League crown followed after
RATHNEW’S dominance of Wicklow soccer couldn’t have been any more pronounced in 1997 as they became the first team in WDFL history to claim a treble in successive seasons.
In 1996 they won the Premier League title, the Wicklow Cup and the Charlie Bishop Cup and here they were again in 1997 winning all three again, defeating Arklow United in both the Wicklow Cup and Charlie Bishop finals and drawing 2-2 with Arklow United in their last game of the Premier to lift the crown during a period of dominance that was showing very few signs of waning any time soon.
It was a Tuesday evening in Merrymeeting following their 2-2 draw with the Ferndale Park outfit when Tony Jameson’s side were presented with the League trophy by WDFL official Harry Griffth. They had unofficially clinched the crown the previous Sunday when they received a walk-over from Newtown (although that decision hadn’t been confirmed by the time the clash with United got underway.
‘Tuesday evening’s 2-2 draw with Arklow United merely confirmed their position,’ wrote Wicklow People reporter Conor Kane.
‘However, the result was important to them (Rathnew) as they still haven’t been beaten in this season’s league campaign, and want to complete their programme without a defeat.
‘Rathnew really have been dominant this season. From a position early in the New Year where they had only played a few games, having been involved in the FAI competitions, they then embarked on a run which saw them playing two games in a lot of weeks, and winning most of them.
‘A few unimpressive draws against the likes of Glenview and others suggested that the titleholders may have been vulnerable, but in the last couple of months they have been winning all around them.
‘The pivotal point of the season was on April 20 when St.
Patrick’s made the journey to Rathnew for a game that would have put them 14 points ahead of their opponents had they won, with five more matches played. However, they never produced anything like their best form and a first-half penalty by Anthony Mernagh was the only goal of the game.
‘That result put Rathnew firmly into the driving seat and they produced some very impressive performances in subsequent matches, beating Wicklow Rovers 4-0 away, as well as 1-0 and 4-0 wins over Arklow United in the Charlie Bishop and Wicklow Cup finals, respectively.
‘In all competitions, Rathnew have scored a remarkable 127 goals this season, and their only loss in the four domestic competitions they were involved in was in the quarter-final of the Noble Waste Premier Shield, against Arklow Town,’ he wrote.
There was a palpable party atmosphere in Merrymeeting on the Tuesday evening for the game against Arklow United that would confirm Rathnew as WDFL Premier League champions again.
Adrian Marah got them off the mark with a fine goal after good work from Chris Sillery in the 28th minute and 15 minutes later a long ball from defence found Anthony Mernagh clear at the other end and he chipped the goalkeeper for Rathnew’s second a day after he turned 21.
However, United didn’t just turn up to fulfil a fixture and they were back on level terms in the second half but Rathnew held on and secured the draw that confirmed them as league champions.
Rathnew boss Tony Jameson told the Wicklow People that he was proud of the effort his players had put in throughout the campaign.
‘Please God we can keep it going now for the Leinster Junior Cup next year, and retain what we have already got,’ he said.
‘I knew we had the players to do it again and it was just a matter of getting the commitment out of them, and I knew that could be done,’ he said.