Town win seven-goal thriller
Rochford hat-trick not enough for Aughrim Rangers
ARKLOW TOWN B AUGHRIM RGRS 4 3
ARKLOW Town B fought back from two goals down to gain three points on the road in a seven-goal thriller against Aughrim Rangers last weekend.
Referee Will O’Brien had a tough decision to make as he had to decide whether the match should go ahead due to the pitch, which was seriously waterlogged and looked unplayable but he decided to give the go-ahead.
Arklow Town started the game with only ten men as their 11th player didn’t make it to the game before kick off. Despite Aughrim having an extra player they didn’t take advantage, the slippery surface made it difficult to create chances by passing the ball on the ground which resulted in the home team playing the ball over the top hoping Dan O’Hare’s speed would help him get in behind the Arklow defence.
Town defender Kyle Dowling was working hard in the Arklow defence as he was playing both the role of the right-sided centre back as well as the right-back whilst his side were down a player.
It was the home side that took the lead in the 12th minute with a quick counter-attack from Eoin Forsite and Adam Rochford. Forsite won the ball back and went on a great run through the Arklow defence before squaring the ball across the box to Rochford who stroked the ball past the Arklow Town keeper.
Arklow’s 11th player made an appearance in the 18th minute which gave his side a lot of confidence in gaining an equalising goal. Town striker Alan Sunderland was giving his side a focal point up front and provided an out ball for his teammates going forward.
Kearon and Sunderland were linking up well going forward as Sunderland was holding up the ball well before playing Kearon through on goal, but their attempts were a little too tame for Rangers keeper Darragh Byrne.
Rangers went two goals ahead on the half-hour mark as Arklow committed too many players forward, which resulted in another Aughrim counter-attack similar to the first as Dan O’Hare made a great run into the box before squaring to Rochford who again slotted the ball home on the 30th minute.
Town struck back minutes later as they were awarded a penalty when midfielder Cian Kelly was tripped in the box. Kelly stepped up and tucked away the penalty to the keeper’s left. The travelling side were gaining ground on their opponents as they looked to grab an equaliser before half time.
Alan Sunderland and John
Kearon combined again just on the stroke of half-time as Sunderland provided the assist as Kearon nabbed the equaliser on the 43rd minute bringing the game back to 2-2 with it all to play for in the second half.
The home side took the lead again shortly after the restart with a mistake from the Town goalkeeper gifting Rochford his third goal of the game as he poked home his hat-trick. Aughrim were leading again with a one-goal lead but were struggling with the heavy pressure from the away side as they pushed for another equaliser.
Town were awarded another penalty on the 77th minute when Kelly was again tripped in the penalty area by Aughrim defender Aaron Doyle. This time Conor Dodd stepped up to take the strike as he smashed the ball past Darragh Byrne.
Town kept pushing and pushing for the winner right until the last five minutes as Sunderland again provided the assist, this time slipping through Cian Kelly who took the shot on the first time which clipped the crossbar and into the roof of the net, giving Darragh Byrne no chance in goal.
The Arklow side saw out the game for the last five minutes for the full three points, which is a great result for the away side as they began the game with 10 players and found themselves two goals behind after half an hour.
Town manager Tommy Breen told his players after the game, “they are the games that win you the league lads” which may be true come the end of the season.