Memories of two key players on the day
YOU’D think that Kieran ‘Tarzan’ O’Brien mightn’t be able to recall much of the Wicklow Cup final of 1992 given the mammoth number of games he played in the years that followed as he embarked on his unforgettable Bray Wanderers career, but you’d be completely wrong. In fact, not only does he recall the game but he credits that Little Bray team as being the source of the inspiration for him to go on and pursue his dream at a higher level.
‘It was a tough game. There was a video done of the game, I watched it a few times, haven’t watched it recently because it’s on VHS. A tough game. 5-2, you think it’s a hammering but it wasn’t. Aughrim were in the game the whole time and they never gave up,’ said the current Ardmore
Rovers LSL team manager.
‘We got a couple of goals together in the second half and it gave us a bit of a break but they kept going and they had their chances. They were a solid outfit with a lot of good players but we just got the goals at the right time. Then we just defended well, they had an awful lot of corners and free-kicks. Lucky enough when we got the chances, we took them.
‘It was good to get one (goal) early in the second half. But then they got one back and you’re getting a little bit nervous. You get the next one and there’s a bit of confidence there. When the fourth one went in you could see the heads drop. It was still a game up until the fourth goal went in,’ he added.
O’Brien looks back on the Wicklow League at that time with incredible fondness and while not wanting in any way taking away from the current set-up, he says that the standard at that time was ‘incredible’.
‘The standard was incredible. Not to take away from it now but there were no teams in the Leinster Senior League. Every game weas a tough game; the likes of Enniskerry, Greystones, Arklow Town, Gorey were in the league, there were no easy games.
‘It was the same in the final. You had to win your battles and it wasn’t dirty, it was just tough. I do remember that game. When we got the penalty, it gave us a boost but before that there hadn’t been many clear-cut chances. It was tight. Up until the penalty there was nothing in it. Even after the penalty there wasn’t much until we got that fourth goal,’ he said.
Littered with quality players, what was O’Brien’s memories of that Little Bray team.
‘Unbelievable. That’s what inspired me to try go on and do anything to be fair. I always stayed loyal to Wickow League football and with this team, winning that trophy and we went on to win seven trophies in two seasons. Someone said to me you have to go and try at a higher level, that’s why I decided to go Leinster Senior League and I just had one season and then lucky enough I went on and did what I did with Bray. This team weas incredible, quality all over the pitch,’ he added.
Aughrim’s Eugene O’Brien said that the man who beat them was ‘Tarzan’.
‘We all knew what he could do but on the day he was just too good for us,’ said Suzy. ‘We did everything we could but I don’t know if anyone else has scored four goals in a Wicklow Cup final. I’ve never heard of it, anyway. To score four goals in a Wicklow Cup final is savage to be honest,’ he added.
O’Brien recalls the League as being very tough at the time with strong teams from Arklow, Rathnew and Wicklow Rovers to name just a few.
He recalls some of his own players as being of a seriously high standard.
‘The likes of John Coogan and those guys, they were crafty players, quality players.
O’Brien remembers this stage of his sporting career with pride and fondness.
‘Aughrim had a great team for a long time and we were a bit unlucky not to win a few Premier Leagues.
‘We played Premier for a long time. We played more Premier than we did Division 1.
‘We were always up there with the likes of Glenview, Rathnew, Arklow Town, Greystones, Wicklow Rovers, serious teams. If they all came back to Wicklow it would be a great league,’ he said.