Coolboy bounce back
Rangers edge out Arklow Town in entertaining clash
COOLBOY RANGERS ARKLOW TOWN 2 1
COOLBOY RANGERS bounced back from conceding a walkover to Arklow United last week with a fine 2-1 victory over Arklow Town in the Wicklow Advertiser Shield competition in Coolafancy on Saturday afternoon.
This was the third game of the competition, with Coolboy recording two wins from three while the news for Town is not so good with three defeats on the trot leaving them in a particularly unhealthy position.
In very pleasant conditions both teams produced an entertaining encounter with Arklow Town well in the game right up to the final whistle where they were busy chasing an equaliser to send the game to extra-time.
Decky Carthy’s side started brightly with the busy Macdara O’Neill firing over the Arklow Town crossbar after a decent ball from Kyle Doyle.
Cian O’Neill had an effort at the other end shortly after it but the defensive pillar that is Ruairi O’Brien proved more than capable of blocking out that threat.
Coolboy did most of the pressing early on. O’Brien tried a shot from distance after five minutes but were wasteful in front of goal with a corner being overcooked, a Callum Patterson cross gathered by Town goalkeeper Callum O’Neill and Luke Wallace firing wide after 15.
Kyle Doyle attempted an audacious lob of O’Neill a moment later but his effort was off target and Arklow Town lived to tell the tale.
But the visitors were growing into the game. Ed Byrne’s sweet cross found Wiktor Gajek but his effort was off target but what was very impressive was the movement up the field as Town started to really find their feet.
Coolboy were starting to feel the pressure at this stage. They were let off the hook after 20 minutes when Cormac Ward mishit his shot and the same man turned provider 60 seconds later when he played Cian O’Neill in but his effort was saved smartly by Louis Judge in the Coolboy goal.
Good defending from Kasey Clarke stopped Kyle Doyle in his tracks as Coolboy lifted the mini siege and lovely feet from Luke Wallace along the endline put him in a decent position to cross but Callum O’Neill was quick to gather on the Town line.
The deadlock was broken after 26 minutes. A long trademark delivery from Ruairi O’Brien caused havoc in the Arklow Town area and Kyle Doyle was on hand to finish to the back of the visitors’ net for a goal that was probably deserved all things considered.
Doyle headed wide moments later and suddenly it was all Coolboy as Arklow Town made a number of changes to try and combat their dominance.
A wide from Jack Deegan and a dangerous moment with Kyle Doyle prowling were followed by Coolboy’s second, a ripper from Luke Wallace with 43 on the clock.
Arklow Town didn’t have to wait long to find hope in this game. The second half was four minutes old when Peter Bodie slid home past Louis Judge to pull the visitors right back into this game.
A collision between Callum O’Neill and Kyle Doyle resulted in Doyle being substituted and O’Neill being replaced by Sean McCarthy.
McCarthy saved superbly from Ciaran Lambert while Columba Curran rescued Coolboy at the other end after a poor clearance from the home side.
Coolboy piled on the pressure for the remainder but they couldn’t add to their tally. Arklow Town tried hard to find an equaliser but met a Coolboy defence in no mood for charity.
Their best chance arrived after 34 minutes of the second half when Wiktor Gajek fired wide after a stray ball forward wasn’t dealt with efficiently. Cian O’Neill was hovering inside and would have been through on goal had he been spotted.
Rangers hung on for the win. It was a great reaction to the walk-over the previous weekend. Arklow Town are playing well in patches, they just couldn’t find a rhythm to unlock the Coolboy defence when they really needed to.