Johnstown stretched their unbeaten run to 6 games in all competitions with a comfortable 4-0 win over visitors Kentstown Rovers at the MDL on Friday night.
The first half was a fairly scrappy affair with neither side taking control. Both Aaron Mooney and Adam Ivers went close for the hosts without finding the back of the net before Dylan Bollard opened the scoring 5 minutes before the break. A Johnstown corner was not dealt with, prompting a goal line scramble, before Bollard poked home from close range.
Johnstown’s second came immediately after the break. Under pressure, Dylan Byrne in the Johnstown net cleared towards Arnold Luco. Chasing what appear to be a lost cause, Luco’s pace put him ahead of the defender. Once he reached the byline, Luco pulled the ball back to the unmarked Wayne Cahill. He took one touch before dispatching his shot into the net.
Shortly after, Kentstown had their best chance on the night. A strong run through the Johnstown backline saw their man through 1-on-1 with Byrne. The shot was wide of the Johnstown keeper but also crucially wide of the target.
On a blustery evening the next opportunity of the game came on the next attack. A Dylan Bollard cross was caught by the wind, destined to sneak in at the back post, until Rovers’ keeper tipped it on to the bar.
With 20 minutes to go, Johnstown made it 3-0. Jake McDermott at left back moved forward in possession before picking out Luco in the area. His close control and tight turns manufactured the space he needed to hammer home his shot.
The night’s scoring was completed 4 minutes later. Kentstown’s keeper took a poor kick out straight to birthday boy Cahill gifting him is 2nd of the night and 10th in all competitions this season as he chipped the stranded keeper making it 4-0.
The home side saw out the rest of the game with relative ease and little threat to their first clean sheet of the season, a timely confidence boost for the defence as, on the horizon, are 2 trips to Dublin to face AUL side in the Leinster and FAI Junior cups.
Johnstown FC Team: D. Byrne, J. McDermott, J. Colton, D. McQuillan (c), J. Connolly, W. Cahill, P. Challenger, A. Ivers, D. Bollard, A. Mooney, A. Luco
Subs: K. Zeberek for Mooney, J. Forde for McQuillan, V. Murphy for Bollard, C. Murphy for Ivers, S. Conroy for Luco.
