Carnew grab late leveller
O’Neill scores a last-gasp equaliser to deny Rathnew
IF Rathnew are to lose out on the Division 1 league title, they will point to two games as being sources of their downfall.
First was the 1-1 draw with Greystones back in January; a game they dominated from start to finish yet conspired to surrender two points thanks to a stupendous John Luke Kelly equaliser in injury time.
And the second was Sunday afternoon when they were pegged back to draw 1-1 with Carnew after another game they largely dominated yet failed to take advantage of the litany of goal chances that they created on the day.
Had they gotten those jobs done as they should have, they would be sitting pretty at the top of the table, having played more games than their rivals but with a points-cushion.
Ironically, considering the volume of chances they fashioned at Shamrock Park, Rathnew’s only goal came in a way that could not be reasonably deemed to be an opening.
With just two minutes on the clock, the home side won a corner which Robbie Murphy trotted over to take. With his fight foot, he struck a delivery that went beyond everybody, including Carnew goalkeeper Will Molloy.
Rathnew had the better of the opening exchanges, with JT Hayden failing to capitalise on a dreadful clearance out from Molloy with a shot that the stopper cleared, while Jordan Graham could only skew an effort wide from a fluid counter-attack.
Carnew lost Ben Gilligan to injury on the 23-minute mark but it was the away side that grew into the contest, with Cillian Gilligan growing in influence. The winger’s cross narrowly missed the head of substitute Lorcan Rossiter, while Gilligan could only curl just wide from a Larry Keating pass.
Once Rathnew got to grips with the rejuvenated visitors, they ended the half the stronger. Jody Merrigan thought that he was going to double his account when he rounded Molloy, only for the goalkeeper to do brilliantly to recover and make the save.
Rossiter then took advantage of a slip up at the back to bear down on goal but, instead of squaring it to Gilligan, he opted for a shot which was easily gathered by Byrne.
While Carnew made a double substitution at the break, Rathnew swapped from a 4-3-3 to a 4-4-2 to offer security in the midfield area. It was a move that gave them more control as they ruled much of the second half.
Jamie Snell and Jody Merrigan both missed the target, while Gary Byrne drew a good save from the increasingly called upon Will Molloy.
The chances kept coming for Rathnew, with Jody Merrigan putting over after Hayden – influential throughout – burst through two tackles to fashion a cross.
With every opportunity gone abegging, Carnew held onto hope of snatching an equaliser. They had knocked on the door with shots from Peter Ryan and Conal McCrea.
And then, in additional time, they snatched the point. A free from the left was sent into the box by PJ O’Keeffe. Rathnew failed to clear and, amongst the pinball, Will O’Neill scrambled home with the last kick of the game.