Midfielder’s great strike crucial as Arklow sink’ Stones
at the Woodlands GREYSTONES UNITED ARKLOW UNITED 2 4
A VISIT to the Greystones venue of Woodlands Park last Sunday morning would have proven a richly rewarding experience if only to witness a goal of rare quality, adventure and ingenuity being recorded.
Twenty five minutes into the second half of this Wicklow Senior League Division Two clash, the outcome seemed balanced on a knife-edge after Greystones, who had trailed 2-0 at half-time, dramatically stormed back to equalise.
But straight from the resultant kick-off, the visiting side edged in front once again through a brilliant strike from young midfielder Joe Ledwith, who only joined Arklow United this season after previously having been part of the set-up of neighbours Arklow Town.
After team-mate Rhys Lacey had tapped the ball to him from the re-start, Ledwith bravely elected to try his luck with a shot on goal, and to the delight of Arklow manager Kevin Scanlon, the player’s delivery sailed over the head of Greystones goalkeeper David Molloy and into the roof of the net.
“It was a fantastic goal by Joe as he was about three or four yards inside our half when he struck the ball,” recalled Scanlon on his player’s massive contribution to Arklow’s victory.
“It took a fair bit of courage and confidence to have a shot on the goal from that distance, and obviously we are all massively delighted to see the ball hit the back of the net.”
Understandably, Scanlon’s Greystones’ counterpart Derek White harboured contrasting emotions to those expressed by the jubilant manager of the visiting outfit.
“One minute we were celebrating after we had equalised” said White.
“But in a very short space of time our spirits took a knock when Arklow went in front once again almost straight from the kick-off.
“Normally, Denis Burke plays in goal for us, but at the moment he is unavailable because of a shoulder injury, and David Molloy, Joe Ledwith of Arklow United and Dave Ivory of Greystones United battle for possession.
who normally plays in midfield and doesn’t have much experience of playing in goal, was between the posts on Sunday,” added the Greystones supremo, who is assisted by coach Martin McDevitt.
Twenty four minutes had elapsed on the clock when Arklow surged in front for the first time, Shane Connolly heading the ball past goalkeeper Molloy following a corner.
And just three minutes prior to the half-time break, the visitors added to their tally, when, following a long run by Ledwith into the heart of the Greystones defence, and a strike on goal by the same player, the ball rebounded to Mark Nolan who made no mistake from close range.
At the interval, the 2-0 scoreline must have imbued the Arklow players and backroom team with
a significant degree of optimism regarding the final outcome of the contest, but on the 70th minute mark their confidence was severely dented.
After an incisive build-up, a well-struck shot from Anthony Fermoyle proved too powerful for Arklow goalkeeper Nathan Carr to prevent from entering the net.
And within two minutes, the contest was thrown wide open when Fermoyle found the net a second time to leave the sides equally sharing four goals.
“Going into the second half, we were happy enough with our two-goal advantage, but right from the kick-off Greystones seemed to have got a new lease of life, and they came back at us very strongly,” explained Bray native Kevin Scanlon, who played schoolboy football with Wolfe Tone Celtic and famed Sallynoggin outfit St Joseph’s.
“And when they pulled back the two goals, it looked like it was going to be a real dog-fight for us. But thankfully, thanks to Joe Ledwith’s fantastic strike, we did not have to wait long before going in front again.
“With about 15 minutes to go, we gave ourselves a bigger cushion, when, after Rhys Lacey made about 30 to 40 yards ground with the ball, Mark Nolan showed clinical finishing ability in scoring our fourth goal.”
Understandably, Scanlon, who spent four years on a soccer scholarship in New Jersey, in the USA, was highly pleased to see his side to collect another three points in the wake of victories over Carnew and Shamrock Celtic.
“Yes, the lads deserve a lot of credit for the way they refused to panic or to lose their composure after Greystones had equalised, and overall our performance was quite encouraging,” he pointed out.
“Happily, the current start we’ve made to Division Two is a huge contrast to our experience when we were playing in the Premier League in last season’s competition.”
And an additionally boost for Arklow United is that Scanlon expects to be able to call on a number of players, who for a variety of reasons, were unavailable for the Greystones clash, for Sunday’s contest against Avonmore.
“James Larkin and Josh O’Reilly, who play in defence, midfielders Garret Kenny and Cian Li, and forward Zach Kilbride are likely to be challenging for places for next weekend,” he revealed. “And two to three of those lads would be regular starters in the team.”
In a comment on the match, Derek White said: “Some sloppy defending proved very costly for us, but we had five or six young lads out there who have very little experience of playing adult football.”
ARKLOW UNITED:
Nathan Carr; Alan O’Neill, Paul Lalor, Shane Connolly, Conor Blaney, Joe Ledwith, Rhys Lacey, Camem Deverux, Mark Nolan, Tom Kavanagh, Jonny Quinn. Subs: Clive Keenan for Quinn (55), Stephen Kavanagh for Devereux (60), Dan Doyle for Kavanagh (70), Anthony Furlong for Lacey (79), Trevor Fitzgerald for Nolan (87).
David Molloy; Dave Ivory, Jamie Plant, Macdara Kelly, Mukoro Gberevbie, Oisin Keogh, Joseph Gerrard, Mark McHugh, Anthony Fermoyle, Sean Monaghan, Cillian Brosnan.
GREYSTONES UNITED: REFEREE:
League).
David Jameson (Wicklow