[caption id="attachment_67781" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="Sligo Rovers' players celebrate after the penalty shootout. "]
Sligo Rovers retained the FAI Cup on last Sunday at the Aviva Stadium but Shelbourne made them work for the trophy. Once again, goalkeeper Ciaran Kelly was the hero for the Bit O'Red. He saved four penalties in last year's shootout against Shamrock Rovers, and this time he stopped two.
One difference this year was that Kelly only was brought on right at the end of extra time when penalties seemed inevitable. Another was that the newly-promoted Shels have spent the season in the second tier, unlike last year's losers who were champions and are again this year.
Philly Hughes opened the scoring for Shels, who might have added another. However, the attacking player Barry Clancy was sent off for a second yellow, when he had strong claim for a penalty. Sligo equalized through Iarfhlaith Davoren early in the second half, and while they kept the 10 Shels on the back foot they failed to put the game away. They had to wait that to win the penalties 4-1.
Meanwhile, Alex Ferguson celebrated 25 years in charge of Manchester United with a 1-0 win over Sunderland on Saturday thanks to a helping hand from one of his former players. The Scot walked onto the Old Trafford pitch through a guard of honor before it was announced over the PA system that the North Stand was being renamed in his honor. The game was decided by an own goal by former United player Wes Brown who headed into his own net on his return to Old Trafford. The weekend was dominated by lists of Fergie's achievements with United, but that didn't bother local rivals City, who maintained their five point lead at the top of the table thanks to a hard fought 3-2 win over QPR in West London.
Elsewhere Newcastle United beat Everton 2-1 in the early kick off on Saturday and climbed to the dizzy heights of second place for a few hours. But United's win in the afternoon saw them slip back to third, a position that most Geordie fans will probably be happy with considering the coming and goings at St James' Park in recent seasons. Leon Best, who was called into the Irish squad late last week, was injured in the win over Everton, but he is expected to link up with the Irish squad after the first leg is played in Estonia. Best's situation is complicated by the news that his wife is due to give birth this week.
At home Monaghan United have gained promotion back to the premier division after a ten year absence. The Ulster team, managed by flamboyant manager Roddy Collins, beat Galway United 5-1 on aggregate over two legs to follow Cork City and Shelbourne into the top flight. Even the presence of President-Elect Michael D. Higgins at Terryland Park on Friday night couldn't save Galway, who won only one League game all season. We will now have three Galway clubs: United, Mervue and Salthill Devons in the first division next year.
