Rathnew produce the goods and march on

RATHNEW ENNISKERRY 2-12 0-10

THE final round in group 3 of the Philip Doyle Junior B football championship saw Enniskerry make the trip down to Rathnew to take on the locals in the last group game of the campaign.

The north Wicklow side were hoping to continue their winning ways having seen of the challenge of Avoca and Dunlavin in previous rounds while the men from the Thached village were anxious to get back to winning ways having being held to draw against Dunlavin.

After a keenly-contested game that was played in excellent conditions, it was the home side that prevailed, which saw the men from the Thached village with an eightpoint winning margin to clinch top place in the group,

Enniskerry entered the contest with full points, while the Rathnew men had their backs to the wall, knowing too well nothing but a win would see them clinch a quarter-final place.

By this stage everyone knows that when the men in the red and green are put to the pin of their collar they always come up trumps and on this occasion it was no different, which saw the winners jump into an early lead, which saw them leading 2-4 to 0-0 after 20 minutes, despite playing against a stiff breeze in the opening half.

The men in black and amber launched the first attack which saw the home defence stand firm, which resulted in the winners surging forward which brought a 45 and what has become a regular occurrence on the playing fields where goal keepers are becoming regular free-takers which saw John Sayer slot over a point.

When it comes to championship time any Rathnew team, no matter what grade, always produce the goods on this occasion the home side they were well up for the occasion when they took the game to Enniskerry and following John Sayer’s opening score the winners pushed forward and were rewarded with a point each from Brian Murphy and Jim Hunter.

After both sides missed a scoring chance, the winners surged forward which saw Jim Hunter who was causing havoc in the Enniskerry defence score a point from play and the full-forward followed up with a goal following good work by Brian Murphy and Rob Byrne, which saw the winners leading 1-4 to 0-0.

At this stage the challengers set about reducing the deficit but not for the first time the Rathnew defence stood firm, which resulted in two wides being recorded.

Once again the winners upped the tempo, which resulted in a free being awarded, but on this occasion John Sayer shot wide.

In typical Rathnew fashion, after a move that was started in their own defence and involving several players, wing-forward Brian Murphy slotted home the winners’ second goal, while a rare Enniskerry attack saw Gavin Barton score a point from a free which left Rathnew with comfortable lead of 2-4 to 0-1 after twenty minutes.

The Rathnew side continued to dominate, with a strong defence and a hard working midfield pairing, who gave a good supply to the forwards who were working well as a unit and continued to cause plenty of problems for the North Wicklow side.

Impressive full-forward Jim Hunter scored a point from play and following good work by wing back John Healy and Brian Murphy who gave a perfect pass to Jim Hunter and once again the full-forward showed his ability with an excellent point.

Enniskerry showed what they are capable of as they raised their game. Gavin Barton and Seamus Gorman added a point each to reduce the deficit, which saw the score read 2-6 to 0-3.

As the half time was near wing-back James Kavanagh and Ryan Cope exchanged a point each, which gave the winners a nine-point lead and in a comfortable position turning over to play with a strong breeze in the second half.

The runners-up were first out of the traps in the second half as they launched two attacks which resulted in a free which Gavin Barton pointed.

At this stage both defences were on top and eight minutes elapsed without a score. It was Enniskerry who answered their critics, when they scored three points in a row through Gavin Barton (two frees), while Ryan Cope added one from play while the winners only reply was a point from Brian Murphy, which was their only score twenty minutes into the second half, which saw the winners leading 2-8 to 0-8.

With play flowing from end to end which resulted in two points each being traded, Colm Nolan and Ryan Cope added points for Enniskerry, while substitutes Josh Graham and a name very familiar with Rathnew football Jason Stafford replying for the winners, which still left two clear goals between the sides, 2-10 to 0-10, with six minutes remaining.

The winners, who showed better team work through the game, went on to add a further two points from substitutes Michael Doyle and Josh Graham which showed what talent the men from the Thatched village have at their disposal.

Scorers – Rathnew: Jim Hunter (1-4), Brian Murphy (1-2), John Sayer (0-1 free), Josh Graham (0-2), James Kavanagh (0-1), Michael Doyle (0-1), Jason Stafford (0-1).