Athlone may have lost the county final to The Downs, but according to senior manager John Foley, the year was still laden with positives. Despite failing narrowly in their bid to secure a 21st senior football championship, Athlone can still reflect on 2003 with a degree of satisfaction. Out of the limelight since 1999, the Shannonsiders were a rejuvenated side last season as they put together an unbeaten run en route to the county final. However, after coming within a whisker of beating The Downs at the first time of asking, they lost the replay by five points. "Losing a county final, especially after a replay, is always a difficult pill to swallow, but I was still proud of my players and the way they performed," says Athlone manager John Foley. "Overall, I was very happy with our form last year, even if we did fall short in the end. We wouldn't have been considered to be title contenders at the start of the year, so it was nice to be able to prove the doubters wrong," he adds. Foley, who played his club football with Ballymun Kickhams and was an All-Ireland minor medal winner with Dublin in 1984, believes Athlone's appearance in the county final provided a major boost for the GAA in the town. "There was huge interest in the final which was great to see," he explains. "Everyone is aware of the strength of soccer and rugby in Athlone, but the people of the town really got behind us last year. In fairness, the final was promoted very well by the club and we had over 300 kids at a coaching session given by the players in the lead-up to the game. "For the GAA to thrive in Athlone, we have to be playing in big games on a more regular basis. A club like Athlone can't afford to out of the limelight for too long." Under the guidance of Foley and his co-selectors David Allen and Liam Downes, Athlone opened their championship campaign against town rivals Garrycastle. Played before a big crowd in Tang, the game wasn't a pretty spectacle with constant fouling and stoppages being the order of the day. A Gary Dolan goal helped Garrycastle to a 1-2 to 0-4 lead at the interval and when the same player found the net for a second time nine minutes into the second half, Athlone's proud record of having never lost to their neighbours in the championship looked to be on the line. However, the blue and whites put in a strong final quarter which culminated in Neil Dolan pointing in injury-time to level matters, 0-9 to 2-3. The Shannonsiders secured their first win when they had a point to spare, 0-14 to 1-10, over Tyrrellspass on June 22. It appeared as if Athlone would have to settle for a share of the spoils until two late frees from Joe Fallon, to which Denis Glennon replied, gave them a dramatic win. A second, and most emphatic win, followed against Moate All-Whites. Athlone had victory effectively wrapped up by half-time when they led by 2-9 to 0-5. It continued to be one-way traffic in the second half with Athlone hitting 10 unanswered points to double their margin of victory, 2-19 to 0-5. St. Loman's provided much sterner opposition for John Foley's charges, but they still emerged as 1-11 to 1-9 victors. That was followed by a 0-10 to 1-7 draw with Coralstown/Kinnegad which sealed Athlone's place in the semi-finals. Coralstown/Kinnegad's subsequent defeat of Tubberclair in the quarter-final set the scene for a semi-final rematch. Another close contest was expected, but Athlone were vastly superior with goals in each half from Joe Fallon and David Prendergast helping them to a 2-8 to 0-7 victory. The Downs provided the opposition for Athlone in a traditional county final on September 21. Despite playing well below par, Athlone hit the front two minutes into injury-time when wing back David O'Neill fisted the only goal. However, The Downs worked the ball down the field and after James Conroy had engineered a free 20 metres out but close to the right-hand sideline, Tommy Cleary showed nerves of steel to kick the equalizer and earn his side a 0-9 to 1-6 draw. In what was a dogged but tense affair, the sides swapped scores throughout the first half before a 33rd minute point from Cleary gave The Downs a 0-4 to 0-3 lead at the break. With John Smyth winning a lot of possession at midfield, The Downs enjoyed the better of the second half exchanges and points from Cleary and the impressive Conroy had them two clear as the game ticked into injury-time. Then, against the run of play, a Joe Fallon '45' caused panic in The Downs' goalmouth and O'Neill was on hand to fist the ball to the net. But Cleary forced a replay with his last-gasp equalizer. That replay didn't take place until October 12 but it was worth the wait for supporters of the black and ambers who could scarcely contain their delight after their side's 2-11 to 1-9 victory. The replay was of a much higher quality than the drawn encounter with goals from Keith Shanley and James Conroy late in the first half proving decisive. Athlone fans will point to the dismissal of midfielder Rory O'Connell for a second bookable offence midway through the second half as the game's turning point. The former All-Star had just kicked a superb long-range point to put the Shannonsiders on level terms, but they fell away badly following his dismissal. The first half was a lively affair with brilliantly-executed goals from Shanley and Conroy in added time giving The Downs a 2-5 to 0-5 lead at the break. But Athlone stormed back into contention on the restart and, helped by a wonderful goal from Neil Dolan, had restored parity by the 43rd minute. However, the dismissal of O'Connell had a crucial bearing on the outcome as The Downs reeled off unanswered points per Conor Carley, Paul Shanley and Tommy Cleary in the closing stages to shatter Athlone's hopes. "We were very disappointed afterwards, but over the course of the two games, The Downs were the better team," Foley admits. "I don't want to sound like I'm making excuses, but very little went right for us in the replay. We went into the game without our captain Tom Stuart-Trainor who was on honeymoon, while Stephen Hahessy was unavailable because of injury. "Aidan Collins and Ollie Keating were also injured during the game and had to be replaced, and if that wasn't bad enough, we had Rory sent off at a time when we were clearly in the ascendancy." Athlone enjoyed a relatively successful year at underage level, capturing the under 16 club and league titles as well as the Feile Shield. The under 16 team, which was managed by Declan O'Flaherty, were denied a treble of successes when they lost to St. Loman's in the 'premier' championship final after a replay. The two clubs had been due to meet in the under 16 club final earlier in the year, but Athlone were awarded the title by the Westmeath minor board after difficulties arose over a date for the fixture. Loman's felt aggrieved by that decision and were well motivated for the championship decider. In a compelling contest, Loman's led by 1-5 to 2-1 at the break, but the Shannonsiders battled back on the restart and had edged into a one-point with the game deep into injury-time. However, a last-gasp point from Conrad Reilly earned the Mullingar side a 2-9 to 3-6 draw. Loman's made no mistake when given the second chance, pulling away in the final quarter to secure a 3-10 to 1-5 victory. Athlone led by 1-3 to 0-3 at the half-way stage, but a goal from the penalty spot by Robbie Lynch edged Loman's in front early in the second half. Athlone remained in contention until the closing quarter when Loman's seemed to find an extra gear with goals from Ciaran Lynam and Lynch putting the result beyond all doubt. Earlier in the year, Athlone were crowned Feile Shield winners following a 5-4 to 3-5 victory over St. Paul's at Rochfortbridge. Jaydean Nicell was top scorer with 2-2, while Craig Tone, Noel Mulligan and Martin Hynes accounted for the winners' other goals. Another big event in Athlone's year was the official 'switching on' of the new floodlights at Pairc Chiarian by An Taoiseach Bertie Ahern. The occasion was marked by a senior football challenge match between Westmeath and Roscommon. Looking ahead to the new season, Foley - whose brother Dave has managed the Raharney hurlers in recent years - makes no secret of his desire to put some silverware on the table. "Obviously, our main objective will be to go one better than last year by winning the senior championship. There is a lot of talent in the club at the moment and we have also been boosted by the news that 'Dobsie' Prendergast, Aidan Collins and Ollie Keating will be giving it another lash. "Another aim of ours is to gain promotion from Division 2 of the All-County League. We lost to St. Malachy's and drew with Tubberclair last year, so hopefully there'll be no such slip-ups this year. We made a lot of progress last year and it's important that we continue to build on it," he concludes. The Athlone team which lost the senior football final replay to The Downs was: Richie Daly; Paddy Dunning, Philip Allen, Fergal Murray; Damien Kelly, Ollie Keating, David O'Neill; Rory O'Connell, Aidan Collins; Adrian Moran, Neil Dolan, Seamus Mitchell; Joe Fallon, Aidan St. John, Paul Bannon. Subs used: Padraig Fogarty, Dermot McManus and James Kilroy. The Feile Shield winning team was: Darren Sammon; John O'Toole, David Fagan, Tom Egan; John Egan, Robert Mahon, Eoin Jordan; Noel Mulligan, Jack Egan; David Egan, Craig Tone, Kevin Murray; Killian O'Driscoll, Ian Byrne, Jaydean Nicell. Subs used: Martin Hynes and Paddy McCall. Tweet

Most Read Stories