Arklow win ten-goal thriller
Avonmore play their part in an exciting encounter
ARKLOW TOWN AVONMORE 7 3
IN a thrilling contest in the under-14 Division A1, Arklow Town romped to a 7-3 victory over Avonmore at Bridgewater Centre Park on Sunday to maintain their spot at the top of the division.
Arklow started at a frantic pace and created numerous chances in the opening minutes with striker Saad Muse looking a real threat.
Muse’s tricky feet were causing Avonmore huge problems and gained a free-kick in the third minute after he was bundled over close to the Avonmore box.
Muse’s resulting free was fumbled by the keeper giving Peter Boddy a great opportunity in front of goal but his effort flew over the bar.
The Arklow pressure continued as more good work from star man Muse led to a chance just inside the box for Graham Martin but his chance again flew over the bar.
Arklow continued to dominate but seemed unable to grab that elusive opening goal their hard work deserved.
The game was turned on its head in the seventh minute as Avonmore took a shock lead through striker Luke Sherry.
A fantastic through ball over the Arklow full back by James Murray found Sherry who calmly slotted home past the on rushing Arklow goalkeeper to put Avonmore into an unlikely lead.
This goal ignited the Arklow Town players who continued testing the Avonmore goal to draw themselves level.
Saad Muse again showcased his mesmerising footwork beating three Avonmore players to find himself through on goal, however his effort fell just wide.
If Arklow were going to find a way back into this game it was going to come through Muse and that proved to be the case in the 13th minute as his low shot across goal deflected in to put Arklow back on level terms.
Avonmore looked to have snuffed out Arklow’s equalis- er in the 16th minute however Luke Sherry’s header was cleared off the line by Cormac Ward to keep the scores level for the time being.
In the 21st minute Arklow took the lead their efforts deserved after Oisin Reilly showed amazing skill to beat multiple Avonmore players before finding Wicktor Gadjek who put the ball on a plate for Saad Muse to strike high into the goal.
This dominance drew joy for Arklow again in the 23rd minute after a fantastic through ball from Muse found Gadjek in behind the last man and his low effort beat the Avonmore keeper to give Arklow a twogoal cushion.
Arklow continued to dominate possession towards the end of the second half and continued to look threatening through Muse up front and went in at half-time with their 3-1 lead intact.
The second half started with a bang as a mix up between the Avonmore keeper and defenders led to another goal for Muse in the 36th minute to give Arklow an even bigger goal advantage.
As the second half progressed it looked as if every Arklow attack was going to lead to a goal and this proved to be the case in the 43rd minute as a fantastic through ball from Peter Boddy found Muse through on goal whose powerful strike flew into the top corner.
The game was beginning to turn into the Saad Muse show and in the 51st minute he scored arguably the goal of the game after picking the ball up in his own half before beating the entire Avonmore midfield and defence and slotting into the bottom corner of the net.
The game was put to bed in the 60th minute as Patrick Boyle struck a vicious effort high into the middle of the net to seal the win for Arklow Town.
Avonmore continued to search for a consolation goal and found their reward in the 65th minute as a poor clearance from the Arklow defenders gave the ball straight to Cathal Baker whose hopeful shot from distance found the back of the Arklow Town net.
As the game moved into injury time a moment of madness led to another Avonmore goal.
As the ball was played over the Arklow Town defence, goalkeeper Calum O’Neill came rushing out of his goal before taking out Cathal Baker just beyond the centre circle.
As O’Neill scampered to get back in his goal, Baker looped the ball over him with a quick free kick to make the scoreline more respectable for Avonmore.
The final whistle gave Arklow Town the win their efforts deserved keeping themselves top of the pile in the race for the Division A1 title.
Arklow Town: 1. Calum O’Neill, 2. Cormac Ward, 3. Jack Hurley, 4. Aaron Dunne, 5. Thomas Burke, 6. Alex Deak, 7. Graham Martin, 8. Peter Boddy,
9. Saad Muse, 10. Jamie Paine,
11. Oisin Reilly. Subs: 12. Wicktor Gadjek, 13. Patrick Boyle,
14. Patrick Doherty. Avonmore: 1. Noel Heffernan, 2. Korneel Dunne, 3. Sanders Woolmington, 4. Glen Broughan, 5. Josh Kavanagh,
6. Dean Fleming, 7. Jack Johnson, 8. James Murray, 9. Luke Sherry, 10. Caleb Fox, 11. Erin Carter. Subs: 14. Cathal Baker,
15. Conor Byrne. Referee: Willie O’Brien.