It was cup action in Whitegates tonight as our Leinster Senior side entertained Inchicore Athletic in the last 16 of the Paddy and David Lanigan cup. The lads went into the game as favourites and were in confident mood after last week’s good league win over Pegasus/St James Athletic. They started off well pushing the visitors back and as early as the second minute Rovers were in front. A good Rovers move ended with an Inchicore player deflecting the ball into his own net under pressure. Rovers were creating half chances, sixteen minutes in and Sam Brown brought the best out of the keeper who made a great save. Inchicore's first chance came when Arthur Delahunt got down well to tip the ball around the post with the resulting corner coming to nothing. Just on the half hour mark the sides were level when a header from a corner found the bottom corner of the Rovers net. Three minutes later things got worse for Rovers as Inchicore hit the front with their second goal. Two minutes before the break it wasn’t surprising a player was dismissed, both sides were guilty of verbal and it was a Rovers player who was dismissed for dissent. At this stage and probably the ten minutes prior to the sending off the game had turned into a stop start affair with a lot of petty fouls resulting in Rovers losing their shape. Rovers came out in the second period on the front foot, a Sam Brown shot was cleared off the line five minutes in. After sixty minutes Nathan Sullivan got into a good position but screwed his effort wide. At times you would wonder who was playing with ten men as Rovers pushed and probed seeking an equaliser. The away side were under the cosh and with eight minutes remaining Rovers got their deserved equaliser. A ball down the throats of the away team's central defence saw Ciaran McGettigan put the centre half and keeper under pressure with the breaking ball falling kindly for Ciaran who gleefully fired home a goal Rovers totally deserved. On the final whistle the sides were locked at 2-2 and it was on to extra time. It was all Rovers in extra time, Ciaran McGettigan hit the post, Sam Brown saw an effort blocked as the away team camped in trying to hold out for penalties. The away side got their wish as we headed to the dreaded shootout. It wa Rovers who emerged victorious from the shootout winning 4-2 on spot kicks. Goalkeeper Arthur Delahunt comes in for a special mention in the shootout when he made two fantastic saves from Inchicore's second and fourth penalties. Then he stepped up to slot the deciding penalty into the top right hand corner to spark joyous celebrations to book a spot in the quarter finals. Jim Foley, Ben Algera and Tommy Smullen also found the net from the penalty spot, a job where players have to be admired for stepping up. It was a hard earned win but at times it was self inflicted. When Rovers concentrated on playing football they totally dominated the game, yes they were missing several regulars but when they played football they always looked like scoring against a spirited Inchicore team. There were many good performances on the pitch, Ian Brannigan belies his years still going strong at the end when other players were feeling the effects. Tommy Smullen, Sam Brown, Jamie Snell, Rikki Quinn and Ciaran McGettigan led by example but one player that stood out was an impressive display from Lorcan Sinnott when introduced into the fray, he was excellent and a tower of strength winning several aerial duels. When the dust settles its a win that sees the lads into the last eight and on the balance of play it was no more than they deserved.