Town do the double
League and Cup joy for fantastic Finlay Park side
WICKLOW TOWN AFC COOLBOY RANGERS 4 2
WICKLOW TOWN YOUTHS were crowned Wicklow Youth Cup champions on Saturday evening after a tough battle with Coolboy Rangers in Travers Insurance Park.
There was a very competitive start to the game as both sides looked to open the scoring early on. Wicklow Town were more dangerous on the attack and went close on a couple of occasions but failed to hit the target and test the Coolboy goalkeeper.
Coolboy began to hit long balls up to striker Alex McSwiney, hoping to try catch their opponents out on the counter attack. McSwiney went close when he got in behind the Town’s defence but he failed to test Mooney in goal.
Wicklow Town had their breakthrough on the 16th minute when winger Nathan Sullivan found the back of the net. Sullivan won the ball back just outside the penalty area and twisted and turned past two Coolboy defenders before slotting the ball into the corner of the net giving his side the lead.
Coolboy continued to go for the long ball over the top but now they had Zach Furlong to pick out as he replaced McSwiney after the halfhour mark. Furlong was causing problems for the Town defence as his pace was hard to deal with for the Wicklow Town centre backs.
The Town doubled their lead in the 31st minute with a great strike from left winger Jack Meaney. Meaney took the ball from defender Mark Whelan before going
on a great run down the left side. Meaney then cut inside into the box and curled the ball into the top right corner giving the Rangers keeper no chance.
Wicklow Town were in the driving seat as the game approached half-time but just on the stroke of half-time Rangers grabbed a much-needed goal back.
Substitute Zach Furlong had made a great impact since coming on and nabbed a goal back on the 43rd minute.
Winger Chris Montague picked out Furlong who was making a run behind the Town defence, Caolan Mooney came out of his goal
but Furlong was too clever and chipped the Wicklow Town keeper. A great finish from the striker giving his side a great chance to get back into the game in the second half.
Rangers had much more confidence early on in the second half but just couldn’t find the back of the net, Furlong again went close but failed to find a way past Mooney in goal.
Town knew they needed another goal to finish off the game but couldn’t get forward as they had to deal with the constant pressure from the Rangers attackers.
A fantastic freekick on the 66th minute from Furlong brought the
game level with little under a half an hour to play. Furlong curled in the freekick into the top corner from just outside the penalty area; the striker had contributed so much going forward since he came on late in the second half.
Rangers quickly found themselves under pressure as Wicklow Town kept pushing and pushing for a winner.
They went close on a number of occasions with substitute Nicky Flood and midfielder Craig Anderson going close, but it was Riley Hogan who found the back of the net on the 75th minute. Flood made a run into the penalty area
and fired off a shot which took a deflection and came to Hogan who drilled the ball into the back of the net.
The Town made sure of their victory in the final minutes as Dylan Kavanagh’s bullet of a volley secured the cup in the 88th minute.
It was a hard-fought victory for Wicklow Town who were challenged right until the final minutes of the game, but they were the side who took their chances in front of goal and were clinical throughout.
An entertaining six-goal thriller at Travers Insurance Park but it was Wicklow Town who were crowned Wicklow Youth Cup
champions for 2020, capping a very positive season for the talented group after their league success in recent weeks.
1. Caolan Mooney,
2. Mark Whelan, 3. Harry Hodkinson, 4. Jamie Noble, 5. Callum Kelly, 6. Niall Delahunt, 7. Jack Meaney, 8. Craig Anderson,
9. Nathan Sullivan, 10. Dylan Kavanagh,
11. Riley Hogan. Subs: Nicky Flood for Jack Meaney (61).
1. Caiomhian Rawson, 2. Patrick Murphy, 3. Finley Nolan, 4. Ryan Gilfoyle, 5. Callum Mutton,
6. Diarmuid Lambert, 7. Cathal Rooney,
8. Brendan Tobin, 9. Chris Montague, 10. Alex McSwiney, 11. Conor Clinton. Subs: Zach Furlong for Alex McSwiney (35).
Jason Redmond