RATHNEW ON A ROLL
Village young guns overcome local rivals to win cup
AT the Whitegates on Saturday, we were treated to a display of dazzling football, buckets of bravery and an abundance of heart as Rathnew AFC were crowned Youth Cup champions.
Old foes Wicklow Town stood in their way and Town had bested their neighbours 4-0 in their last meeting but the Villagers lacerated the pain of that defeat from their memory with a 2-0 success.
The tie saw two own goals and three red cards but it also saw 22+ players with skill and passion for the game.
Both goals came in the first half and although Rathnew celebrated both of them, it was nobody in the green and yellow that applied the decisive touch to either strike with a Town man putting past his own goalkeeper on two separate occasions.
That did little to dampen the Rathnew celebrations though as they hunted – and gathered – some silverware as a reward for their extremely encouraging 2016-17 season.
For manager Nickey Kearney, Saturday’s success was thoroughly deserved for his starlets but he does regret that circumstances meant that they fell short in their battle for league glory.
“After the first five or six games of the league we were unbeaten and to be honest I thought we were going to walk it! Injuries and suspensions played a big part of it.
“I think overall we deserve it (the cup). It was only probably three or four weeks ago that we got everyone back from injury and suspensions so it was great to go into the semi-final and final with a full squad – it was the first time in months that we had it.
“I’ve a couple of lads trying to claim the second one but it was two own goals!
“The way we set out was to press high from the start because if we had’ve sat back and let them come at us, they’re a very good side, they probably would have took us apart.
“The standard from both teams I thought was very high. I said it from the start that it would be our two teams that would be challenging for everything. The standard was very high.”
Kearney estimates that seven of the men that featured on Saturday would be eligible to play at that level again next term but he is hoping a proposed amalgamation between the WDFL and south Dublin will come to fruition to create a 16-team U-19 league and enable his charges to have another crack at it next term.
Of course, some of the players already have a league medal in their back pocket already this year and Kearney – who knows these players inside out – is shocked but delighted at the progress they have made.
“We’ve got four of them that have won a Premier Division this year with the ‘A’ team. Myself and Rosie (Robert Doyle) were hoping to develop and bring on two players this year, two next year and maybe two the year after – if we’d got those six in those three years we’d have been very happy but we didn’t expect to get so many on the first and second team already.
“The young lads were always there but it was just a matter of getting them all together and to play for each other.
“That was always the hardest thing. As a club, we’re in a fairly good position.”
The youth section has had a turbulent time in recent years in the Garden county. Kearney can understand why but feels that the platform of a good league struc- ture is there.
“Of course it was going to be a struggle for some teams. The likes of Coolboy Rangers; they’ll struggle as soon as the hurling comes back.
“Then you have teams that are going out and getting beaten week-in, week-out and it’s hard for them to get the young lads to keep going up and playing football. The top four between Ashford, ourselves, Wicklow Town and Arklow Town – I think the four of those were fairly solid all year. “
With the t’s crossed and the i’s dotted on his side’s season, he deems it a success. Regrets? Maybe a few, but only one to mention.
“I am happy with the season. Don’t get me wrong, the league is the one you want because it shows who has been the strongest and most consistent but as soon as the league went out the window, we set our stall up that we would not be beaten in the cup and we treated each game as a cup final.”
And when the real cup final came along, they stood up to be counted.