Zach Kilbride on fire as Arklow United cruise past Newtown in Charlie Bishop Cup clash

Newtown United 0

Arklow United 4

Arklow United cruised into the next round of the Charlie Bishop Cup when they fired four goals past Newtown United on Sunday morning at the Matt Kelly Community Grounds.

A hat-trick from the electric Zach Kilbride proved decisive for the flying visitors who will move forward in this competition with confidence high after this display.

It was a tight start to the game at the Matt Kelly with the home side dominating possession in the opening 10 minutes, but the Magpies were not clinical enough in front of goal to take an early lead.

A great run into the box by striker Ryan Clarke looked promising in the fifth minute but it was stopped by Arklow goalkeeper Dean Flood Hayes as he got down well to gather the ball, while right back Andy Duncan hit the crossbar with an inswinging cross in the 10th minute.

As time ticked on Arklow United began to grow into the game and create some chances of their own. A run down the centre of midfield by Mark Nolan split open the Newtown defence, but his shot was too close to Newtown goalkeeper Sean Carthy who parried the ball out of danger.

Zach Kilbride on the left-hand side was proving to be a challenge for the Newtown backline as he was very direct in his attacking play when he gained possession and ran at the defence every time he got the ball.

Kilbride opened the scoring for the away side on the stroke of half-time when Newtown failed to clear their lines at the back and the Arklow United man needed no invitation to steal the ball and fire into the top corner from outside the box. A superb strike to open the scoring for Arklow United just before the break.

The visitors took that momentum into the second half as they had the ball in the back of the net again eight minutes after the restart. An inswinging corner was floated into the box by Kilbride and was met by the head of Shane Connolly who nodded the ball past Sean Carthy in the Newtown goal to give his side a two-goal lead early in the second half.

Ten minutes later Zach Kilbride was causing havoc in the final third again as he darted down the left wing before cutting inside into the box and slotting the ball into the bottom corner for his second goal of the game. Another fine finish from the winger to secure their place in the next round.

The icing on the cake came 10 minutes from the final whistle as Kilbride sealed his hat-trick with a thunderous volley from outside the box. The connection on the ball was perfect and Carthy in goal had no chance of saving it as it was past him and into the corner of the net before he could do anything.

It was an impressive performance from United throughout after soaking up some early pressure from Newtown. They were absolutely clinical in the final third in what looked to be a tricky fixture, but they came out on top in a brilliant performance away from home.

It’s onto the next one for the Arklow side as they travel to Rathnew on Wednesday evening to face Shamrock Celtic at Shamrock Park in their midweek league fixture whilst Newtown will hope to bounce back on Wednesday evening as they host Carnew at the Matt Kelly.

Newtown United: 1. Sean Carthy, 2. Andy Duncan, 3. Ciaran Keogh, 4. Brandon Feely, 5. Dean Taylor, 6. Drew Armstrong, 7. Dillon Carthy, 8. Daire Killen, 9. Rylan Clarke, 10. Sean Heffernan, 11. Karl Carthy. Subs: Terry Murphy for D Killen (70), Adam Longmore for D Carthy (80), Mark O’Brien for D Armstrong (80).

Arklow United: 1. Dean Flood Hayes, 2. Adam Van Der Hayden, 3. Shane Connolly, 4. Sean Hearte, 5. Cian Li, 6. Steven Kavanagh, 7. Matthew Dempsey, 8. Oisin Keegan, 9. Mark Nolan, 10. Conor Dodd, 11. Zach Kilbride. Subs: Cian McLoughlin for M Nolan (80), Fysal Musse for C Dodd (70).

Referee: Mick Kennedy