Avondale stroll to

AVONDALE ARKLOW ROCKS 2-13 0-07

A glorious sunny Saturday in Pearse’s Park Arklow saw Avondale run out comfortable winners over Arklow Rocks Parnell by a score of 2-13 to 0-7.

The visitors showed their intent early on with a classy point in the third minute from Paul Gahan after he showed some quick feet to turn the Rocks corner back before firing over the bar to register the first score of the game.

It looked to have gotten better again for Avondale just a minute later after Brian Butcher had the ball in the back of the Rocks net after good play on the right hand side from Liam Phelan, however the score was ruled out as a result of a square ball call from the referee.

The Rocks were proving to be their own worst enemies in the game as their inability to retain possession of the ball from their own puck outs, frees and sideline balls meant the defenders were placed under constant pressure from an unforgiving Avondale side.

Frustrations began to show for the home side as John Cushe picked up a yellow card in the ninth minute for an aggressive charge on the Avondale half back in an attempt to regain possession.

As the first half wore on Avondale continued to register points through Niall Heffernan, Eamon Kearns, Paul Gahan and Brian Butcher, putting themselves in firm control of the game with the Rocks continuing to struggle retaining possession of the ball the further they moved up the field.

If there was a bright spark for the home side during this spell it had to be the tireless work rate of James Dignam and Shane Mellon who tirelessly pressurised the Avondale players looking to try inspire a revival from their team.

Dignam in particular showed fierce determination in the 16th minute when, after losing his hurl in a tackle, chased back towards his goal to prevent Avondale scoring before regaining possession for his team amid a flurry of swinging opposition hurls.

Avondale continued to rack up the points establishing a seven-point lead before the Rocks found a way onto the scoreboard through a free from Tony Kinsella in the 24th minute.

Arklow Rock Parnells managed to score two more points before the end of the half through Shane