WICKLOW ROVERS AFC CLUB NOTES WEEK ENDING 16th JUNE 2024
It was heartbreak for the senior team in the Wicklow Cup final on Sunday afternoon when they went down narrowly losing 1-0 to holders St Peters. In a first half that was a tight affair, it was a penalty deep into injury time in the first half that decided the tie. The first half was starved of many real chances. James Kavanagh in the Rovers goal made a double save in the seventh minute with Lorcan Sinnott just off target with five minutes to go before the break. In the second half it was Rovers on the front foot and how they didn’t score was a mystery. Ten minutes in Davy O’Sullivan caused havoc with a cross but the shot from Lorcan Sinnott clipped a defender and fell into the hands of the keeper. Three minutes later Davy’s surging run was ended with a foul with the resulting free coming to nothing. On the hour mark a Oussama Kenouche made a run down the left, his cross picked out Davy O’Sullivan but Davy’s effort was turned out for a corner by the keeper. Rovers had a great opening in the 67th minute, more good work on the left from Kenouche saw him reach the endline, his cross fell to Lorcan Sinnott but his shot went the wrong side of the post. With five minutes left on the clock Oussama’s effort was saved by the feet of the keeper, the rebound fell to Gareth Murphy and his shot looked goal bound but the keeper some how got to it to turn it away. On the final whistle Rovers had giving everything, in a first half limited of chances with nothing between the sides apart from the penalty Rovers came out in the second half and created all the chances. Rovers were that much on the front foot James Kavanagh in the Rovers goal was a spectator for the whole 45 minutes. Incidentally the only saves he made in the game was the double save after seven minutes but he had no chance with the well struck penalty. The Rovers defence of Mark O’Sullivan, Rikki Quinn, Ben Algera and Dylan Orr was tight throughout and gave very little to the St Peters front line. Rovers will feel they left it behind with those second half chances, but lady luck didn’t shine on them on the day. There were impressive performances all over the pitch, Rikki Quinn and Ben Algera were superb at the heart of the defence. In the engine room Peter Finnegan, Tommy Smullen and Bryan Doyle put in good shifts. In the second half Davy O’Sullivan, Lorcan Sinnott and Oussama Kenouche made some dangerous runs causing the St Peters rearguard problems. On another day some of those chances would have nestled in the net but it wasn’t to be. It was a tough game for the subs to make an impact, but Gareth Murphy was unlucky not to with that well struck shot. The lads will take a well earned break and hopefully this defeat will make them stronger for next season. Congratulations to St Peters on their success and we look forward to renewing tussles next season.
On Saturday, the 12A's made a great effort to break their mid-season slump but unfortunately lady luck wasn't on their side. Rovers started the strongest but unluckily they were 1-0 down at the break. Roundwood increased their lead before Jamie Noctor halved the deficit with a screamer. Rovers pushed for an equaliser but were hit on the break to go 3-1 behind. With seven minutes remaining Kai Hughes nabbed Rovers second goal to make it 3-2. Hard that they tried, Rovers just hadn't luck on their side as they pushed for an equaliser. Caden O’Brien was excellent again between the posts, both full backs Jacob Birrell and Hunter Hennessy impressed, and the team were delighted to welcome back Alfie Kajani after a long layoff with a broken ankle. Our under 12C team had a brilliant away win against St. Anthonys B. They started off well and took an early lead from a long range shot from Billy Nolan. Midway through the first half St Anthonys scored an equaliser and with both defences holding firm for the rest of the half it remained 1-1 going in at halftime. Rovers came out strong again in the second half, creating some great chances only to be denied by the St Anthonys keeper. Against the run of play, Rovers went 2-1 down, but credit to our kids, their heads didn't drop, and they kept going. The very well-deserved equaliser came from Nolan again, after a nice pass from Cian McCoy to finish from close range. We pushed on and some more great combination play from the front pair saw McCoy score a lovely left footed finish in off the post to the delight of his team mates. Rovers weren't finished as they attacked again, this time Aaron Foley found Nolan to put it away and claim his very well-deserved hat-trick. Well done to all the squad for showing a great attitude, playing some lovely football and super defensive work from the backline. Thanks again to St Anthonys for another competitive game of football. The 14B’s had no answer for the power of a very strong St Patricks side at Whitegates. The Avoca side were in ruthless form and recorded a comfortable victory. The lads gave it everything but found their opponents too strong.
On Sunday the under 13A’s recorded a good win away to a determined Newtown Juniors side. Highlight of the game was an excellent hat-trick from Daniel Clarke. Newtown ensured Rovers didn’t have everything their own way as it was only in the latter stages Rovers eventually got the better of a tough Newtown team. Finn Murphy, Freddie Kavanagh, Eoghan Daye, Mikie O’Neill and Simon Lynch all got on the score sheet. Big thanks to Newtown for a competitive game. The 13B’s were in clinical form away to Enniskerry especially in front of goal. Lukas Araminus and Alex Philippon led the way with doubles with Daniel Morrissey, Cian Foley and an unfortunate own goal completing the tally. In what was a fantastic team performance Cian Foley put in a man of the match display. Big thanks to Enniskerry for the game. The 13C’s came up against league leaders Ashford Rovers and Ashford showed why they are top with a comfortable 6-1 victory. In truth Rovers did have a couple of good chances to make the game a lot closer but just couldn’t find the back of the net. They did however get a consolation from Aaron Lynn. Thanks to Ashford for the game and best of luck for the remainder of the season. The under 14’s recorded an excellent home win over Enniskerry in the under 15 trophy, the lads put in a superb performance to progress to the next stage. Richard Carton and Zach Kavanagh both found the net on a couple of occasions, Robbie McCoy, Kale Conyard and Tommy Morrissey all scored singles in what was a good all round team performance. It was even more impressive with seven of the team in action all week with the Kennedy cup squad. Well done lads.
The dates for our annual club Summer Camps are as follows: Week 1 runs from Monday 1st July to Thursday 4th July with week 2 from 8th July to Thursday 11th July. The camp is open to boys and girls aged 5 years old to 13 years old. All participants will receive a jersey. The camp will run from 10am to 2pm daily and will take place at Whitegates. The cost of the camp is €75. There is a reduction for two or more kids from the same family. All participants should bring a packed lunch, drink, shin guards, football boots and rain jacket. Online registration is now open for the camps, and you can register by using the following link: https://wicklowroversafc.com/products
