Thrilling derby sees Wilderness Rovers come from 3-0 down to deny Clonmel Town

Clonmel Credit Union Premier League

Wilderness Rovers 3 – 3 Clonmel Town

This game was always going to be a battle in terms of aggression, tempo and fitness, and it didn't disappoint, as these two teams played out a second high scoring derby this season.

The league leaders took the initiative from the beginning and opened the scoring when they were awarded a penalty in the eighth minute that was fired home by Alan O’Donnell.

This gave the visitors a spring in their step and they dominated the rest of the first half, adding two more goals in the 34th and 39th minute, through efforts by Ashley Laslett and Craig Guiry.

But just as they looked like going in at the break with that advantage, the home side grabbed a lifeline through a goal scored by Graham Kelly, who finished off a neat pass from Ashely Keane.
This gave the home side the impetus to start the second period in a much stronger fashion, and they quickly put their more illustrious opponents on the back foot.

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It was a game of high intensity and massive tackles all over, but the visitors seemed to have weathered the storm.

That was until the final five minutes of the game the hosts pulled back a second goal, with Keane this time netting the goal after being set up by Sean Brown.

This set up a grandstand finish, and after a spell of constant bombardment from the Wildies, Town conceded a third, when Cian Cullinane found Jack Landy in space, to smash the ball home and bring the game back level.

The game was to finish this way and it was the least the home side deserved, while also putting a huge dent in Town’s title ambitions.