Arklow United 2
Rathnew AFC 3
Arklow Credit Union Park
Eoin Horkan
A double from Adam Byrne proved the difference in this five goal thriller on Friday night in Arklow
Arklow started on the front foot and could have been out of sight inside the opening quarter. Playing with energy and intent, they carved out three clear chances in quick succession. The first coming to Zach Kilbride who was a danger from the start. A corner minutes later fell to David O’Neill but his header flew wide. A second Kilbride effort was expertly blocked.
That profligacy was punished when Rathnew struck against the run of play midway through the first half. A rare foray forward resulted in a clumsy challenge inside the box and the referee pointed straight to the spot.Bill Moorhouse stepped up to calmly send the keeper the wrong way to put the visitors ahead despite having offered little up to that point.
To their credit, Arklow responded positively and were level soon after. A well-won free kick on the edge of the area gave the home side an opportunity and it was taken with confidence by Shane Connoly who whipped the ball beyond the wall and into the corner to restore parity.
Just as it looked like the sides would head in level at the break, Rathnew delivered a sucker punch. Adam Byrne, who was a constant threat all afternoon, got on the end of a long ball just ahead of the home sides goalkeeper to give his side the lead on the half time whistle
The second half failed to reach the same standard as the first, with the game becoming scrappy and stop-start. Arklow struggled to regain their earlier rhythm, while Rathnew were content to sit in and look to break. On the hour mark, Byrne struck again to put daylight between the sides. He gathered the ball and unleashed a rocket from thirty yards into the top corner sending the village crowd into a frenzy.
That goal appeared to take the sting out of the contest, but Arklow refused to lie down. A double substitution injected fresh energy and with ten minutes remaining, Aaron Parle made an immediate impact. The substitute reacted quickest inside the box to bundle the ball home, reducing the deficit to one and setting up a tense finale.
Arklow pushed hard in the closing stages, throwing men forward in search of an equaliser, but Rathnew held firm under pressure. Despite a couple of nervy moments in stoppage time, the visitors managed the game well and saw it out to claim a valuable away victory.
Arklow United:Dean Flood Hayes,Shane Connolly,Conor Blaney,Sean Harte,David O’Neill,Matt Dempsey,Zach Kilbride,Oisin Keegan,Mark Nolan,Stephen Kavanagh,Aidan Cox.
Subs Used:Aaron Parle for Matt Dempsey, Graham Watts for Aidan Cox.
Rathnew AFC:Dylan Keogh,Ethan Snell,Jonah Graham,Jamie Snell,John Lester,Jack Healy,Eoin Doyle,Gary Doyle,Toby Curran,Adam Byrne,Bill Moorehouse.
Subs Used;Jordan Graham for Toby Curran,Scott Devlin for Eoin Doyle,Tommy O’Callaghan for Bill Moorehouse
Referee:Michael Kennedy
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