Enniscorthy’s Dobbs on the mark against Wexford
SHAMROCK ROVERS WEXFORD F.C. 3 1 WEXFORD F.C. crashed to their second defeat in a row in the SSE Airtricity Under-19 Southern Elite Division at Tallaght against hosts Shamrock Rovers on Saturday.
Thomas O’Connor’s side, who let a two-goal lead slip to visiting ten-man Cabinteely six days earlier, were looking to bounce back to winning ways after an impressive opening to the season that saw them take four points from their opening two games against Limerick and Cork City.
Things certainly looked to be going the right way when Dean George pounced to fire home the rebound, his second goal of the season, after Danny Doyle’s initial shot was saved by home goalkeeper Luca Gratzer.
The hosts, who were tied with Wexford on four points from three games coming into the match-up, eased their way back into the tie and equalised in the 26th minute when Enniscorthy native Aaron Dobbs found the net for the first time this season.
The goal boosted the Tallaght side and they cracked the post through Dean Dillon in the 35th minute. Shamrock Rovers went close again three minutes before the interval when Shane Stokes forced Adam Dempsey into a smart save.
Clearly the game’s third goal was going to be vital and both teams knew it emerging for the second half.
In the 65th minute it duly came for the hosts when Dillon flicked a devilish Stokes dead-ball past Dempsey to the Wexford net.
With the visitors taking more chances, looking for the equaliser and their second impressive away draw of the season, they got caught at the other end.
Unsurprisingly it was Dobbs again, netting for the second time to put the game to bed five minutes from the end.
The league takes a break for a week now, with Wexford returning to action on Saturday, April 22, with a trip west to face Galway United at Eamonn Deacy Park.
Wexford: Adam Dempsey; Adam Rochford, Jack Bates, Seán Duffy, Neil Murphy, Cian Doyle, Eoin Donnelly, Martin O’Connor, Danny Doyle, Dean George, Vincent Quinlan. Subs. - Michael Walsh, Kyle Doherty, Liam Berry, Leon Nolan, Adam Doyle, Eoin Curran, Dylan Bradley.
Shamrock Rovers: Luca Gratzer; Shane Hanney, Seán Callan, Cian Collins, Conor Gleeson, Richie English, Shane Stokes, Luke Rossiter, James Doona, Dean Dillon (capt.), Aaron Dobbs. Subs. - Emmanuel Lawal, Harry Cornally, Luke Kiely, Evan White, Adam Doyle, Aaron Bolger. Referee: Oliver Moran. The team had suffered a disappointing 3-2 home defeat to Cabinteely in their previous outing which was staged in the Gorey Rangers grounds.
All was going according to plan in the early stages as goals from Yaw Aboagye and Jack Bates established a 2-0 lead.
However, Cabinteely got back on level terms by half-time despite being reduced to ten men.
The visitors then edged ahead not long after the re-start and managed to hold out for all three points despite that numerical disadvantage.
Incidenetally, goalkeeper Adam Dempsey was the latest Under-19 player to be included in a Senior club squad last weekend.
Wexford : Adam Dempsey, Adam Rochford, Jack Bates, Neil Murphy, Martin O’Connor, Kyle Doherty, Vinny Quinlan, Eoin Donnelly, Danny Doyle, Yaw Aboagye, Dean George. Subs. - Jason McGuire, Cian Doyle, Seán Duffy, Leon Nolan, Adam Doyle, Eoin Curran, Dylan Bradley.
Meanwhile, the Under-17 team faced Limerick on the same day in their first home game of the campaign.
Liam Berry rattled the net twice in the first-half, with Brandon Deady also scoring as Wexford moved into a 3-1 lead.
The visitors stepped it up considerably on the re-start though and eventually got back on level terms.
Limerick then lost a defender on a second yellow card, but Wexford couldn’t pounce for the winner despite a lot of pressure and had to be content with a share of the spoils.
The next Under-17 league game is away to Shamrock Rovers in Tallaght Stadium on Saturday, April 22, at 2 p.m.
Wexford: Michael Walsh, Kian Kerr, Conor Signorelli, Reece Murphy, Paddy Barnes, Caellum Travers-Devlin, James Esser, Craig O’Reilly, Liam Berry, Ciarán Paige, Brandon Deady. Subs. - Jack Gallagher, Jason Daly, Oscar Smith, Kyle Kennedy.