WICKLOW ROVERS AFC CLUB NOTES WEEK ENDING 6th NOVEMBER 2022

It was Friday night football under lights at Whitegates last weekend and our Leinster Senior side welcomed County Meath side Ashbourne United to Wicklow. The Meath team had won one, drew one and lost one in their first three league games of the season while Rovers had just played the one, a 2-2 draw at home to Larkview FC. The away side drew first blood in the tenth minute with a rocket of a shot to the roof of the Rovers net from thirty five yards out. Neither side created a chance of note until the thirty second minute and it was Rovers who created and finished with a neat strike from Dylan Orr to level matters. Four minutes later Rovers were in front when Dylan Orr waltzed past three defenders before slotting home his second of the game to make it 2-1 to the home side. Unfortunately for Rovers they didn't hold on to the lead for long, in the forty first minute a clinical finish at the back post from the Meath men saw the sides go in at the break level at 2-2. On the balance of play in the first period it was probably a fair score line at the break. In the second half it was the away team who were again the quickest out of the traps when they hit the front on fifty three minutes. Two goals in a three minute spell around the hour mark from Ashbourne put the game to bed. Even at 5-2, to Rovers credit they kept going in the hope of turning it around. Rovers were denied a stone wall penalty when Ciaran McGettigan was taken down in the area by the keeper. With twenty minutes left Ciaran McGettigan screwed an effort wide of the right hand post and the same player was unlucky on seventy seven minutes to see a powerful drive go just the wrong side of the post. McGettigan was getting closer and with five minutes remaining he got a deserved goal, it was a 50/50 race between him and the keeper which Ciaran won and finished off with a delicate lob over the keeper into the net. The final whistle came and it ended with Ashbourne winning 5-3. It was a fairly even game up until the period where the Meath side hit three goals in a ten minute spell. The lads will rue giving away a couple of soft goals plus they were missing four regular starters which didn’t help matters. All they can do is put it behind them, put it right on the training ground and move on to their next game. The Wicklow League team took on league leaders Newtown United and turned in a spirited display in a 3-0 defeat. Rovers had the misfortune of having a goal disallowed at an important time in the game. The first half was a tight affair with the sides going in at the break scoreless. Newtown took the lead early in the second period and this seem to knock the stuffing out of the lads, the away side went on to add two more goals for a 3-0 win to remain top of the pile. The lads will take great heart from this defeat as they were in the game for a long way against a very good Newtown side.

The junior section of the club was severely curtailed again at the weekend with nine matches been called off. Of the games that went ahead our 13B’s entertained neighbours Rathnew on Sunday morning at Whitegates. Rovers were dealt a severe blow on the morning of the game when four players withdrew from the squad, it left the B's with only ten players to start against a very strong Rathnew side. Rathnew ran out easy 8-1 winners and showed why they are favourites for the Bowl competition. Credit to Rovers they took to the pitch and fulfilled their fixture. Big thanks to under 12 players Sam and Kale Conyard who came along at a minutes notice to help the team out. Kale scored the Rovers goal, well done to the Rovers players for putting in a spirited display. Well done Rathnew and good luck for the remainder of the competition. The under 15’s had an excellent 5-2 win over a gallant Newtown Juniors side at Whitegates. This was a good game with some fine finishing on display. Arthur Curran led the way with a brace to double his tally in the competition, there was a first goal of the season for Alfie Doyle with Finn Dunne and Sean Patrick Guerin adding singles in what was a very good all round team performance.

The club were delighted to hand over two cheques during the week as part of our November 50/50 draw. A cheque for €530 was handed over to Margaret Dunne, who's number was picked out the drum on Tuesday evening. Unfortunately, Margaret's bonus ball did not match the bonus ball in Wednesday's main lottery draw, so the jackpot for December now sits at €3,000. More importantly we handed over a cheque for €530 to the ' I am Alex' fundraising campaign in support of local lad Alex Dunne. If you didn't manage to buy a ticket in time, you can still donate directly to this great cause via their GoFundMe page (https://www.gofundme.com/f/adb5j5-alexs-journey). We would like to thank everyone who supported the draw this month and also the continued support from King's Gala, Wicklow Town. Tickets for our December draw can be purchased online at www.wicklowroversclubshop right up till midnight on Wednesday the 30th of November with the draw been held on Tuesday 6th December. Once again, a big thanks to everyone who supported the November draw.