Rathnew rejoice after beating the neighbours

Village side march on to under-20 ‘B’ decider with Éire Óg

RATHNEW 2-8 ST PATRICK’S 2-7

RATHNEW made the short trip to face their local rivals St Patricks in the semi-final of the under-20 ‘B’ football championship which was played at Dunbur Park in excellent conditions on Sunday morning last.

Games between these great rivals always provide great entertainment and with a county final berth up for grabs against Éire Óg Greystones it was always going to be a typical Rathnew and St Patrick’s clash.

The end result saw a Peter Dignam/ames Stafford managed Rathnew side emerge victorious with a one-point winning margin after they held off a strong challenge from St Patrick’s to earn a well-deserved victory and also earned the bragging rights in the local community.

A bright start for the home side saw corner-forward Jack Dunne split the Rathnew defence to score the opening goal after three minutes.

A typical Rathnew rally saw the visitors surge forward but they were denied by solid defending by the St Patricks defence.

At this stage the home side upped the tempo and were rewarded with a point by Ronan Murray following good work by Jack Dunne which left the home side leading 1-1 to no score after eight minutes.

A move that was started in their own defence saw Matthew Traynor head towards goal which resulted in free and top scorer Jack Dunne took the chance to increase the lead with a point from the free.

With Rathnew team stunned by the early scores they had conceded, they set about reducing the deficit which saw midfielder Ciaran Coffey open their accountwith a point from a free.

This score inspired the visitors as they went on to add two points in a row through Jenson Connor and Dylan Smith which saw the score board reading 1-3 to 0-3 at the end of the first quarter.

A quick response from St Patricks saw them launch two attacks which resulted in two points being recorded as corner-forward Jack Dunne showed his skill with both scores, one from a free and one from play, to edge the home side further ahead at 1-5 to 0-3.

With the aid of the strong breeze blowing into the town goal, it was only a matter of time before Rath- new would stamp their authority on the game with Dylan Smith scoring a point and they were then given a glimmer of hope when a long ball from midfielder Ciaran Coffey was floated towards goal which resulted in Jack Healy crashing home the winners’ first goal.

However, Rathnew would suffer a big blow when substitute Kyle Devlin was shown a red card before a couple of Rathnew attacks were once again soaked up by the Wicklow town side’s defence before Michael Anthony Doyle brought the sides level deep into injury time which saw them deadlocked at 1-5 each.

The visitors enjoyed a purple patch over the next while with a Ciaran Coffey converted free followed up by a Jenson O’Connor goal after a long ball from the aforementioned Coffey to give Rathnew a 2-6 to 1-5.

Throw in four wides in a row from the Village side followed before Pat‘s received a mighty boots when Luca Rampersaud fired home a sweet goal to reduce the arrears to a single point before Jack Dunne tied the game with a pointed free.

But Dean Healy’s troops were left to rue two missed chances which were to prove costly.

A point each from Ciaran Coffey and Dylan Smith pushed Rathnew two ahead before Jack Dunne pulled one back deep into injury time at 2-8 to 2-7.

One last effort by St Patrick’s to force a draw failed as Rathnew’s defence stood firm and held on for a sweet victory.

The curtain will come down on all playing activities within the county next Sunday afternoon when Rathnew and Éire Óg Greystones will meet in the Under-20 ‘B’ Football Championship final in Aughrim.

Scorers - Rathnew: Jack Healy 1-0, Jenson O’Connor 1-1, Ciaran Coffey 0-3 (3f), Dylan Smith 0-3, Michael Anthony Doyle 0-1.

St Patrick’s: Jack Dunne 1-6 (4f), Luca Rampersaud 1-0, Ronan Murray 0-1.