Impressive Edenderry put Arklow to the sword
EDENDERRY made the trip to Arklow to take on league rivals Arklow Town FC in what turned out to be an impressive 4-1 win for the travelling side.
The away side started the game in terrific style as they had great confidence after some great passages of play from their defence right up to their attackers it was obvious after just five minutes that Arklow Town would be under severe pressure throughout the first half.
In the centre of midfield Edenderry’s Aaron McDonnell had the height advantage to win all the aerial duels that came his way, which meant even though Arklow keeper William Horseman was getting great height and distance on his kick outs they would all end up being collected by McDonnell in the air.
Once winning the ball in the air McDonnell would quickly go on the counter-attack, occasionally slipping the ball through to Niall O’ Neill and Alan Pender.
In the 20th minute the away side thought they had opened the scoring after striker Niall O’Neill went one on one with Horseman after being slipped through by McDonnell.
McDonnell won the ball back in centre midfield before going on a darting run towards the edge of the penalty area before putting in O’Neill with a superb through ball but his shot was brilliantly saved by Horseman who was quick to spot the danger and put O’Neill under pressure to take the shot on first time.
Arklow’s only real threat to the Edenderry goal came five minutes later after some great footwork from Cian Bolger.
Bolger made a great run down the left wing, beating two Edenderry defenders before whipping in a cross into the box to Joe Ledwith.
Ledwith rose above everyone in the penalty area and headed toward goal, the striker saw goalkeeper Eddie McDonald off his line and tried to head the ball over the keeper but unfortunately for the home side Ledwith’s header went just inches over the bar and out for a goal kick.
Edenderry’s Liam Donnolly doubled his side’s lead just on the edge of half-time with a headed goal from a well delivered corner kick from Barry Clancy.
Clancy whipped the ball to the front post and found Donnolly who headed the ball into the net. Town went in at the end of the first half 2-0 down and were frustrated to concede just before the end of the half especially from a set piece as Donnolly was completely unmarked at the front post and went unchallenged to head home.
Town started the second half much better than the first and looked like if they were to grab a goal back it could change the game. Joe Ledwith was working tirelessly up front but when he gained possession of the ball he often found himself isolated up front with little help from his team mates in terms of attacking options.
Edenderry’s third goal was a combination of skill, luck and a strong gust of wind.
Defender Barry Clancy won a corner in the 62nd minute, the left full back whipped in a curling corner looking for McDonnell at the back post. The wind took the ball in mid-flight and curled into the net above Horseman who came out to try punch the ball out to safety.
A great goal by the defender, that is if he meant it, which looked unlikely but no doubt that Clancy will claim he purposely meant the strike.
There was hope of a comeback minutes later when midfielder Daragh Culleton scored a great goal from outside the box to bring the game to 3-1 with a small glimmer of hope of grabbing at least a draw out of the game with 20 minutes remaining.
Daragh O’Leary and Darren Dempsey were introduced after the goal to try inject some pace into their attack and try grab something out of the game.
O’Leary came close on a couple of occasions but failed to capitalise on his opportunities, the winger made a great run on the left wing and looked like he was going to go all the way before he took too much out of the ball and gave the Edenderry defence a chance to win back possession and get the ball clear of the danger area.
The night went from bad to worse for the home side in the last ten minutes after substitute James Carey scored the final goal of the game with a well taken volley from the edge of the box on 81 minutes to put his side well ahead and ultimately give Edenderry the full three points, which was well deserved on the night.
The Town will be disappointed in the result overall but more importantly how they conceded some of the goals especially from two set pieces, but they must try and put this performance behind them and look to their next fixture to regain their form.