Coolboy Rangers show their class to take the spoils
ARKLOW UNITED COOLBOY RANGERS
COOLBOY left with all the spoils on a warm sunny Sunday with a 4-1 victory over Arklow United at Ferndale Park.
The game started at a slow pace with both teams finding their feet and looking for ways to break down the opposition.
The first real chance of the game fell to Daniel Kenny in the seventh minute after a good pass put him through on goal but his resulting effort went narrowly wide of the goal.
The game continued to ebb and flow with neither side really establishing any dominance or clear cut chances.
This all changed in the 14th minute as James McDonald broke the deadlock for Coolboy.
After some tricky play down the right hand side from Jamie Purcell found McDonald at the back post for a simple tap in to open the scoring for the travelling side.
As a result of this goal Coolboy began to dominate and apply significant pressure to the Arklow United goal, creating chance after chance throughout the first half.
The Coolboy lead was doubled in the 16th minute after a kick out from the Arklow United goalkeeper gave the ball to Jamie Purcell, whose through ball found Marcus Norse in behind the United defence who calmly slotted low into the bottom corner to give Coolboy a firm grip on the game.
Arklow United struggled to find any real openings against an extremely resolute Coolboy defence and looked as if there was no opening to find their way back into the game.
Daniel Kenny found a rare opportunity in behind the Coolboy defence in the 22nd minute, however his shot again went wide of the Coolboy goal.
Coolboy put themselves in an even stronger position just before halft-ime after a mix up in the Arklow United defence from a Coolboy corner found Marcus Norse unmarked in the box with an easy tap in to all but seal the result for Coolboy.
As the second half began, Arklow United looked a bit more assured of themselves and were nearly gifted a goal in the 31st minute when a long-range shot from Daniel Kenny led to a fumble from the Coolboy keeper which luckily for him fell just wide of the goal.
This near chance gave Arklow United a new energy as they began to push forward in search of a route back into the game.
A fantastic run from forward Daniel Kenny led to an opportunity to give Dylan Lennon an easy tap in, however Kenny decided to shoot himself putting the ball narrowly wide of the goal.
Arklow United finally found the goal their second half efforts deserved through tricky midfield player Dylan Lennon in the 42nd minute. After a mix up in the Coolboy defence, Lennon found himself on the corner of the box before beating the Coolboy goalkeeper with a low controlled effort into the bottom corner.
Daniel Kenny continued to look a threat for the Coolboy defence and after some tricky footwork he found himself in a few yards of space but couldn’t find the target with his strike as it flew over the bar from distance.
As Arklow United continued to apply pressure to the Coolboy goal it looked as if they were going to be able to close the gap on the visitors and find a way back into the game.
However, as the game reached the final minutes Coolboy put the final nail in the coffin as Jamie Scrub found himself in the Arklow United penalty box.
After some tricky feet to avoid the oncoming defenders Scrub fired a low rasping effort into the bottom corner of the net.
This ended any chance of an Arklow United comeback as Coolboy controlled the game to earn all three points in this exciting game.