Carlow 4 - 1 Wapno (389894189)

Fairly good weather for football had drawn a crowd of 7000 to Carlow Road. Grgo Robović was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Raimund Depenhörn and Antoine Schmitt. A 4-4-2 alignment was the formation of choice for Carlow. Starters: Shannon - MacCann, Nugent, MacGrath, O'Gorman - Flynn, Conaghan, Taaffe, Lee - Redmond, O'Hara.

Wapno started off with a 4-4-2 lineup. The following players took the field: Cusack - Conway, Fullam, Ibe, Routledge - McCabe, Magner, Weir, Cullen - Ward, Cuif.

The referee showed Carlow's C. O'Hara the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. The corner kick from J. MacCann was powerfully met by the head of A. O'Gorman to make the score 1 - 0. 25 minutes in, Wapno's P. Routledge received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. B. Lee was the unlucky victim and couldn't continue the game, so Carlow's B. O'Healy had to come off the bench. R. Conaghan increased the lead for Carlow to 2 - 0, getting a head onto a hooked ball from the right. The ball looked to have taken a deflection on the way in, but he's claiming it! A scuffle developed as players from both sides clashed following a tussle in the centre of the field 40 minutes into the match. After regaining order and consulting his linesman, the referee called Carlow's J. Redmond to one side and produced a red card for the player. Wapno's D. Ibe skillfully knocked a pass over the top after 41 minutes, and that was received by D. Cullen who just managed to slot it past the opposing goalkeeper for 2 - 1. J. MacCann increased Carlow's lead to 3 - 1 with a penalty spot cannonball. Carlow's M. Flynn had an excellent opportunity after 43 minutes, shooting after receiving a pass from the right hand side, but he missed the goal by miles! It was 3 - 1 at the break. Carlow claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 72 percent.

Given a free kick close to the byline, Carlow tried a move that loyal fans may recognise from training. A pass to the side pulled the defence out of position which let C. O'Hara slip through on goal. He didn't have to break his stride, and slipped the ball past the keeper to make it 4 - 1, 48 minutes into the game. Coming from the right, A. O'Gorman almost managed to score another goal for Carlow, but his header was tipped over the bar by the visitors' keeper. Good work by the Wapno defensive line after 55 minutes produced a good counterattack chance, which cut elegantly down the middle of the pitch and found D. Cullen alone in front of the goal, but his shot whistled just wide. J. MacCann unleashed a swerving effort from the right that the visitors' keeper did well to tip wide. S. Ward of Wapno was booked for kicking the ball away after the whistle. The home side's M. Flynn came close to extending the lead 85 minutes into the game. His shot came in from the right hand side but L. Cusack managed to save it with an unbelievable reaction stop. Carlow had most of the ball, with 76 percent of possession.

Carlow's best player was M. Flynn. W. Nugent turned in a dismal performance, however. The most dominating Wapno player was without a doubt E. McCabe. L. Cusack was a disappointment, however. The match ends 4 - 1.