Arklow United vs Ballywaltrim

 Arklow United 3

Ballywatrim 0

Credit Union Park 

Eoin Horkan

Clinical Set-Piece Double Fires Arklow United to Victory Under Friday Night Lights

Two goals in the space of two minutes proved decisive as Arklow United powered to a confident and fully deserved win under the Friday night lights, overcoming Ballywaltrim in this early-season top-of-the-table clash.

From the opening whistle, both teams signalled their attacking intent, with the wide players on each side causing problems. Inside the opening eight minutes, Arklow’s lively winger Richie Neary made the first real statement of the night. Controlling a bouncing ball at the edge of the penalty area, Neary struck a sweet effort that had the home crowd on their feet, only to see it skim inches over the crossbar as it arrowed toward the top corner.

Ballywaltrim responded almost immediately with a chance of their own. A quick counterattack found Ryan Fitzpatrick, who spotted Arklow keeper Gerry Earls off his line and attempted a clever chip that beat the goalkeeper but dropped agonisingly wide of the back post.

Those early exchanges suggested a tight contest, but from the 12th minute onward, Arklow United firmly took control. Striker Faysel Muse was at the heart of everything positive, using his strength and intelligent movement to keep the visiting defence constantly on edge. His first warning shot came when he unleashed a powerful long-range strike that forced the Ballywaltrim keeper to tip over the bar.

From the resulting corner, delivered with pace and whip by Neary, the breakthrough arrived. The cross caused panic, and when the ball dropped to Muse, he showed composure beyond the chaos to steer a controlled finish into the net.

Barely two minutes later, United doubled their lead—again from a Neary corner. This time it was centre-back Ray Davis who rose highest, timing his jump perfectly to guide a towering header into the roof of the net. Suddenly, Arklow were 2–0 up, and Ballywaltrim looked shell-shocked.

The home side continued to dominate, with midfield pairing Tom Connor and Karl Kirwan dictating play superbly. They repeatedly fed the dangerous trio of Muse, Neary, and Stephen Byrne, who stretched the opposition in all areas of the pitch. On the half-hour mark, Arklow almost added a third. A goalmouth scramble saw two efforts blocked before Ballywaltrim desperately hacked the ball off the line to stay in the contest.

As the half entered its final minutes, Ballywaltrim finally mustered a response. Zach Ryan forced a smart save from Earls, who then reacted superbly to smother the follow-up effort and preserve his side’s two-goal advantage heading into the break.

The second half, in contrast to the intensity of the first, began at a much slower tempo as fatigue set in for both sides. With the back lines largely on top, chances became scarce. The first effort of note did not arrive until the 60th minute, when Ballywaltrim’s Niall Higgins curled a 20-yard free-kick into the arms of the well-positioned Earls.

Just as Arklow looked comfortable, Ballywaltrim enjoyed their best spell of the match. A speculative long-range shot flew over, before a superb strike from Ben Kelly seemed destined for the bottom corner. Earls, at full stretch, produced the save of the night to tip the effort around the post and deny the visitors a lifeline.

With momentum threatening to turn, both managers turned to their benches. The most telling contribution came from Arklow substitute Shane Roche, who immediately injected fresh energy. Within ten minutes of his introduction.

His deft flicked header from a kick out was added to by Ross McBide who sent  Muse racing clear. Muse made no mistake, calmly sliding the ball past the keeper to seal the victory for United with ten minutes remaining.

Roche almost capped his cameo with a goal of his own, rising to meet another delivery late on, only to see his header drift narrowly wide of the post.

Arklow United:Gerry Earls,Niall Higgins,Dillian Mordaunt,Ray Davis,Paul Lalor,Karl Kirwan,Richie Neary,Tom Connors,Faysal Muse,Stephen Byrne,Tomas O’Reilly

Subs Used:Shane Roche for Richie Neary,James Kealey for Tom Connors ,Ros McBride for Stephen Byrne,Samuel Proby for Dillan Mordaunt,Nathan Carr for Karl Kirwan

Ballywaltrim;Adam Temple,Jack Byrne,Conor Kelly,Mark Byrne,Cian Walters,Cal Gilmore,Ryan Fitzpatrick,Jay Lawless
,Ben Kelly,Zack Ryan,Darran Brady

Subs Used;Cian Vaughan for Cal Gilmore,Joe Vickers for Mark Byrne,Mathew Byrne,Tristan Byrne for Ryan Fitzpatrick for Darran Brady

Referee Carl Doyle