Arklow Derby

 Arklow Town 0

Arklow United 5

Travers Insurance Park 

Eoin Horkan 

Saturday evening drew a sizable attendance to Travers Insurance Park for the eagerly awaited Arklow Derby, and those who turned out witnessed a commanding display as Arklow United secured a convincing victory over their local rivals.

Although the contest began at a slow tempo, United gradually assumed full control and never looked back, ultimately running out comfortable winners by the time the referee sounded the full-time whistle.

The opening stages were cagey, with both sides feeling their way into the game and neither wanting to concede early ground. Arklow Town carved out the first real opportunity when Conor Smith showed impressive composure to bring the ball under control in a crowded area. Spotting the goalkeeper slightly off his line, Smith attempted a clever lob, but his effort was expertly tipped over the crossbar by the alert United keeper, preventing what would have been a superb early goal for the home side.

That moment seemed to spark United into action, and from roughly the tenth minute onward they began to assert themselves with purpose. Their attacking play down the flanks caused particular trouble for the Town defence, with Zach Kilbride’s pace and direct running proving a constant threat. One fluent passage of play resulted in Kilbride racing onto a well-constructed move, only for his angled strike to skim the outside of the net, rippling the wrong side of the netting and drawing gasps from the crowd who briefly thought it had found the target.

United’s increasing dominance paid dividends just shy of the twenty-minute mark. A defensive lapse allowed Jason Rowlands to pounce on a loose ball, and the United forward made no mistake as he powered his shot past the Town goalkeeper to open the scoring. It was a goal that had been coming, and it settled United further into their rhythm.

The ten minutes that followed saw the visitors completely dictate play, particularly in midfield where the duo of Niall Delahunt and Oisin Keegan controlled possession with maturity and intelligence. Their ability to retain the ball, break up play and dictate the pace frustrated the home side, who struggled to build any meaningful spell of momentum. On the half-hour, Delahunt surged forward in a promising break and delivered a low cross that narrowly evaded the onrushing Kilbride, who would almost certainly have doubled United’s lead had he connected.

As the first half moved toward its conclusion, it appeared United would take only a slender one-goal advantage into the interval, but a decisive moment arrived seven minutes before the break. Rowlands, already influential in the game, won his side a penalty after being brought down inside the box. Centre back David O’Neill stepped up with confidence and calmly dispatched the spot-kick, sending the keeper the wrong way and giving United a deserved 2-0 cushion at half-time.

Both managers opted to make changes early in the second half, hopeful that fresh legs might alter the direction of the contest. However, rather than shifting momentum, the early stages of the half produced a compelling personal duel between United’s Darragh Dempsey and Town’s young goalkeeper Ryan Flanagan, who was called upon repeatedly.

Flanagan came out on top in their first major exchange ten minutes after the restart, reacting superbly to palm away a well-struck Dempsey free-kick that seemed destined for the bottom corner. But Dempsey did not have to wait long to gain the upper hand. Just minutes later, he found himself one-on-one with Flanagan and produced a composed finish to extend United’s advantage to 3-0, placing his side firmly in command.

If that goal felt like the decisive blow, Dempsey delivered an even more spectacular moment shortly afterwards. Awarded another free-kick from long range, he unleashed a superb effort that flew beyond Flanagan and into the net, prompting cheers from the travelling support and pushing United into a commanding 4-0 lead as the match moved into its final third.

The concession appeared to galvanise Arklow Town, who finally began to play with aggression and urgency. Brandon Donnelly spearheaded their brief resurgence, first drawing a fine save from the United keeper before heading narrowly wide moments later. For a short spell, Town enjoyed their most positive period of the match and looked determined to find at least a consolation goal for their efforts.

But United remained a threat whenever they ventured forward, and the introduction of the substitutes reignited their attacking spark. Shane Roche came close to adding a fifth when he curled a superb effort from the edge of the box, only to see it crash against the angle of post and bar. Moments later, fellow substitute Graham Watts forced yet another excellent save from Flanagan, who, despite the scoreline, continued to stand out as Town’s best performer, preventing an even heavier defeat with a string of strong interventions.

The match appeared to be drifting toward its conclusion when United produced one final moment of quality with the last attack of the game. Right-back Conor Blainey delivered an outstanding, pinpoint pass from deep on the right flank. The Town defence looked set to clear, but Mark Nolan timed his run brilliantly and reacted fastest, rising to head the ball into the net. With Nolan’s goal arriving virtually on the full-time whistle, United completed a comprehensive and emphatic derby triumph.

Arklow Town;Ryan Flanagan,Luke McGrath,John Byrne,Dave Kelly,Darragh Waller,Kevin O’Regan ,Shane Monaghan,Brandon Donnelly,Conor Smith,Sam Butler,Joe  Reid

Subs Used:Evan Kinch for Joe Reid ,Donny  Walker for Luke McGrath,Joe Elliott for Kevin O’Regan,Kyle Nolan for Shane Monaghan,

Arklow United:Dean Flood Hayes,Stephen Kavanagh,Conor Blaney,Sean Harte,David O’Neill,Oisín Keegan,Zach Kilbride,Niall Delahunt,Jason Rowlands,Darragh Dempsey,Aidan Cox

Subs Used:Mark Nolan for Jason Rowlands,Graham Watts for Aiden Cox,Mathew Dempsey for Zach Kilbride,Shane Connoly for Stephen Kavanagh,Shane Roche for Darren Dempsey