Bridge United A 0-3 Newmarket Celtic A
For those of you unfamiliar with the great Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean-Jacques Wamutombo (or just Dikembe Mutombo), he is a former NBA centre with the Denver Nuggets and Atlanta Hawks among others. Mutombo was famed for his finger wagging celebration when he rejected or blocked a shot.
That is how it must have felt for the big orange figure of Shane Cusack yesterday as he saved not one but two penalties at key points in the Clare Cup quarter final with Bridge United A.
Having seen a couple of chances go begging early on with Daithi O'Connell smashing a volley wide before Ian Collins forced a good save from Bridge 'keeper Tuohy, referee Shane Hayes awarded Bridge United a penalty.
Darragh Fitzgerald stepped up and placed it low to the right of Cusack but Seamus' son was able to get down and turn it behind for a corner kick.
The game was a feisty affair with incidents on and off the ball. Notorious hardman/lunatic David O'Grady was twice upended out of the referee's eye line first while trying to escape on the counter attack and secondly in the penalty area.
Early in the second half, Bridge United lost their goalkeeper to injury and former Newmarket Youths player Peter Kaluza was introduced.
His first piece of action was to deny Tino Nzvaura who jumped highest to get on the end of a corner kick.
It was just creeping past the hour mark when the deadlock was finally broken. Eoin Hayes rifled a free kick into the top corner of the Bridge net leaving no chance for the keeper.
That was followed by an equally impressive free kick from the left foot of Darren Cullinan. His effort from out close to the touch line went all the way to the net untouched.
Bridge United were determined to force their way back into this one and thought they had gotten their lifeline when Paddy Purcell was deemed to have fouled Derek Fahy in the area.
The referee pointed to the spot and this time it was Fahy himself who picked up the ball and walked towards the spot.
Once more, it was Cusack, also son of Mary, who won the battle of the wits and turned Fahy's penalty away from goal much to the delight of his first born, Daisy.
The final nail in Bridge United's coffin came in the 84th minute when Davy McCarthy picked up possession on the edge of the penalty area and danced past not one, not two, but 39 people before sticking the ball into the back of the net.
This sets up a date with Shannon Town in Frank Healy Park at 5pm next Saturday.