EAGERLY AWAITED!
Battle between neighbours made 1998 final special
AROUND Wicklow town and Rathnew the 1998 Wicklow Cup final was one of the most eagerly anticipated deciders in all of the 51-year history of the prestigious tournament given the closeness of both clubs and the historical significance should the Village side become the first team ever to win four crowns in a row.
There was another very unique element to the 1998 final in that it was to be first ever that was played under lights with a 7.30pm kick-off in the Carlisle Grounds scheduled for May 15, 1998.
But back to the combatants. Rathnew AFC were going for their fourth title on the trot and were also pushing hard to achieve that unprecedented four trophies (Premier Division, Wicklow Cup, Charlie Bishop Cup and Noble Waste Premier Shield) in the one season.
Since winning their second crown in 1995 (their first came in 1990) they had become an almost unstoppable force in Wicklow League soccer and their form in 1998 suggested that their stranglehold on all things local would tighten even further.
Facing them was a young Wicklow Town AFC side who were certainly carrying the underdog tag into the final but who would certainly have no fear of the Rathnew men and who would know many of them personally with several Wicklow town men lining out for the Village.
Wicklow Town were a side with major ambitions.
They were top dogs in Division 1 prior to the Wicklow Cup final, opening a five-point lead over Arklow Town by way of two wins over the course of five days (5-1 against Glencormac United and 4-1 over Arklow United, both away).
They were also at the summit of Division 3 with their second team and their Youths team were in a play-off for the league title, in the semi-finals of the Cup competition and unbeaten in the Shield.
The return of Trevor Doyle to the Rathnew camp after stints with Bray Wanderers and Arklow Town (LSL) was considered huge in the context of Tony Jameson’s side’s dominance in 1998.
The multi-talented Doyle had scored 50 goals across all competitions in 1998 including eight in the Wicklow Cup and his partnership with Sean O’Brien (who had also played with Arklow Town in the LSL) was regarded as electric. Joining Trevor on the team were his two brothers, Mark and Robert, who were both major players for the Shamrock Park side in recent years.
The side were captained by Anthony Mernagh and they had enjoyed a relatively comfortable stroll through the competition after they had overcome their toughest test in the opening round when they needed a replay to see off
Enniskerry YC.
Wicklow Town had required one replay on their passage through, that in the quarter-final joust with Aughrim Rangers where Mark Coffey bagged their goal in the drawn game but two goals from David Scully and one from Andy Jameson helped them to an extra-time win over Aughrim
Rangers.
As threatening as Rathnew’s attack was proving in all competitions in 1998, their defence was shining bright as well, with Don Doyle (a member of that year’s Oscar Traynor Trophy team) and Mark Doyle performing superbly all season.
Goalkeeper Robert Hollingsworth (current St. Patrick’s Senior ladies manager and former St. Patrick’s Senior men’s manager) was described as being ‘rock solid’ in the preview in the Wicklow and Bray People newspaper’s preview.
An Tochar GAA star Shay Cullen had joined the Village ranks in 1998 (along with St. Pat’s and Wicklow stalwart Casey O’Brien who had actually played with Town in the earlier part of the season along with Anthony Doyle before making the jump to Rathnew) and Cullen’s partnership with Mick McDonald and Anthony Mernagh was a major factor in their unstoppable form.
Add in the talent of Barry Mernagh, Robert Doyle, Eamon Franey, James Quinn and Jason Doyle and it’s not hard to see why the Village outfit were arriving in the Carlisle Grounds for the big one of 1998 with the favourites tag well and truly attached.
If there were Wicklow town men in the Rathnew squad then there were several Rathnew soldiers in the Wicklow Town ranks with Village GAA star Mark Coffey and Michael and Pat Snell going to war for the Finlay Park side.
Town manager Eamonn Delaney described the final as a ‘real local derby’ and would be hoping that the experience gained from the victories in Division 2 and the Thomas Scott Cup the year previous would stand to them against the aristocrats of Wicklow League soccer.
But would the youthful Town side be able to handle the experience and class of Rathnew. Six of the Finlay Park outfit were 21 or under and while it’s suggested that many neutrals would love to see Delaney’s men end their 28-year drought with a Wicklow Cup triumph, few would actually wager against Rathnew claiming their fourth title on the trot.