Our senior A team travelled to Kilcashel this afternoon for a last 16 Wicklow cup match with St Patricks of Avoca. The lads were clear favourites going into the game against their division 1 opponents, but as we know, the cup can be a real leveller, and anything can happen. Rovers were on the front foot from the start, and after three minutes, the home keeper tipped over from a Gareth Murphy strike. Rovers were dictating play in the early stages without creating any clear cut openings. The home sides first attack didn't come till the fifteenth minute mark and it proved fruitful, a cross from the right was powerfully headed home to give St Patricks the lead against the run of play. Rovers were still controlling the game with Bryan Doyle and Tommy Smullen pulling the strings in the centre of the park. On twenty four minutes, St. Patricks could have doubled their lead, but the striker when clear on goal screwed his effort tamely wide. Thirty one minutes on the clock and it was Bryan Doyle who tested the keeper from a free, but the keeper was equal to it to save well. Rovers had a glorious chance to level matters a minute before the break. Mark O'Sullivan got up well at the back to head back across goal with Gareth Murphy caught by surprise when the ball dropped to his feet, but his scrambled effort was saved. The teams went in at the break with the home side one goal to the good. The second half continued in the same pattern with Rovers doing all the attacking and the home side happy to sit back and attack on the break. On the hour mark, Ben Algera forced the keeper into another good save. Disaster struck for Rovers when they were reduced to ten men after a second yellow card led to a red. This didn't disturb the pattern of the game with Rovers piling on the pressure, but they were up against a resolute St Patricks defence and a goalkeeper who was on top of his game with some great saves. With seven minutes left on the clock Rovers deservingly drew level, a shot from twenty five yards out from Rikki Quinn was saved, but Oussama Kemouche was quickest to the breaking ball to blast home the equaliser. Rovers weren't settling for extra time as they went searching for the winner. Bryan Doyle's wicked corner struck the crossbar with five minutes remaining. Then came what proved to be the winner, Rovers earned a corner and the impressive Doyle swung over a pin point cross to find the inrushing Lorcan Sinnott who powerfully headed down into the bottom right hand corner to put Rovers in the last eight. There was still enough time on the clock to see the home side reduced to ten men. It was a typical cup game with the home side putting their bodies on the line and making things hard for Rovers. The lads put in a good shift in what was a tough cup tie. As man of the match for Rovers goes, you couldn’t look beyond Bryan Doyle, he went about his business in a quiet manner but effective. His passing, short and long was excellent, he broke up any St Patricks attacks and his deliveries from set plays were on the money. An excellent all round performance from Bryan.