October 2011

Mullingar Youths have got off to an impressive start to their season. Their previous games saw them draw with Tullamore 1 -1(Danny Crowley). Having dominated for most of the game Athletic were denied a win for an offside decision. Their second game was away to League toppers St Peters and goals from Azad, Dale Monaghan and Aaron Davies (2) ensured a comfortable win on a 4 - 2 score line.

Mullingar Ath Youths Finding their Feet in Airtricity League

This statement is backed by the fact that seven of Mullingar Athletic players from our recent u16 & 17s are now playing with renowned clubs both home and away. Connor Smith is continuing to excel with Watford in England and also at International level with the Irish U19s. Conor O Keeffe, Sean Challenger and Gavin Mullen are now playing with Drogheda Utd U19s. Conor actually made his debut for the Drogheda 1st team last Friday night in their Airtricity League game. Cian Gorman and Gary Caffrey are both playing and doing very well with Bohemians F.C and Mark Leavy is playing with Dundalk U19s.

August 2008

DDSL Youths Super League

Mullingar Athletic AFC are seeking to recruit players to play at youth's level in the DDSL Super League for the forthcoming season 2008/09. Players who were born on or after 1st of January, 1990 are eligible for this age group. All eligible players who would be interested in playing for Mullingar Athletic at this level in the forthcoming season might please contact Eddie Tynan at 086-2326354 or Liam McGovern on 087-6471502 for further information regarding training and trials.

DDSL YOUTHS MAJOR DIVISION

Mullingar Athletic 4   Kildare County 2

(J.O'Connor, S.Archibold 2, Simon Lawless)

Athletic had a comfortable victory over Kildare County on Friday night and in truth did not have to extend themselves to achieve victory. Athletic started well and had the Kildare goal under siege from the early stages of the match. The Kildare keeper saved from Simon Lawless and Joe O'Connor in the 10th and 14th minute respectively. Athletic created a clear opening in the 16th minute but a lack of composure in front of goal saved Kildare. The breakthrough was finally achieved in the 18th minute when Simon Lawless picked up a pass from Stephen Lawless and ran through on the Kildare goalkeeper. The keeper did well to parry Lawless' effort but the ball fell to Joe O'Connor on the edge of the penalty area and he showed excellent composure to fire past the prostrate keeper for a deserved lead. Athletic increased the lead 5 minutes later when good play in midfield involving Tony Dunne and Robbie Dolan resulted in the latter releasing Shane Archibold who made ground in the penalty area before calmly finishing from 10 yards.

Despite enjoying a considerable territorial advantage for the remainder of the half Athletic were unable to add to their lead.

The second half started in a similar vein with Athletic pressing forward in search of further goals. However a needless loss of possession in midfield in the 50th minute resulted in Kildare County breaking and earning a free kick on the edge of the Mullingar penalty area. The resultant kick went through the defensive wall and beat Colm Baker to give Kildare a lifeline. However the Athletic response was immediate. Following a good run down the left from Tony Dunne the ball arrived with Dolan who put it into the penalty area for Shane Archibold to once again restore Athletic's lead. The result was put beyond doubt in the 62nd minute when Mark McKeever put Simon Lawless through and he finished past the Kildare keeper. Kildare were awarded a very harsh penalty in the last minute of the match enabling them to convert for a consolation score.

TEAM:

Colm Baker, Luke Thompson, Barry Beglan, Kevin Nea, Mark McKeever, Tony Dunne, Stephen Lawless, Robert Dolan, Shane Archibold, Joe O'Connor, Simon Lawless.

Subs: Darragh Kiernan for Dunne, Eddie Beer for O'Connor, Richie Healy for Simon Lawless.

Mullingar Athletic 0    Rivervalley Rangers 1

Athletic entertained the league leaders at Gainstown on Sunday but emerged pointless after a tremendous performance which merited at least a share of the points while a victory would not have flattered the home side.

Despite playing against a strong wind in the first half the home side enjoyed parity of possession with the visitors with the exchanges for the main part being fought out in midfield. There were few chances created thanks in large part to excellent defending from both sides. It was Athletic who carved out the first opening in the 13th minute when Stephen Lawless won the ball before releasing Mark McKeever who ran at the defence. His run was stopped by a tackle from Alex Ryan but the ball fell to Joe O'Connor who produced a routine save from Kevin Matthews in the Rivervalley goal. 3 minutes later Thompson and McKeever linked to put Archibold through on the right hand side but once again the Rivervalley defence stood firm and cleared at the expense of a corner. From Robbie Dolan's delivery a number of Athletic's players had efforts on goal before Alex Ryan cleared off the line to relieve the pressure.

Rivervalley then responded in the 22nd minute when a break out of defence found Arron Byrne 40 yards from goal. His attempted effort was initially parried by Colm Baker but centre forward Gary Mortimer reacted quickest to head Baker's clearance towards goal. However the keeper recovered to make an excellent double save at the expense of a corner. Athletic then had a couple of attacks of their own, Kevin Nea and Darragh Kiernan combining on the left for Kiernan to fire in a cross which was narrowly missed by Shane Archibold at the far post. As the half entered the final 10 minutes River Valley upped the tempo and put Baker's goal under pressure. However tremendous defence by Thompson, Beglan and Nea resulted in the score staying at 0-0. River Valley almost made the break through in the 39th minute when Keith Kelly finally got a shot on goal, but somehow or another Barry Beglan got back to save the effort on the goal line. Unfortunately for Athletic the visitors were to achieve the break through just on the stroke of half time. Conor Tansy picked up the ball in the left back position and played the diagonal pass to Gary Mortimer. For once the Athletic defence was outnumbered and Mortimer's cross was clinically finished by Keith Martin to give the visitors a somewhat fortunate lead.

Athletic's response in the second half was immediate and positive. Stephen Lawless won the ball in the 48th minute with a good covering tackle by Angus McGovern averted a danger as Lawless bore down on goal. McKeever and Simon Lawless then combined but an excellent tackle from Alex Ryan averted a danger before the latter could get his shot off the penalty area. Substitute Tony Dunne made an excellent run from defence in the 58th minute with the ball eventually arriving with Joe O'Connor but he lost his footing at the vital time allowing Matthews to save. It wasn't all one way traffic with Rivervalley always looking dangerous on the break. A Dean Wall pass was picked up by Keith Kelly in the 62nd minute but a perfectly timed recovery tackle from Barry Beglan prevented a score. However it was Athletic back in the attack with good pressure on the defence resulting in an error between keeper Matthews and centre half McGovern. Simon Lawless picked up the loose ball and rounded the keeper but the angle proved too tight and his effort hit the side netting. Five minutes later Matthews was once again in trouble but on this occasion his blushes were spared by a goal line clearance from Alex Ryan. Athletic continued to press in search of the equaliser with Kevin Nea making a couple of runs down the left hand side both of which were stopped by Rivervalley defenders at the expense of yellow cards. However try as they might the home side just couldn't force an equaliser and Rivervalley held on for what for them was a vital win to enhance their prospects of league honours.

Teams:

Mullingar Athletic

Subs: Tony Dunne for Kiernan, Eddie Beer for O'Connor, Shane Weir.

River Valley Rangers

Kevin Matthews, Gary Doran, Conor Tansy, Joe Reilly, Angus McGovern, Alex Ryan, Arron Byrne, Dean Wall, Gary Mortimer, Keith Martin, Keith Kelly.

Subs: Neil Cummins for Martin, Jonathon Beasley for Doran.

Week Ending 20th April 2008

DDSL YOUTHS MAJOR DIVISION

Mullingar Athletic 4                                   Kildare County 2

(J.O'Connor, S.Archibold 2, Simon Lawless)

Athletic had a comfortable victory over Kildare County on Friday night and in truth did not have to extend themselves to achieve victory. Athletic started well and had the Kildare goal under siege from the early stages of the match. The Kildare keeper saved from Simon Lawless and Joe O'Connor in the 10th and 14th minute respectively. Athletic created a clear opening in the 16th minute but a lack of composure in front of goal saved Kildare. The breakthrough was finally achieved in the 18th minute when Simon Lawless picked up a pass from Stephen Lawless and ran through on the Kildare goalkeeper. The keeper did well to parry Lawless' effort but the ball fell to Joe O'Connor on the edge of the penalty area and he showed excellent composure to fire past the prostrate keeper for a deserved lead. Athletic increased the lead 5 minutes later when good play in midfield involving Tony Dunne and Robbie Dolan resulted in the latter releasing Shane Archibold who made ground in the penalty area before calmly finishing from 10 yards.

Despite enjoying a considerable territorial advantage for the remainder of the half Athletic were unable to add to their lead.

The second half started in a similar vein with Athletic pressing forward in search of further goals. However a needless loss of possession in midfield in the 50th minute resulted in Kildare County breaking and earning a free kick on the edge of the Mullingar penalty area. The resultant kick went through the defensive wall and beat Colm Baker to give Kildare a lifeline. However the Athletic response was immediate. Following a good run down the left from Tony Dunne the ball arrived with Dolan who put it into the penalty area for Shane Archibold to once again restore Athletic's lead. The result was put beyond doubt in the 62nd minute when Mark McKeever put Simon Lawless through and he finished past the Kildare keeper. Kildare were awarded a very harsh penalty in the last minute of the match enabling them to convert for a consolation score.

TEAM:

Colm Baker, Luke Thompson, Barry Beglan, Kevin Nea, Mark McKeever, Tony Dunne, Stephen Lawless, Robert Dolan, Shane Archibold, Joe O'Connor, Simon Lawless.

Subs: Darragh Kiernan for Dunne, Eddie Beer for O'Connor, Richie Healy for Simon Lawless.

Athletic entertained the league leaders at Gainstown on Sunday but emerged pointless after a tremendous performance which merited at least a share of the points while a victory would not have flattered the home side.

Despite playing against a strong wind in the first half the home side enjoyed parity of possession with the visitors with the exchanges for the main part being fought out in midfield. There were few chances created thanks in large part to excellent defending from both sides. It was Athletic who carved out the first opening in the 13th minute when Stephen Lawless won the ball before releasing Mark McKeever who ran at the defence. His run was stopped by a tackle from Alex Ryan but the ball fell to Joe O'Connor who produced a routine save from Kevin Matthews in the Rivervalley goal. 3 minutes later Thompson and McKeever linked to put Archibold through on the right hand side but once again the Rivervalley defence stood firm and cleared at the expense of a corner. From Robbie Dolan's delivery a number of Athletic's players had efforts on goal before Alex Ryan cleared off the line to relieve the pressure.

Rivervalley then responded in the 22nd minute when a break out of defence found Arron Byrne 40 yards from goal. His attempted effort was initially parried by Colm Baker but centre forward Gary Mortimer reacted quickest to head Baker's clearance towards goal. However the keeper recovered to make an excellent double save at the expense of a corner. Athletic then had a couple of attacks of their own, Kevin Nea and Darragh Kiernan combining on the left for Kiernan to fire in a cross which was narrowly missed by Shane Archibold at the far post. As the half entered the final 10 minutes River Valley upped the tempo and put Baker's goal under pressure. However tremendous defence by Thompson, Beglan and Nea resulted in the score staying at 0-0. River Valley almost made the break through in the 39th minute when Keith Kelly finally got a shot on goal, but somehow or another Barry Beglan got back to save the effort on the goal line. Unfortunately for Athletic the visitors were to achieve the break through just on the stroke of half time. Conor Tansy picked up the ball in the left back position and played the diagonal pass to Gary Mortimer. For once the Athletic defence was outnumbered and Mortimer's cross was clinically finished by Keith Martin to give the visitors a somewhat fortunate lead.

Athletic's response in the second half was immediate and positive. Stephen Lawless won the ball in the 48th minute with a good covering tackle by Angus McGovern averted a danger as Lawless bore down on goal. McKeever and Simon Lawless then combined but an excellent tackle from Alex Ryan averted a danger before the latter could get his shot off the penalty area. Substitute Tony Dunne made an excellent run from defence in the 58th minute with the ball eventually arriving with Joe O'Connor but he lost his footing at the vital time allowing Matthews to save. It wasn't all one way traffic with Rivervalley always looking dangerous on the break. A Dean Wall pass was picked up by Keith Kelly in the 62nd minute but a perfectly timed recovery tackle from Barry Beglan prevented a score. However it was Athletic back in the attack with good pressure on the defence resulting in an error between keeper Matthews and centre half McGovern. Simon Lawless picked up the loose ball and rounded the keeper but the angle proved too tight and his effort hit the side netting. Five minutes later Matthews was once again in trouble but on this occasion his blushes were spared by a goal line clearance from Alex Ryan. Athletic continued to press in search of the equaliser with Kevin Nea making a couple of runs down the left hand side both of which were stopped by Rivervalley defenders at the expense of yellow cards. However try as they might the home side just couldn't force an equaliser and Rivervalley held on for what for them was a vital win to enhance their prospects of league honours.

Teams:

Mullingar Athletic

Colm Baker, Luke Thompson, Barry Beglan, Kevin Nea, Shane Archibold, Mark McKeever, Robert Dolan, Stephen Lawless, Joe O'Connor, Simon Lawless, Darragh Kiernan.

Subs: Tony Dunne for Kiernan, Eddie Beer for O'Connor, Shane Weir.

River Valley Rangers

Kevin Matthews, Gary Doran, Conor Tansy, Joe Reilly, Angus McGovern, Alex Ryan, Arron Byrne, Dean Wall, Gary Mortimer, Keith Martin, Keith Kelly.

Subs: Neil Cummins for Martin, Jonathon Beasley for Doran.

Weekending 30th March 2008

DDSL YOUTHS SUPER DIVISION

Drogheda United 2                   Mullingar Athletic 2

(G.Howard, E.Murphy pen.) (S.Archibold pen., Simon Lawless)

Athletic were deprived of a win in Drogheda on Sunday by the referee when he gifted an equaliser to the home side by awarding a penalty when clearly the decision should have been in favour of the visitor's for a foul on goalkeeper Colm Baker. However it was one of many bizarre and baffling decisions by an extremely eccentric official who seemed intent on gaining entry to the Guinness Book of Records for the most free kicks awarded in a match. He accompanied this by the issue of 13 yellow cards in a match which, while a good physical contest, was played in the best of spirits by both sides.

Athletic grabbed the initiative in the early stages of the match where Robbie Dolan and Stephen Lawless were busy in the centre of midfield. A good move on the right hand side involving Dolan and Archibold resulted in the award of a free kick in the 8th minute. Tony Dunne's excellent delivery between the goalkeeper and defenders was narrowly missed by Joe O'Connor at the far post. Simon Lawless then picked up a Sean McCormack through ball and initially beat the Drogheda cover but an excellent recovery tackle from Stephen Murphy averted the danger. It was however the home side who took the lead in controversial circumstances in the 16th minute. Luke Thompson clearly won the ball in a clash with Mick Clarke on the edge of the penalty area. Bizarrely the referee awarded a free kick against the Athletic defender. Clarke's subsequent effort was on target and brought an excellent save from Colm Baker who managed to divert the shot on to the post. However Graham Howard was quickest to react in the penalty area and fired home past a helpless Baker from 6 yards.

Athletic responded well to this setback and put constant pressure on the Drogheda defence for the next 15 minutes. However with play constantly interrupted by the referee's whistle the visitors found it very hard to build momentum. They did have a series of free kicks which were well defended by Murphy and Conor Murtagh in the Drogheda defence. However eventually the pressure was rewarded in the 28th minute when a cross by Robbie Dolan was flicked on by Joe O'Connor to Simon Lawless who was brought down in the area by a combination of Drogheda United defenders at the near post. After a lengthy delay for treatment to a Drogheda player Shane Archibold kept his composure to fire past Keith Fox for a deserved equaliser.

Athletic continued to press forward in search of the lead. They made the breakthrough in the 38th minute when centre half Conor Murtagh, who otherwise had an excellent match, failed to clear a Stephen Lawless pass with Simon Lawless latching onto the ball and running in at the keeper from 40 yards before applying a cool finish to give the visiting side a deserved advantage which they held until half time.

The second half started in the worst possible manner for Athletic with the concession of an early goal in controversial circumstances. Straight from the kick off a long ball from Drogheda's Mick Clarke was chased by Michael Tsounias. However Colm Baker beat him to the ball diving bravely at his feet. The striker then kicked the ball out of Baker's possession. To the astonishment of all present the referee pointed to the penalty spot rather than awarding a free out. Eoin Murphy made no mistake from the resultant spot kick to level the match. Encouraged by this stroke of good fortune the home side pressed forward in search of the lead. Baker had to make good saves from Gary McGrane and Robbie Craig and also from a Mick Clarke free kick. However composed defending by Barry Beglan and Sean McCormack steadied the Mullingar ship and to their credit Robbie Dolan and Stephen Lawless once again established a foothold in midfield as the match progressed. Tony Dunne had a long range effort wide of target in the 56th minute and Shane Archibold was deprived by a good tackle from Murtagh as he lined up a shot in the 62nd minute. Athletic should have taken the lead in the 62nd minute when Adrian Gilmore latched onto a Kevin Nea pass and outstripped the home defence. As he approached the vicinity of the penalty area he was brought down from behind by Jamie Walsh with the referee waving play on from a considerable distance when a penalty and a red card for the Drogheda defender were clearly the correct decisions.

As the match entered its final quarter Drogheda resorted to pumping long balls forward to their tall strikers, but Athletic defended courageously with Thompson, Beglan, McCormack and Nea getting headers and tackles in and Colm Baker coming to the rescue when necessary. Athletic were deprived of the services of Sean McCormack when he was injured making a headed clearance but they raised the siege in the last 10 minutes with Dolan and Stephen Lawless working very hard in midfield. The best chance to win the match fell to Athletic when Lawless dispossessed Stephen Kealey with an excellent tackle and when the ball eventually arrived with Tony Dunne in the penalty area his effort was blocked out by Murtagh at the expense of a corner.

Athletic will feel they might have taken all 3 points in a match where Drogheda had probably slightly more possession but the clearer chances fell to Athletic who were also undoubtedly on the receiving end of the some of the referee's more controversial decisions.

TEAMS:

MULLINGAR ATHLETIC

Colm Baker, Luke Thompson, Barry Beglan, Sean McCormack, Kevin Nea, Shane Archibold, Robert Dolan, Stephen Lawless, Tony Dunne, Joseph O'Connor, Simon Lawless.

Subs: Adrian Gilmore for O'Connor, Eddie Beer for McCormack.

DROGHEDA UNITED

Keith Fox, Jamie Walsh, Mick Clarke, Stephen Murphy, Conor Murtagh, Stephen Kealey, Gary McGrane, Robbie Craig, Graham Howard, Eoin Murphy, Michael Tsounias.

Subs: Kevin McCann, Kieran Hicks.

---

Weekending 17th February 2008

DDSL YOUTHS SUPER DIVISION

A much depleted Athletic side played bravely but ultimately fell to defeat by the narrowest of margins to a very strong Drogheda team who clearly hold ambitions of annexing league honours at the end of the season. On a day when the visitors had a clear advantage in technical ability a battling performance by the home side, deprived of many key players through injury and unavailability, almost snatched a point.

Athletic had the worst possible start to the match when Graham Howard picked up the ball deep in his own half in the 5th minute and ran 40 yards before unleashing an unstoppable shot past Colm Baker. Athletic recovered from this early set back and with Robbie Dolan's influence growing in midfield, began to enjoy parity of possession.

However with Tony Dunne having to play in midfield on this occasion the home side lacked the usual cutting edge up front and by and large Keith Fox remained untroubled in the Drogheda goal. The same however could also be said about Colm Baker who rarely had to make a save largely due to the excellence of Barry Beglan and Luke Thompson in defence in front of him.

Both teams however did carve out some good chances, Drogheda's Gary McGrane on the right side being a constant threat to the Athletic defence. On two occasions midway through the half he put in excellent crosses but Robbie Craig over from the first one and Shane Archibold cleared the second. Athletic's best chance came when Eddie Beer and Robbie Dolan combined to find Darren Massey in the inside left position. He turned the centre half Kevin McCann and put in a cross to the far post which was narrowly missed by a number of incoming Athletic attackers.

The second half was a much more open affair with chances falling to both sides. In the 52nd minute Fox made a good save from a Barry Beglan header at the expense of a corner. Robbie Dolan then had a long range shot which Fox initially caught but then fumbled but somehow managed to keep out of his goal. Drogheda should have extended their lead when a Stephen Kealey cross from the left was narrowly missed at the far post by Kieran Hicks. Colm Baker then made a smart save from Michael Tsounias. However the same player was to strike in the 63rd minute. Athletic had good possession in an attacking position on the left hand side of the pitch. However they needlessly conceded possession to Stephen Murphy who gave the ball to Tsounias at the edge of the Mullingar penalty area. Barry Beglan looked to have the situation covered but slipped in the treacherous ground conditions and this split second gave the substitute sufficient time to fire the ball past Baker.

To Athletic's credit the heads didn't go down and they continued to battle to get themselves back in the game. Joe O'Connor and Adrian Gilmore both had half changes before Darragh Kiernan finally played a defence splitting ball to Shane Archibold who made no mistake with an angled shot past Fox. Unfortunately for Athletic time ran out with Drogheda hanging on for the 3 points.

TEAMS:

MULLINGAR ATHLETIC

Colm Baker, Luke Thompson, Adrian Gilmore, Robert Dolan, Barry Beglan, Joseph O'Connor, Shane Archibold, Eddie Beer, Darren Massey, Tony Dunne, Kevin Nea.

Sub: Darragh Kiernan for E. Beer.

DROGHEDA UNITED

Keith Fox, Jamie Walsh, Mick Clarke, Stephen Murphy, Kevin McCann, Stephen Kealey, Gary McGrane, Robbie Craig, Graham Howard, Eoin Murphy, Kieran Hicks.

Subs: Conor Murtagh for Kealey, Michael Tsounias for Murphy.

Weekending 10th February 2008

DDSL YOUTHS SUPER DIVISION

A share of the spoils was the fairest result in an excellent match at Gainstown on Sunday in a game which ebbed and flowed from start to finish.

The visitors were first to show their attacking prowess with front players Keith Pendred and Marc Hughes looking threatening in the early stages. Pendred fired wide in the 6th minute and 2 minutes later Hughes brought an excellent one handed save from Colm Baker. Athletic then settled down and started putting pressure on the Rover's goal with Shane Archibold on the right wing proving the main outlet. Archibold picked up a Mark McKeever pass in the 18th minute and beat two Rover's players before putting in a cross which was headed over by Kevin Nea. 3 minutes later the same player once again got into the penalty area but a last ditch tackle by Brian Fitzpatrick deprived Tony Dunne of the scoring chance. Athletic were now well on top with Barry Beglan and Sean McCormack coming to terms with the threat of Hughes and Pendred. However Rovers continued to threaten on the break and Baker was once again called into action in the 22nd minute to save from a Hughes header following a cross from Robert O'Sullivan. However the home side made the deserved breakthrough in the 30th minute. Robbie Dolan and Kevin Nea combined down the left side before Adrian Gilmore put in a perfect diagonal ball to the far edge of the penalty area. It was met first time by Shane Archibold whose stinging half volley was only parried by Declan Woods in the Rovers goal. Darren Massey reacted quickest to fire home from 6 yards. The home side could have increased their lead before half time when Massey was put through by Robbie Dolan in the 38th minute but his effort was cleared by Eddie Lizell at the expense of a corner.

Rovers started the second half on the front foot and pinned Athletic back in their own half. Baker made a good reaction save from Shane Hughes in the 48th minute following a good run by the midfielder and Luke Thompson and Barry Beglan combined to prevent Callum Griffith testing Baker following a good run down the left-hand side. Tolka however did make the breakthrough in the 58th minute with Craig Piers fired home from the edge of a packed penalty area giving the unsighted Baker no chance.

Athletic had immediate chance to restore the lead when a Mark McKeever pass put Tony Dunne through in space but the latter's effort was wide of target. It was Rovers who took the lead in the 58th minute when Piers once again picked up a poor clearance at the edge of the Athletic area and on this occasion his shot was deflected past Baker giving the visitors a somewhat lucky lead.

Athletic responded with a number of tactical switches which saw Adrian Gilmore move up front alongside Dunne. An immediate effect saw Eddie Beer and Robbie Dolan combine to put Gilmore through but he was pushed to the ground in the penalty area by Brian Fitzpatrick before he could pull the trigger. Robbie Dolan took the subsequent penalty and hit his shot hard and low to the right hand corner of Declan Woods' goal but the keeper got down to make a fantastic save. Dolan followed up to get to the ball but his effort produced another excellent save by Woods to keep his side ahead. Athletic were not to be denied however and Thompson and Dunne linked to put Shane Archibold through in the 72nd minute in the inside right channel. His well struck effort squirmed under the body of Woods leaving Gilmore well positioned to finish from close range into an empty net.

Both sides had opportunities to win the match with Baker making an excellent save from Marc Hughes in the 78th minute and the excellent Sean McCormack making a last ditch tackle on the goal line to prevent Pendred scoring. The best chance however was to fall to Athletic when Archibold broke to the right and delivered an excellent cross which unfortunately was just behind Adrian Gilmore allowing Robert O'Sullivan to clear to ensure a share of the points.

TEAMS:

MULLINGAR

Colm Baker, Luke Thompson, Adrian Gilmore, Robert Dolan, Barry Beglan, Sean McCormack, Mark KcKeever, Shane Archibold, Darren Massey, Tony Dunne, Kevin Nea.

Subs: Eddie Beere for Massey, Darragh Kiernan, Richie Healy.

TOLKA ROVERS

Declan Woods, Robert O'Sullivan, John Kelly, Eddie Lizell, Brian Fitzpatrick, Craig Piers, Callum Lloyd Griffith, Shane Hughes, Keith Pendred, Marc Hughes, Desmond Sheridan.

Subs: Simon Brown for Sheridan, Shane Horan, Ross Walsh.

Referee:  Mr. Declan Foran, who by common consensus of both teams, contributed to an excellent match with his efficient handling of the game.

11th November 2007

DDSL YOUTHS SUPER LEAGUE

St.Patrick's Athletic  2   Mullingar Athletic  1

Mullingar were very unfortunate to suffer defeat against the home side in Dublin on Sunday when, despite being the better team over the 90 minutes, they tasted defeat at the hands of the home side who proved slightly more clinical in front of goal.

Mullingar were somewhat unsettled in the first 15 minutes of the match and St.Patrick's Athletic took advantage of some slack defending to take the lead in the 14th minute through Kevin Keenan. Stung by this setback the visitors made a positive response and a Robbie Dolan through ball was helped on by Darren Massey into the path of Tony Dunne whose fierce strike narrowly cleared the St.Pat's crossbar. In the 20th minute Kevin Nea broke down the left and put in a cross which found Mark McKeever whose effort was saved by Mark Gibson in the St.Pat's goal in the 21st minute. Athletic finally appeared to have made the breakthrough in the 35th minute when an excellent run by Mark McKeever down the right hand side brought him into the penalty area before he released the ball to Darren Massey who was fouled by Graham Dowling. The referee had no hesitation in pointing to the spot but Gibson made an excellent save from Tony Dunne's penalty kick to keep his side ahead.

Athletic started the second half on the front foot and were rewarded in the 46th minute when a Conor Beglan through ball to Darren Massey was laid into the path of Tony Dunne who ran through the St.Pat's defence to fire past Mark Gibson for a deserved equaliser. Athletic bombarded the St.Pat's goal for the next 15 minutes but found keeper Gibson and centre halves Graham Dowling and David Fagan in tremendous form and they repelled numerous attacks as Mullingar chased the lead.

Sporadic St.Pat's attacks were kept at bay by the outstanding Stephen Moran and Barry Beglan at centre half. On the one occasion when St.Pat's did breach the Athletic rear guard during this period Colm Baker made a good save from Niall Brennan.

The game was ultimately to be decided in a 2 minute period at the start of the fourth quarter. Once again Mark Gibson made an excellent save from Darren Massey. The ball was played forward from the clearance and received by Colm Pugh who looked in an offside position. Conor Beglan's covering tackle conceded the corner with an otherwise excellent referee ignoring the Mullingar appeals. From the resulting kick Niall Brennan headed in at the near post to give St.Pat's the lead against the run of play.

Try as they might Athletic just could not find an equaliser as St.Pat's pulled everybody back into defence in the final quarter. Once again from Mullingar's point of view there were loads of positives to take from the match, but unfortunately no points.

TEAM:

Colm Baker, Shane Archbold, Stephen Moran, Barry Beglan, Adrian Gilmore, Mark McKeever, Robert Dolan, Conor Beglan, Kevin Nea, Darren Massey, Tony Dunne.

Subs: Gareth Flower for Nea, Joseph O'Connor for Archibold, Daragh Kiernan for Massey, Eddie Beer.

September 2007

DDSL Youths - FERRARI CUP

A very under strength Mullingar Athletic Team were narrowly defeated by the visitors from Swords on Sunday in the first round of the DDSL Cup. Given the number of defections from the squad due to illness, injury and unavailability for other reasons this was quite a good performance with, once again, unforced errors proving the undoing of the home side.

The match had barely time to settle when the visitors took the lead. There looked to be no danger when River-Valley were awarded a free kick 25 yards from goal. Jordon Nolan struck a speculative shot which took a slight defection but nonetheless seemed to be covered by Shane Weir. However to the surprise of the home side and indeed the visitors the ball ended up in the back of the net to give River-Valley a most fortuitous lead. Athletic responded well to this setback with Kevin Matthews in the River-Valley goal being tested by shots from Gareth Flower and Daryl O'Toole. Despite enjoying plenty of possession for the next twenty minutes the home side fell further behind when a long ball from defence by Joe O'Reilly was only partially cleared in the 22nd minute. Unfortunately for Athletic it fell to the outstanding Jordon Nolan who made no mistake from twelve yards. As the match entered the second quarter Athletic finally got on the score sheet when an excellent through ball from Tony Dunne found Daragh Kiernan twenty yards out from goal and he showed good composure to chip the ball over Matthews to reduce the lead in the 38th minute. The same player was unlucky not to equalise five minutes later when his excellent strike was blocked by Sean Kane at the expense of a corner. Robbie Dolan's delivery from the kick was met by Conor Beglan whose effort was saved by Matthews.

Athletic improved considerably in the second half with the restructured defence with Danny McConnell at centre half alongside Conor Beglan coming to terms with the River-Valley danger men Ronan Murtagh and Jordon Nolan. This provided a platform for an excellent attacking half by Athletic who created plenty of chances but just could not find a way past the River-Valley defence. However their task was made all the more difficult in the 56th minute when the visitors scored from an isolated attack. Garry Doran played the ball down the right hand side to Gary Mortimer. His long cross looked to be covered by Shane Weir but the wind took the ball away from the goalkeeper at the last minute. Weir did well to get a hand on the ball to prevent it going into the top corner but unfortunately the rebound fell to Tommy Cooney in the six yard box and he had the simplist of tasks to score to restore River Valley's two goal lead.

Thereafter Athletic attacked the River-Valley goal constantly with Conor Beglan having an imperious match at centre half and carrying the ball out of defence at every opportunity. Athletic were rewarded with a second goal with twelve minutes to go. Danny McConnell found Robbie Dolan whose pass was picked up by Tony Dunne in the inside left position. He made an excellent run into the penalty area beating two defenders before delivering a perfect cross for Garrett Flower to score from six yards.

Try as they might Athletic could not force an equaliser in the time remaining with Eddie Beer, Daryl O'Toole, and Conor Beglan all having goal bound efforts saved. In the dying moments Shane Weir made a spectacular save from Gary Mortimer to maintain the score at two three.

Athletic will not have a more difficult assignment than this for the remainder of the year with nine squad players unavailable for selection on this occasion. The positives were that many of the younger players notably Kevin Nea and Eddie Beer took the opportunity to show that they can play at this level. On top of that there was return to his best form from the excellent Conor Belgan and a very solid performance from Danny McConnell along side him at centre half, ably assisted by the consistent Luke Thompson.

TEAMS:

Mullingar Athletic.

Shane Weir, Luke Thompson, Conor Beglan (Capt.), Daniel McConnell, Kevin Nea, Daryl O'Toole, Robert Dolan, Tony Dunne, Daragh Kiernan, Eddie Beer, Gareth Flower.

Subs: Kevin Smyth for Kiernan, Colm Baker.

River Valley Rangers

Subs: Niall Mahon for Cooney, Deane Wall for Murtagh, Keith Kelly for Cummins, Keith Martin for Reilly.

DDSL YOUTHS SUPER LEAGUE

Mullingar Athletic 1 (Tony Dunne) St.Mary's 3 (S O' Connor, I. Masters)

Athletic's excellent start to the season came to a halt against lowly St.Mary's at Gainstown on Sunday 9th September when the visitors ran out deserving winners following a lack lustre display by the home side. While Athletic had to reshuffle their team somewhat due to injuries to a few key players, this still doesn't explain the paucity of the performance which effectively gifted 3 points to the visitors.

Athletic started on the back foot and it was St.Mary's who had the earlier chances with the outstanding Sean O'Connor and Ian Masters testing Shane Weir. They eventually took the lead in the 26th minute following a corner. Goalkeeper Weir came to take the corner and certainly seemed to be impeded. However the referee ruled that the interference had come from one of his own players and the result left Sean O'Connor with an easy opportunity which he converted from close range. Athletic, with Daryl O'Toole on in midfield, improved somewhat in the second quarter but were lucky to reach halftime with a minimum margin between the sides.

The home side were much more competitive in the second half and got what seemed to be the vital breakthrough in the 48th minute. A Tony Dunne shot was handled in the penalty area and from the resulting kick Dunne scored from the rebound following an excellent save by Sean Holland in the St.Mary's goal. Athletic might have taken the lead 8 minutes later when a through ball from Conor Beglan was picked up by Tony Dunne. He got away for once from the excellent Eoin Murphy but his chipped effort from the edge of the penalty area was saved by Holland. Having been given a reprieve however, the visitors took the initiative and secured the lead goal in the 56th minute. A cross from the left was badly defended by Athletic allowing Ian Masters to coast in for a simple score. Athletic upped their game thereafter but blanket defence by a well organised St.Mary's confined them to long range shots. Tony Dunne, Gareth Flower and Daryl O'Toole all had their long range efforts comfortably saved by Holland. The best chance of an equaliser was set up by Kevin Nea whose right wing cross was met by Tony Dunne but Niall Mulvey blocked his effort and Gareth Flower fired wide from the rebound. Robbie Dolan made a determined forward run 5 minutes later but, lacking support, had to opt to shoot from long range and his effort went narrowly wide of Holland's goal.

As the match entered injury time and Athletic laid siege to the St.Mary's goal. A good flick on by Joe O'Connor was met by Dunne but his effort was smothered by Eoin Murphy. With Athletic pressing forward in search of an equaliser they were caught on the break in the 92nd minute. The excellent O'Connor started the move by opening up the play in midfield and then typically continuing his run to find himself in the perfect position to slide the ball home from 6 yards to put the result beyond doubt.

On a day when only Luke Thompson, Conor Beglan and Adrian Gilmore can be satisfied with their performances for the home side this result can be viewed as a set back but nothing more. It is early days and no doubt Athletic will bounce back and return to winning ways over the coming weeks.

TEAM:

Subs: Daryl O'Toole for Kiernan, Kevin Nea for Beer, Joe O'Connor for Archibold.

DDSL YOUTHS SUPER LEAGUE

Kildare County 3 Mullingar Athletic 4

(D.Kiernan, K. Nea, D.McConnell & T. Dunne, Pen)

Athletic were to rue these missed chances when Kildare struck back for an equaliser in the 40th minute. The goal was a carbon copy of their earlier effort with the ball once again being cleared to the edge of the area only to be fired home from 25 yards by the same Kildare player. Incredibly Kildare County were to take the lead totally against the run of play before the half finished. Shane Weir punched a cross clear under pressure but once again Athletic failed to defend the second ball and the resultant cross was scrambled home by the Kildare centre forward to give them the lead totally against the run of play.

Encouraged by their finish in the first half, Kildare started the second positively and created a number of chances which were nevertheless well defended by Athletic. Athletics' cause was further hampered by an injury to Mark Dunne, who had an outstanding first half, and they had to reshuffle with Kevin Nea going to left back and Eddie Beer coming on on the right side of midfield. However the defence held firm with Conor Beglan and Shane Archibold, playing his first match at centre half, outstanding. The returning Luke Thompson also performed solidly at right back. Having absorbed early pressure from Kildare County however Mullingar were soon back in the ascendancy. They almost equalised when a Tony Dunne header was picked up by Mark McKeever who was pulled back for an incorrect off-side decision when through on goal in the 58th minute. 2 minutes later Eddie Beer had the ball in the net but his effort was once again ruled out for off-side. However Athletic were not to be denied when in the 70th minute Tony Dunne picked out Danny McConnell's run and the midfielder made no mistake from 12 yards. Soon afterwards Kildare were reduced to 10 men when their number 8 was sent off for a vicious late tackle on Kevin Nea. Daragh Kiernan and the Kildare right back were later dismissed in controversial circumstances for what seemed a very innocuous incident. The game was now totally open and it was Athletic who looked the likelier to score. Eventually they did so when a Kildare defender handled a goal bound shot in the penalty area and Tony Dunne made no mistake from the spot to send Athletic home with the win secured.

TEAM:

Mullingar Athletic:

Subs: Eddie Beer for Dunne, Joe O'Connor, Johnny Mahony.

The club, and in particular the Youth Squad, wish Barry Beglan a speedy recovery from his illness and hope that he will be back playing in the very near future.

Mullingar Athletic 3 St.Patricks Athletic 1

(G. Flower 2, T.Dunne 1) (J. Flynn)

The Dubliners started at a frantic pace and caused the home defence, reshuffled in the absence of Barry Beglan, endless problems in the initial stages of the match. They were rewarded for this early pressure when a cross from the left wing by Kevin Keenan found Jack Flynn unmarked in the penalty area and his headed effort flew past Shane Weir to give St.Pat's the lead in the 6th minute. St.Pat's continued to apply pressure with Kieran O'Connor and Alan McCann ruling the roost in midfield and Colm Pugh being a constant threat on the right wing. However, with Stephen Grace settling in at centre half and Conor Beglan outstanding, Athletic managed to limit the damage and despite all the St.Pat's pressure Weir had very few saves to make. St.Pat's should have increased their lead in the 21st minute when a cross from Pugh was flicked on by Flynn into the path of Niall Brennan, but his effort was straight at Weir who made the save. 3 minutes later an Alan McCann free kick was deflected wide at the expense of a corner.

As the half entered the last 15 minutes Mullingar finally settled into the game and were to dominate possession for the remainder of the half without creating any clear cut chances. Danny McConnell sent a long range effort over the bar as did Shane Archibold and the ever willing Gareth Flower brought a save from Mark Gibson in the St.Pat's goal as the half reached its conclusion.

Mullingar started in a much more positive vein in the second half which was to see them get control of midfield with Robbie Dolan in particular winning the midfield battle and using possession well. As the game became more stretched Luke Thompson and Shane Archibold on the right and Adrian Gilmore and Martin McKeever on the left began to test St.Pat's defensive qualities. Despite dominating possession in the 3rd quarter the visitors were finding it difficult to break down the St.Pat's defence in which centre halves Graham Dowling and David Fagan were outstanding. In the 52nd minute Gilmore and McKeever combined for the latter to send in a cross which Tony Dunne reached but his goal bound effort was blocked by Fagan. The home side continued to apply pressure without getting a clear sight of Mark Gibson's goal.

The game was to change in the 10th minute spell midway through the half. In the 63rd minute a trademark surging run by Stephen Grace from defence created an opportunity for Tony Dunne which was cleared by Ian Finlay for St.Pat's. However the clearance was picked up by Gilmore who combined with McKeever and put in a dangerous diagonal ball into the St.Pat's penalty area. Shane Archibold did very well to time his run in behind the St.Pat's defence and his chipped effort looked to be goal bound, with left back Alan Duignan making a last ditch clearance. The ball fell to Gareth Flower in the 6 yard area and he made no mistake from close range. St.Pat's responded quickly with an attack from the kick-off but an excellent tackle by Conor Beglan on Niall Brennan averted the danger. As another St.Pat's attack broke down in the 72nd minute Beglan and Dolan worked the ball forward to Gareth Flower in a central position 25 yards from the St.Pat's goal. Despite being tightly marked by Dowling, Flower turned the centre half and hit a stunning first time shot into the top corner of the net for a goal worthy of any occasion. St.Pat's went on the attack for the last quarter of the game but the Mullingar defensive unit of Weir, Thompson, Grace, Beglan and Gilmore held out to keep clear goal chances to the minimum. However St.Pat's should have equalised when substitute John Boony got on the end of a Barry Kenny cross but headed wide.

TEAMS:

Mullingar Athletic:

Subs: Eddie Beer for Flower, Joe O'Connor, Johnny Mahony.

St.Patrick's Athletic:

Subs: Barry Kenny for Flynn, Sean Gilmore for Keenan, Bobby Hopkins for Pugh, David Boony for Brennan, Gary Neville.

DDSL U18 MAJOR DIVISION

SECOND PLACE PLAY OFF

Mullingar win on pens AET

Athletic secured second place in the DDSL Youths major Division with a play off victory over Templeogue after a pulsating match in Leixlip on Sunday.

Played in ideal conditions the early stages of the match hinted little at the drama that was to come later. Athletic, as in so matches this season, started well and were totally dominant for the first twenty minutes. Robbie Dolan was running mid field with most of the threat coming down the right side where Dan Gahan supported by Shane Archibold in the unfamiliar right back position, was posing a constant threat. Two early crosses from Gahan were knocked back out to Paul Radford but his well struck efforts were just slightly wide of target. Joe O'Connor just failed to connect properly with another Gahan cross in the 8th minute allowing the keeper to save. Following a corner in the 14th minute the Templeogue keeper once again rescued this team with a good save from Conor McEntee. Archibold, Dolan and Radford then set up Danny Gahan who went on a mazy run through the middle before being eventually dispossessed by an excellent tackle by the Templeogue centre half in his own penalty area. In the 18th minute a brilliant 50 yard cross field pass out of defence from Conor Beglan found Daragh Kiernan who nipped past the full back and put in an excellent cross which was narrowly missed by the inrushing Gareth Flower and O'Connor. Flower then had a goal bound shot blocked by a Templeogue defender as Athletic continued in the ascendancy.

Having dominated the first quarter of the match the Mullingar side fell victim to a sucker punch in the 25th minute when they went behind completely against the run of play. A long clearance out of defence from Templeogue was picked up by the right winger who looked in an offside position. However he ran on through the Mullingar defence to apply a clinical finish past Shane Weir. As Athletic tried to regroup they were to be punished further in the 32nd minute. A needlessly conceded corner was put in from the right hand side and the Templeogue captain scored with an unopposed header at the near post to leave Athletic facing a two goal deficit at half time.

Despite these setbacks the Mullingar heads did not drop and they swarmed all over Templeogue at the start of the second half. The Templeogue keeper made point blank saves from Radford in the 57th minute and Flower in the 62nd minute as Athletic began at last to create some clear-cut chances. The trend continued throughout the half with Athletic playing some of the best football of the season. Robbie Dolan was in the thick of almost all the action and it was he who got on the end of an end to end passing movement for Athletic but unfortunately his finish did not match the excellent approach work as he shot wide.

As the match entered the last quarter Athletic were almost caught on the break and it took two excellent saves by Weir in the 71st and 75th minute to keep his team in the match. Conor McEntee and Conor Beglan then had to defend well on two separate occasions as Athletic pressed forward for the vital breakthrough goal. As the clock ticked down Kiernan, Gahan and sub David Griffith all had chances to open the scoring but a culmination of poor finishing and excellent defending and goalkeeping kept Athletic at bay.

If all the space had been down Athletics' right hand side for Archibold and Gahan in the first half, in the second half it was Conan Reilly and Daragh Kiernan who enjoyed this privilege and made constant use throughout the half when supplying ball after ball to the strikers and central midfield players from the left flank. It was this combination that threw Athletic a lifeline with eight minutes to go. Good build up of play involving Beglan and Dolan found Reilly on the left wing and with Flower distracting the centre halfs with a near post run the full back's excellent cross was met by Daragh Kiernan in the middle of the six yard box who headed past the Templeogue keeper. From the tip off Templeogue tried to run down the clock and as the remaining seven minutes ticked away it looked as if they had succeeded despite a couple of great efforts on goal by Athletic. As the game entered injury time however there was to be one more opportunity. Athletic forced a corner which was partially cleared to Kiernan on the edge of the Templeogue penalty area. Gareth Flower picked up the return ball with his back to goal, turned the centre half and in a moment of sheer magic drove the ball into the far corner of the net from the edge of the 18 yard area for a sensational equaliser.

In extra time there looked to be only one team capable of winning the match and this view has copper fastened half way through the first period when Archibold put Flower through the middle and once again the centre forward applied an unerring finish, this time low down to the goalkeeper's left. However Athletic were undone once again by a lapse in concentration. They gave away good possession needlessly in midfield to concede a corner. The corner was successfully defended with Conan Reilly heading clear, but while he was off the pitch getting treatment for a head injury received in making the clearance the ball was put back in for the Templeogue right winger to score an equaliser from what looked once again like a suspiciously off side position.

Athletic had a couple of half chances and one clear cut chance to win the game before the penalty shoot out. That chance fell to Daragh Kiernan when a good move set Gahan wide on the right wing and his perfectly flighted cross beat the centre half and the keeper but on this occasion Kiernan's excellent headed effort just shaved the crossbar.

This team has not had the best of records in penalty shoot outs. However on this occasion a flawless goalkeeping performance won the match. Both sides missed their first penalties but then Weir made a brilliant save low down to his left with Templeogue's second. Daragh Kiernan and Robbie Dolan provided perfect finishes with Athletics' next two penalties with Weir producing a save from the Templeogue penalty taker in between. It was then left to Weir to win the match for Athletic and he obliged with a fantastic finger tip save to somehow put Templeogue's final effort over the crossbar to give Athletic a deserved win and some reward from a very tough season.

This was a tremendous effort by the team who were shorn of almost half their squad due to injuries, work commitments and the Leaving Cert.

Team:

Shane Weir, Shane Archibold, Conor Beglan (Captain), Conor McEntee, Conan Reilly, Daniel Gahan, Robert Dolan, Paul Radford, Daragh Kiernan, Gareth Flower, Joe O'Connor.

Subs: David Griffith for O'Connor

Stephen Treacy

A special word of thanks to the crowd who travelled to support the team all of whom went away feeling that the trip was well worth the effort.

DDSL YOUTHS MAJOR DIVISION

(P. Radford, D. Kiernan)

The Youths team finished their season with a well deserved victory over title chasing Leixlip in Gainstown on Sunday. Recent dropped points had meant that Athletic could not now themselves win the league title but they nonetheless produced a spirited performance to severely dent the title chances of the Kildare visitors.

Athletic dominated the early stage of the match and took the lead in the 4th minute. Following an exchange of passes between Luke Thompson and Robbie Dolan down the right hand side the ball reached Gareth Flower who laid it to Paul Radford. Radford took one touch before firing a dipping shot into the top corner of the Leixlip goal from thirty yards out for a brilliant opener. Athletic continued to attack and should have extended their lead in the tenth minute when Dolan got in on the end of a Daragh Kiernan cross at the far post but his shot was narrowly wide. Gareth Flower and David Griffith were causing constant problems for the Leixlip back four with their pace and Flower produced two saves from the Leixlip keeper in the space of five minutes midway through the half.

Leixlip equalised in the 28th minute against the run of play when the right winger sprung the Athletic offside trap before running in and applying the perfect finish past Shane Weir. Undaunted by this set back Athletic immediately went back on the attack and Daragh Kiernan almost restored the lead in the 35th minute when he got in on the end of a Conan Reilly pass in the outside left channel. His perfectly executed chip effort looked bound for the top of the net but somehow the Leixlip goalkeeper recovered his ground to tip the ball over the bar at the expense of a corner. It was however the same player who restored Athletics' lead just before the half time break. Alan Cashman won the ball in midfield and combined with Paul Radford whose perfect pass inside the full back allowed Kiernan to run onto the ball and on this occasion the left winger got the better of the Leixlip keeper from 18 yards to give Athletic a deserved half time lead.

It took the home side some time to settle after the change of ends and Leixlip did apply heavy pressure for the first fifteen minutes of the second half. However with Weir solid in goals and Conor Beglan and Conor McEntee dominant at centre half the home side weathered this early storm before going on to dominate the last half hour of the match.

A combination of poor finishing and bad decision making in front of goal prevented Athletic extending their lead. Flower had a couple of efforts saved by the keeper as did Griffith. Substitutes Chris Vella and Shane Archibold were pulled up for marginal offside decisions when in good scoring positions. The best two chances of the half probably fell to Dolan and Joey O'Connor with the former shooting over the bar following a fantastic run from mid field while the latter just took much time and allowed the centre half to back track and block his effort in front of goal.

However with Alan Cashman totally dominant at this stage in the centre of midfield the home side never looked like surrendering the lead.

Team:

Shane Weir, Luke Thomspon, Conor Beglan (Captain), Conor McEntee, Conan Reilly, Robbie Dolan, Alan Cashman, Paul Radford, Daragh Kiernan, David Griffith, Gareth Flower.

Subs:

Chris Vella for Radford

Shane Archibold for Griffith

Joey O'Connor for Kiernan

Sunday 11th February 2007:

DDSL YOUTHS MAJOR DIVISION

Athletic had a narrow if well deserved win over the league leaders at Gainstown on Sunday. The home side dominated the game for long spells and, had they taken even a percentage of the goal chances created, then the game would have been over as a contest at half time. As it was it required two second half strikes to secure the win for Athletic.

Templeogue made the better start and were somewhat fortuitously in the lead after seven minutes. Athletic failed to properly clear a corner at the near post and despite keeper Jason Daly making an excellent save the Templeogue striker reacted quickest to score from close range at the second attempt. Encouraged by the positive start Templeogue were the better team for the next ten minutes and might have extended their lead in the 15th minute when their centre forward broke down the right hand side and put in an excellent cross but fortunately for Mullingar his team mates failed to get on the end of it and the ball went harmlessly wide. For the remainder of the half however Athletic got well on top with Alan Cashman and Simon Quinn beginning to dominate the midfield exchanges. They should have equalised in the 22nd minute when an excellent Quinn run and cross was narrowly missed at the far post by Daragh Kiernan. Paul Radford then played an excellent ball with the outside of his right foot to Kiernan whose first time cross was headed wide at the far post by Quinn. Chances continued to come for Athletic following another good move and Shane Archibald produced an excellent save from the Templeogue keeper. Chris Vella had a chance to equalise but hesitated allowing the Templeogue centre half to get a good block tackle. The half ended with Cashman and Conan Reilly shooting wide when really they should have hit the target.

Half time substitute Stephen Treacy was quickly in the action at the start of the second half when Vella set him up for a shooting opportunity. Treacy struck an excellent shot from the edge of the 18 yard area which looked destined for the top corner of the net but somehow the Templeogue keeper got across to make an excellent one handed save in the 48th minute. Two minutes later Treacy was once again involved when both himself and Simon Quinn had shots blocked with Treacy having a second effort which was cleared off the line with the goal keeper beaten. The breakthrough eventually arrived in the 52nd minute. The Templeogue defence was put under incessant pressure. When the ball was cleared it was met by Daryl O'Toole twenty yards out. He hit it first time on the half volley and his shot took a slight deflection to fly into the top corner of the Templeogue net. Mullingar Athletic were now pressing forward at every opportunity and took the lead in the 58th minute. Once again Treacy and Quinn were the players involved with Treacy's cross shot being cleared out to the edge of the penalty area and on this occasion Quinn took one touch before drilling it home into the bottom corner of the Templeogue left for what proved to be the winning goal.

Athletic should really have pressed home their advantage thereafter particularly when Templeogue had a player sent off in the 62nd minute. They had a number of chances the best of which fell to Shane Archibold who was cleverly put through one on one with the goalkeeper by a Joe O'Connor. Archibold kept his cool and rounded the keeper and credit to the custodian who made an excellent recovery to smother Archibold's goal bound effort. Athletic were almost punished for not taking their chances when the Templeogue's centre forward broke the offside trap and was through on Jason Daly's goal but Daly made an excellent save to keep Athletics' league chances alive.

Mention must also be made of another excellent Mullingar defensive performance from Thompson, Beglan, Reilly and McEntee who not only defended solidly but provided a platform for many of the attacking moves in the second half with Beglan in particular making a number of surging runs from defence:

Team:

Jason Daly, Luke Thompson, Conor Beglan, Conan Reilly, Conor McEntee, Shane Archibold, Simon Quinn, Alan Cashman, Daragh Kiernan, Paul Radford, Chris Vella.

On the previous Sunday Athletic recorded a comprehensive victory over the visitors from Lucan.  They scored early on with an excellent drive from Paul Radford from 25 yards finding the bottom corner of the net.  Thereafter Athletic never really looked back and scored three further goals in quick succession to finish the game as a contest before half time.  The Radford goal was quickly followed by another score when the Lucan keeper was adjudged to have fouled the ball in the penalty area.  From the resultant direct free kick Daragh Kiernan cleverly curved the second goal into the top corner.  The lead was increased in the 33rd minute when the excellent David Hunt set up Gareth Flower whose smart turn and shot from 18 yards gave the Lucan keeper no chance. The first half scoring was completed when Conor McEntee got at the end of a memorable passing movement to record his first goal of the season.

With the match effectively finished as a contest at half time Athletic eased off and there was only one addition to the scoreline when Shane Archibold volleyed home a Daniel Gahan cross in the 65th minute.

Team:

Shane Weir, Luke Thompson, Conor Beglan, Conan Reilly, Mark Dunne, Conor McEntee, David Hunt, Paul Radford, Daragh Kiernan, Shane Archibold, Gareth Flower.

---

Weekend of 6th-7th January 2007

FAI YOUTH CUP

MULLINGAR ATHLETIC ADVANCE TO FOURTH ROUND OF CUP

Two penalties conceded and a sending off left too much of an uphill struggle for Parkville when they succumbed to a well-drilled Mullingar side at Hawkins Lane, Tullow on Saturday.  The Tullow men found themselves three goals and one man down at half-time and despite giving a spirited second half performance, never really looked like progressing any further in this competition.

With the exception of an early goal-scoring opportunity for Parkville's Padraig Rooney, the Westmeath side bossed the opening 45 minutes.  Shane Archibold and Alan Cashman both went close to opening the scoring for the visitors.  When they did find a breakthrough Archibold, who impressed throughout, was involved.  After beating the Parkville offside trap he slipped the ball to Simon Quinn who bundled it over the line after some initial hesitation for the lead goal after 23 minutes.  Athletic looked to have increased their lead in the 29th minute when right back Conor McEntee headed home a Darragh Kiernan cross but the referee ruled it out for offside.  Eleven minutes later, Mullingar found the net again.  Kiernan's corner found an unmarked Cashman in the box and his header was deflected to the net by a Parkville defender to double the advantage.

At 2-0 down Parkville's misery was worsened when again Cashman was left unmarked in the box from another Darragh Kiernan corner in the 39th minute.  He headed goalwards but saw his shot blocked on the line by the hand of Donnie Doyle.  Referee O'Reilly was given no choice but to dismiss the Parkville defender and award the spot kick to Mullingar.  Having been denied unfairly, Cashman stepped up to take the penalty which he cheekily sent down the middle to give his side a 3-0 lead at half-time.

In the second half Mullingar struggled to find a way past an inspired David Earle in the Parkville goal.  He twice denied Archibold as well as Darryl O'Toole to keep Parkville in the game.

Parkville had opportunities of their own in the second half, and the ten men in fact put on a fine performance, and shortly after the hour mark got their reward.  Con Murphy found himself isolated in the Mullingar half but did well to hold up possession.  When support arrived it came in the shape of Ciaran Smithers to whom Murphy rolled the ball for him to fire low and hard past Shane Weir in the Mullingar goal.  Murphy, who worked tirelessly throughout the second half for Parkville, had a number of chances himself but was unable to beat Weir.

Mullingar should have wrapped up the win with two great chances five minutes from time but both Archibold and sub Tony Dunne were denied by brilliant goalkeeping from Earle.  With legs tiring in the Parkville midfield the home side struggled to stop the Mullingar siege and two minutes from time, persistent pressure from the visitors forced Wesley Tallon into a last second tackle on Archibold in the box from which he conceded a second penalty.  Archibold stepped up to claim the goal he had been threatening all afternoon and put any hopes of a dramatic come back beyond Parkville.  It proved to be a step too far for the Carlow team who bow out of the competition, but after a brave performance nobody can question their commitment or workrate, qualities which are likely to see them do well in what is left of their league campaign.

For Mullingar it was an engouraging performance.  The back four marshalled by Conor Beglan and Conan Reilly were solid throughout and the entire team functioned well with this season's newcomers O'Toole in midfield and Archibold up front catching the eye.  Gareth Flower had his best match of the season so far with Luke Thompson moving over from right back to give another solid performance on the left.

PARKVILLE UNITED: David Earle (captain), Donnie Doyle, John Medcalfe, John Condon, David Byrne, Ciaran Smithers, Johnathan Smithers, James Hickey, Con Murphy, Padraig Rooney, Darragh Conroy.

Subs: Daniel O'Brien for Conroy (45 min), Wesley Tallon for Condon (58 min), David Cleere for Rooney (70 min).

MULLINGAR ATHLETIC: Shane Weir, Conor McEntee (captain), Luke Thompson, Darryl O'Toole, Conan Reilly, Conor Beglan, Gareth Flower, Alan Cashman, Shane Archibold, Simon Quinn, Darragh Kiernan.

Subs: Tony Dunne for Flower (50 min), Joseph O'Connor for Quinn (84 min), Daniel Gahan for Kiernan (87 min).

REF: Brian O'Reilly

LFA YOUTHS CUP 2ND ROUND

Mullingar Athletic 4 Ballyouster 3

P. Radford 2 penalties, S. Quinn, and OG

The match was a cautious affair in the early stages with both sides taking a while to settle. The visitors however took the lead against the run of play in the 14th minute when a lapse of concentration in the Mullingar defence resulted in Daragh Kiernan getting isolated at the edge of the penalty area with the Ballyouster centre forward and the latter's header back across the box was fired home by his strike partner past the helpless Shane Weir from 10 yards. Three minutes later the visitors had increased their lead courtesy of yet another error from Athletic. On this occasion a poor clearance from defence was intercepted by Ballyouster and once again the home side were punished by a clinical finish from the Ballyouster strike force. Athletic were lucky not to go further behind in the 26th minute when the visitors left winger had a clear chance but on this occasion Shane Weir made a brilliant one handed save to push the ball onto his right hand post. However another error by Mullingar was to present Ballyouster with a 3rd goal in the 34th minute. On this occasion a crossfield pass to Aidan Calvey was misplaced and Ballyouster broke quickly to finish once again giving Weir no chance whatsoever.

Quick Start to Second Half

Incredibly the sides were level in the 64th minute when Cashman, Dunne and Kiernan combined on the left side for the latter to fire in a cross which was put into the back of his own net by the Ballyouster centre half under pressure from Simon Quinn. There now looked likely to be only one winner with the homeside totally on top. Chris Vella almost provided the breakthrough in the 75th minute when he picked up a Conor McEntee pass and ran through the Ballyouster defence but his final effort hit the bottom of the post and rebounded to safety. Two minutes later Vella got in behind the defence from a Luke Thompson diagonal ball but lost his footing at the vital stage. Daragh Kiernan was put through one on one with the keeper but the latter made a good save to keep the scores level. Kiernan was to provide the opening for the winner in the 78th minute when he got on the end of yet another excellent diagonal ball and on this occasion beat the keeper who brought him down at the expense of a penalty. Radford stepped up once again to score what proved to be a dramatic winner from the penalty spot. Athletic should really have increased their lead before the end with Cashman and Radford both coming close on a couple of occasions.

Teams: Shane Weir, Luke Thompson, Conor Beglan, Conor McEntee, Aidan Calvey, Daniel Gahan, Paul Radford, Alan Cashman, Daragh Kiernan, Simon Quinn, Chris Vella

Subs: Mark Dunne for Calvey, Gareth Flower for Gahan, Daryl O'Toole for Vella, Shane Archibold and Jason Daly.

Mullingar Athletic AFC