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Match Reports 1 September 2003
Senior Championship Semi-Final
Athlone 2.08 Coralstown Kinegad 0.07
Athlone reached the county final by virtue of a hard earned victory against a tough and physical Kinegad team in Cusack Park on Sunday last. Athlone started very quickly and were 1.07 to 4 points up at half time with good scores from Neil Dolan, Seamus Mitchell, Joe Fallon and the goal coming from a flick on by Dobsy Prendergast. The second half was a different story altogether with Kinegad practically on the attack for the first 25 minutes but fortunately for Athlone they kicked some terrible wides. In the last ten minutes Athlone dug deep and Joe Fallon stepped up to score a fine goal and a further point by Seamus Mitchell sealed victory by a 7 point margin and set up a county final meeting with the Downs on the 21st of September.
U-12 Update
Last week’s fixture against Castledaly did not take place due to the non-appearance of the appointed referee. The teams played a friendly game which saw Athlone win by the narrowest of margins.
Match Reports 25 August 2003
Athlone topple neighbours
On Thursday evening last our U-16s made the short trip to Garrycastle to play the home side in the league. From the off, Athlone got into their stride scoring early points from Neil Lynch, Ian Lacey and John Connellan followed by a well taken Michael Prior goal. At midfield Declan Byrne and Eoin O’Flaherty were dominant and ensured that the attack got plenty of ball. Athlone maintained the pressure and when Alan Gaughan retrieved the ball back in his own defence his pin point pass was collected in midfield by Connellan who soloed through the “Castle” defence blast the ball to the back of the net. Half time saw Athlone leading comfortably by 3-08 to 0-02.
The second half saw Athlone ringing the changes personnel wise but they still retained their momentum, as typified by a run from Noel McGee which ended with him banging in goal number four. Understandably, as the game wore on, the Athlone lads began to take the foot off the pedal, allowing Garrycastle in for a few consolation scores. At the final whistle the visitors had plenty to spare winning on the scoreline of 4-12 to 1-5.
All round, this was an impressive performance from the “Blue & Whites”. In defence the sextet all played well with John Dunning particularly catching the eye. The midfield pairing were in command all through while up front the forwards made great use of the plentiful possession coming their way. Garrycastle tried hard throughout and never gave up the ghost, battling to the final whistle.
Athlone team and panel: Stephen Keegan, Cian Murray, John Dunning, Joseph Benson, Kevin Macken, Ian Bolger, Andrew Healy, Declan Byrne, Eoin O’Flaherty, Ian Lacey, Alan Gaughan, John Connellan, Michael Prior, Noel McGee, Neil Lynch, Daniel Grehan, Daniel Cochrane, Mark Fitzsimons, John Stapleton, Shane O’Neill, Daniel Kenny, Emmet Moran and Darren Hanevy.
P.S. Good to see Stephen Keegan back after his extended sojourn in Spain.
Lough Ree League
Athlone U-10s played their final group match in this event on Friday evening last, away to Garrycastle. In a quiet opening half Athlone struggled to find their feet and only managed to score a solitary point. Garrycastle held the upperhand at half time leading 2-1 to 0-1.
The second half saw a complete transformation in Athlone’s play. With the assistance of a slight breeze they set about their task patiently, whittling away at the lead point by point, mainly through the accurate free taking of Brian Gill. At the final whistle Athlone won the day by a margin of two points, the final scoreline reading: Garrycastle 3-1 – Athlone 1-9.
After the main game a mini match took place ensuring that all panellists got a run out. Athlone were also victorious in this game by the slenderest of margins.
Athlone team and panel: Alan O’Donovan, Eoin Maher, Ben Cunniffe, Thomas McCoy, Dylan Lynch, Glen Costello, Brian Gill, Conal Sheeran, Aine McCaul, Ray Connellan, Lorna Mulvihill, Robert Murray, Seamus Byrne, Sean Mooney, Andrew O’Sullivan, Ciaran Prendergast, Ciara Devaney, Kyle Greene, John Gormley, Aaron O’Brien, Ciara Malone, Stephen Malone and Dylan Tumulty.
U-12 Update
We played a friendly against St. Brigids on Wednesday last, which resulted in a good win for the Athlone lads. This proved to be an entertaining and useful workout, as both teams were virtually back to full strength. Our thanks to Brigids, for making the visit at very short notice. Our next match will be against Castledaly, in Castledaly on Wednesday (27th) at 7.15pm. All players are asked to be at Pairc Chiarain for 6.30pm. We would be obliged if some parents could make the journey and assist with the travel arrangements.
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