Apr 12 Town earn deserved share of the spoils
Town's U11A entertained Ardmore Rovers earlier today in a good contested clash between two sides with now differing priorites for the Shield campaign.  Ardmore, with games in hand, maintain a strong position and will no doubt be hopeful of converting those games in hands into points, to take them into a Shield Final.  No doubt they came to Arklow, bottom of the Shield, believing they could pick up three points.  Not so.  Arklow played well, very well in fact.  The team started very brightly, good play across the park and it was the home side who struck first, a long clearance from Michael Cullen fell nicely into the path of Town striker Martin Cullen who finished coolly.  Minutes later, Town could have doubled their lead.  Keith Byrne, playing in an unfamiliar left wing position, did very well to create an opening but the chance was spurned.  Town continued to carry a threat with each attack in the second half but missed opportunities in front of goal would ultimately prove costly.  The Ardmore left winger went on a run down the flank, unchallenged by a number of Town players and with a shot / cross from near the corner flag he placed the ball beyond stranded Town keeper Aaron Jackson to earn his side a precious point.  Disappointment for the Town side but still there was time to win the game.  Kyle Jordan fed a neat pass out to Nathan O'Neill on the right wing and he fired in a weighted cross directly into the path of Bernard Fox who met the volley beautifully, beating the keeper, but unfortunately not the post.  So close, but in the end the Town had to settle for a 1-1 draw - the least they deserved for a fine committed team performance.  The hard work will soon pay off!

Apr 7 Weekend to forget
Disappointment oncemore for both As and B sides, both going down to Greystones United and Roundwood A respectively.  The B side, playing at Bridgewater Centre Park, were two down inside the opening fifteen minutes and without much action of late were short in both match fitness and sharpness in front of goal.  Town had a chance from a free kick to level things but spurned this and any chances they had in front of goal.  After the break, at 0-4 down, with Niall Heffernan excellent for good work in midfield from Daniel Skerritt and Olagh Redmond up front, the Black and Whites tried to claw back some pride but heads went down and they lost a further three goals.  Meanwhile, the A team travelled to a Greystones side needing a win to push for a Shield Final place and came away empty handed, losing 2-0.

Mar 9 Cup exits at the double
A very disapponting weekend for both U11A and U11B sides who both exited their respective cup competitions this weekend.  The U11As were very unfortunate to lose out to Greystones United A at Bridgewater Centre Park as they dominated best part of the game without punishing their visitors.  Chances spurned in front of goal were to prove costly as a Greystones forward was not closed down before firing home what was to prove the winning goal on the day.  Confidence was prevalent throughout the away side, as it dipped throughout the home side.  Key players didn't reach the levels required to save the game and in the end it was not to be.  Best on a disappointing day for the Town were Kyle Hilliard, Martin Cullen, Adrian Earls, Bernard Fox, Aaron Jackson, Cormac Murphy and Ciaran O'Reilly.  Meanwhile, a very under strength B side travelled up to Ashford for their own cup clash.  However, it was to be a day to forget as the home side ran out easy winners on a 4-0 scoreline.

Nov 4 Byrne hat trick lowers the Tone!
A hat trick from Keith Byrne more than helped keep the U11A side atop the Premier Division as they comfortably overcame the challenge of Wolfe Tone, in Ballywaltrim on Sunday morning.  Jordan Gannon and Kyle Jordan worked excellently together in midfield before putting Keith Byrne in for the first of his three goals.  Daire McBride, moments later, played a lovely ball over the top of the Tones defence, for Ciaran O'Reilly to slot home, putting the visitors two to the good.  The home side pulled one back but their revival was short lived as Keith Byrne added a third goal, his second.  Martin Cullen, on as a subsitute in the second half, put the result beyond all doubt, when converting a Cormac Murphy cross.  Martin was involved in the next attack, combining well with Adrian Earls, who went on to make it 5-1 to the visitors.  The day was perfectly rounded off with Keith Byrne lobbing the Wolfe Tones keeper to make it a perfect six - his third of the game and a welcome three points keeping the Town on top.

In Division Two, it wasn't as good a day for the U11B side as hoped for.  Facing a stern test away to Wicklow Rovers, going well themselves, it wasn't to be their day as the home side ran out comfortable 3-0 winners.  However, that in itself does the Town lads little or no justice as the result paints a totally different picture to the game that took place.  Defensive error was to cost the Arklow side dearly, as chance after chance was spurned against a good Wicklow side.  Both Dylan Walker and Dominic Brauders spurned excellent chances to put the Town ahead before Wicklow punished them for their profligacy in front of goal.  Within five minutes, the Arklow side were trailing 0-2 after a ball slipped under the keeper, Paddy Mellon, and then a misplaced kick out ended up in the Town's net.  Despite constant Arklow pressure, determined to get back into the game, it wasn't to be and with the Town pressing hard late on, they were caught cold and had their noses rubbed in it with Rovers adding a third goal to give the scoreline a deceiving look.  A brave performance from the team with no reward.  Man of the match was Olagh Redmond.

Oct 21 Double joy for both Elevens!
The U11A side went to Ashford to face the home side in a second round fixture of the National Cup.  Despite making a slow start to the game, some fine work from both Jordan Gannon and Kyle Hilliard went some way to ensuring Arklow seized the initiative.  A fine strike by Daire McBride wasn't held by the Ashford keeper and Ciaran O'Reilly was in to slot home the Town's first of the day.  A foul on Jordan Gannon resulted in a free kick for the Town and Cormac Murphy placed the ball into the top right hand corner, doubling Arklow's lead.  Following half time changes, Arklow upped through the gears and in one sweeping move, a cross from Cormac Murphy was met by Ciaran O'Reilly who hammered home his second and the Town's third.  Moments later Keith Byrne was in for goal number four, the contest well over by this stage.  Cormac Murphy made it five with a second successful strike from a free kick.  Keith Byrne added his second of the match before Bernard Fox got in on the act, sweetly placing an uncleared ball into the top corner of the net.  Ciaran O'Reilly capped a fine team performance by securing his hat trick late on, Arklow's eighth and safe passage to the next round of the National Cup.

The B side secured a well deserved second league victory of the season to place themselves firmly into the mix with a 2-1 victory over Ardmore Rovers B, played at Bridgewater Centre Park earlier today.  Arklow totally dominated this match from start to finish with only poor finishing and a couple of fine saves from the Ardmore goalkeeper keeping the score down.  With Dylan Walker missing two fine chances in the opening ten minutes, Town camped in the Ardmore half of the pitch, only to see shot after shot miss or deflect wide.  Just before half time, Shane Harris weaved his way into the penalty box, after good work in midfield by Dominic Brauders and Daniel Skerritt, and coolly slotted the ball into the net with the outside of his right foot. With Niall Heffernan hitting the post with a 20 yard scorcher, Arklow would not extend their lead before half time. 

The second half started brightly for Arklow and they went 2-0 up after a great finish by Dylan Walker in the box, well set up by Niall Heffernan.  Arklow continued to dominate until very late on when, with one minute left, Ardmore snatched a late consolation goal, after a mix up in defense. With Paddy Mellon, the Arklow goalkeeper, complaining that he had not touched the ball in the match until he had to pick it out of the net, the final scoreline does not do justice to a fine display from the U11B's.

Tom Skerritt