A BITTER ENDING
Referee calls early halt to game after shocking scenes
WHAT had been an entertaining Wicklow Cup match quickly descended into a farce after 65 minutes thanks to some abhorrent behaviour from a member of the away side.
The flashpoint began when two players, Barry Golden and Michael Delaney, both launched themselves at a 50-50 ball around halfway on the right wing with Delaney coming off the worse.
Golden’s tackle was certainly not timed as well as we expect from the likes of Philip Lahm but there was certainly no malice involved whatsoever with Delaney getting back his feet within a matter of moments.
Despite this, there were strong calls from several Wicklow Town players for a card to be shown.
This culminated in a Wicklow Town player running across the field to voice his opinion and duly being issued with a yellow card for dissent.
Not content with this, the player continued to argue the case with the referee en route back to position.
The referee decided to brandish a second yellow card and dismiss the Wicklow Town man.
What followed has no place on a football field, with the Wicklow Town player appearing to take a run at the referee who was lucky enough to be able to duck out of the way of the charge before the Wicklow Town man was restrained by his team-mates.
The referee immediately blew up the game.
Credit must go to some St. Fergal’s players who escorted the referee back to his dressing rooms with haste.
The game began at a relatively slow pace, with both teams probing for weakness in the early stages.
Wicklow Town had the better of the chances early on. Johnny Carton was finding holes in the St. Fergal’s rearguard, first slipping through Gareth Murphy in on goal and then Richard Murphy but on both occasions the finish did not match the build-up play, flashing wide of the far post.
The pick of these early opportunities stemmed from a wellclaimed free by Ken Turner in the Wicklow Town goal.
Turner quickly started the counter-attack, resulting in an Alan Delaney cross which was turned goalwards at the back post by Johnny Carton.
The front man’s effort looked like it was going to find its way across the line but goalkeeper David Dixon managed to get a foot to the ball before diving at the feet of Carton to smother the danger.
However, Wicklow Town were not having it all their own way.
While their decision to play three at the back was reaping dividends in an attacking sense, it did leave them somewhat vulnerable to attacks on the break.
On one occasion, Nay Watters looked to have broken the deadlock when he was played in on goal after stellar work and an incisive pass from the impressive Luke Barry in midfield.
Waters’ effort beat the onrushing Turner but could not beat the far post. What happened next showed just how quickly a game can turn.
Gareth Murphy was sent tearing towards goal after a superb lofted ball over the St. Fergal’s backline by Peter Finnegan.
Murphy’s shot looked destined for the bottom corner only to be denied by the feet of Dixon. In the blink of an eye the clearance had gone over the heads of the Wicklow Town defence with Nay Watters in hot pursuit.
Ken Turner was quick off his line but, with the ball bouncing high into the air, Watters showed superb athleticism to leap up and prod the ball over the keeper with his outstretched right boot to find the net and give his side the lead.
An audacious attempt from Brendan Cox, spotting the keeper off his line, from a free just inside his own half had Dixon scrambling momentarily but the ball went over the bar and the sides went into the break level.
Gareth Murphy was proving a thorn in the side of the St. Fergal’s backline but he will be disappointed not to have converted one of the chances that fell his way.
St. Fergal’s were under significant pressure in the second half but very nearly doubled their lead when Keith Forde slipped in Ray Waters, who was very unlucky to see his shot rebound off the post.
Wicklow Town were pushing hard for the elusive equaliser but were seeing their advances repelled by some resilient defending from the home side, with Danny Heffernan, Luke Barry and Stephen Kirwan putting in some impressive tackles.
The abrupt end to the game left both sides disappointed, and the outcome will now be determined by the Wicklow League.
St. Fergals (4-4-2): David Dixon, Stephen Kirwan, John O’Rourke, David Gillick, Danny Heffernan, Keith Forde, Lee Hemplestall, Luke Barry, Nay Watters, Dan Hill, Ryan Nolan. Subs: Barry Golden, Adam Kelly, Jamie Curran, Craig Plunkett.
Wicklow Town (3-5-2): Ken Turner, Brian O’Sullivan, Tommy Kelly, Ian Brannigan, David O’Connor, Richard Murphy, Alan Delaney, Brendan Cox, Gareth Murphy, Peter Finnegan, Johnny