Tobago 3-2 to finish runners-up to the French in Group D.
They routed Jamaica 5-2 in the quarterfinals to book the semi-final date with Cyprus.
Tommy Smyth, the Team Ireland president, echoed Doherty’s appreciation of the players’ effort and said they’d be back.
“I’m proud of the lads. It’s unbelievable that they got to the final — we’re not finished [yet],” the ESPN soccer analyst vowed. “We’ll be back.”
Player-coach Kevin Grogan, who did not feature in the last two matches, said they’d laid the foundation for future tournaments.
“It was a good tournament for us [although] we lacked a little experience in the end,” he remarked.
Said assistant coach Robbie Walsh: To achieve what they did is unbelievable. Credit to Paul [Doherty], [assistant manager] Willie [Dempsey] and all the panel. It makes you proud to be Irish.
“They played with heart and passion,” he said.

CYPRIOT CHALLENGE
That passion was never more evident than in the two-hour back and forth battle with Cyprus under floodlights on Saturday night.
Both teams never stopped running and it was clear to some when the titanic match finally ended just before 11 p.m. that Albania would have some advantage the next evening.
Ireland fashioned the most chances against the young Cypriots with opportunities like Hunter’s point blank header [9th] and Smith’s close range shot [22nd], both stopped by goalie Christian Iordanou.
But it was Cyprus that twice hit the post late in the first half through Peter Antoniades’ speculative effort from distance [42nd] and a Stelios Andreou volley in added tim e.
The young Cypriots appeared to find another gear in extra time with George Spanos missing a free header in the 100th minute, although Hunter, also from a header, could have nicked it [127th] before penalties were invoked.
In the shoot-out, Reilly came up big for Ireland as he pulled off saves against Mike Palacio and Jon Simos after set-piece specialist Sean Purcell and fullback Pat Kelly had scored.
Hunter made it 3-0 for the Irish and when Chris Megaloudis finally beat Reilly on Cyprus’ third attempt, it was left to O’Hara, the man wearing the captain’s armband, to lead the local lads in Green into the final.
O’Hara did not disappoint. His thumping shot hit the net and Ireland, against all odds, were through to the final.

ALBANIAN RUN
Like Ireland, Albania upset the form book on their run to the final. The East Europeans got off to a bad start, succumbing 3-2 to Jamaica in Group A before wins over Korea [1-0] and Ecuador [3-1] earned them second place.
They edged France 2-1 in the quarterfinals.

THANKS
Doherty thanked the following sponsors: the Heritage Bar, the Galway Hooker, Kelly Ryan’s, The Courtyard, Hurley’s Bar, Rory Dolan’s, E.C.I. Contracting, WJ Contracting and A.J.I Contracting for rallying behind the NYC Ireland team.
The brain-child of Spencer Dormitzer and Chris Noble, the 16-nation Copa NYC was played over two weekends. Dormitzer said they couldn’t be happier with the tournament and that it will only get bigger and better.

SHAMOCK SUNNYSIDE CLASSIC
The annual Shamrock Six-a-Side tournament and family day is set for Aug. 16 [12 p.m. to 6 p.m.] at the Sunnyside Gardens in Queens.
The participation fee for the tournament, which is co-ed, is $10. There will also be kids races and games as part of the family day activities.
Call Robbie Walsh at (347) 600-5840 for more information.