Underage revival in Athlone
April 30, 2011A renewed emphasis on underage coaching is already paying dividends for Athlone who captured the Feile na nOg and under 16 Division 1 championship titles in 2010.
The Shannonsiders had hoped to mark their 125th anniversary with a 21st senior championship triumph and a first since 1998, but it wasn't to be as town rivals Garrycastle defeated them at the quarter-final stage. However, the success of the under 14 and under 16 teams gave supporters something to cheer about after a few lean years at underage level.
"You need to have a good underage structure to be successful at senior level and that's why we are putting a big effort into our youth section at the moment," explains new Athlone chairman Paul Connellan, who was part of last year's under 16 management team.
"When Athlone were winning senior championships in the past, they had a conveyor belt of young talent coming through. That's a situation we are now trying to recreate. Our under 14 and under 16 teams both had successful years and this bodes well for the future."
The well-known solicitor took enormous personal satisfaction from the under 16 team's success after six years of involvement with that group of players. Last year, he was assisted in the coaching duties by his son John, the Athlone and county footballer, and Aidan St John.
"John and Aidan deserve most of the credit," he modestly says.
"They put in a lot of work with the team over the course of the year. The players looked up to them because they are on the Athlone senior team and John, of course, is now back on the county panel. In the six years I've been involved with this team, it was the first time we won a championship so that was very satisfying. We felt we had underachieved a bit, but thankfully we put that right last year."
The Shannonsiders defeated south county rivals Caulry by 0-14 to 0-7 in the final which was played under lights at Tubberclair on November 12, having accounted for Coralstown/Kinnegad and Moate All-Whites in the quarter-final and semi-final respectively. Athlone dominated the first half and led by 0-7 to 0-2 at the interval thanks to points from Ray Connellan, Warren Conroy, Jordan Marshment, Neil Scally, Seamus Byrne and Tommy McCoy.
But Caulry came out with all guns blazing for the second half, scoring three unanswered points to leave just two between the sides. With the pressure growing on them, Athlone introduced Roy King and he made an immediate impact when he was involved in a move which yielded a free for Connellan to convert.
Connellan kicked Athlone into a four-point lead, only for Caulry to close the gap again. But the Shannonsiders were not to be denied as a late flurry of points from Byrne, Connellan and King made sure of the victory.
Earlier in the year, the under 14s captured the Feile na nOg title following a thrilling 3-10 to 3-8 victory over holders Coralstown/Kinnegad at Cusack Park. In doing so, they avenged their heavy loss to the same opposition 12 months previously.
Athlone were first to find the net through Stephen Ward after just three minutes before Dylan Cooney responded in kind for Coralstown/Kinnegad. There was little to separate the teams until points from Sam Omokoro and Peter Ryan gave Athlone a 1-6 to 1-3 cushion at the interval.
Kinnegad restarted with an unanswered 1-2 to take the lead before Jack Quinn replied with Athlone's second goal. Chris Reid tagged on a point before a penalty from the same player made it 3-8 to 2-6 in favour of the sky blues. But Dylan Cooney's second goal for Kinnegad set up a grandstand finish with Athlone needing a late point from Reid to copperfasten the win.
In June, Athlone travelled to Malin in Co. Donegal to represent Westmeath in the All-Ireland Feile competition. After wins over the host club, Carndonagh (also Donegal) and O'Loughlin Gaels (Kilkenny), they faced North Longford Gaels in the semi-final. Athlone made a slow start and found themselves trailing 0-0 to 1-4 before they eventually got into their stride and opened up a two-point lead with seven minutes remaining. But their Longford opponents finished the stronger to run out 2-8 to 3-2 winners and their subsequent easy win in the final left Athlone pondering what might have been.
On their return, Athlone were expected to make a strong bid for under 14 championship honours, but were eliminated at the semi-final stage following a shock defeat to St. Malachy's/Ballinagore.
Under the management of Knockcroghery native Malachy Gately, who was assisted by selectors Denis O'Sullivan and James Kilroy, the Athlone seniors qualified for the knockout stages of the championship for the first time in six years, but they had still hoped to do better in what was a landmark year for the county's most successful club.
The Pairc Chiarain outfit opened their campaign with a 3-3 to 0-9 victory over 2009 finalists St. Loman's, which many considered to be a shock result at the time. Athlone laid their foundations for their win in the first half when a brace of Mickey Greene goals and another from John Connellan stunned their Mullingar opponents.
Joe Fallon extended Athlone's lead to five points on the restart, but they came under pressure in the final quarter after full back Gary Quinn was sent off.
Athlone made it two wins from two when they defeated south county rivals Tubberclair by 1-9 to 0-8 at Tang. 2009 intermediate champions Tubberclair led by 0-3 to 0-2 after 18 minutes, but Athlone hit back with points from John Connellan and John Egan before Connellan netted in injury-time to give Athlone a 1-6 to 0-3 lead at the break.
Tubberclair closed the gap in the second half, but Athlone were always comfortable and ran out four-point winners.
The Shannonsiders effectively sealed their place in the knockout stages when they got the better of Maryland by 0-12 to 0-9 in Moate. The winners raced into a 0-5 to 0-0 lead inside 12 minutes and were 0-8 to 0-3 to the good at the break. Maryland fought back to restore parity in the second half, but Athlone finished with unanswered points from John Connellan, Joe Fallon and Tom Stuart-Trainor to take the spoils.
Unfortunately for Athlone, that proved to be their last championship victory of the year. Despite losing their remaining group games to Coralstown/Kinnegad (1-4 to 1-6) and Killucan (1-18 to 2-8), they finished third place in the group and therefore qualified for the quarter-finals where they met near-neighbours Garrycastle.
In what was a typically tense affair, Garrycastle prevailed by 0-14 to 0-9 en route to back-to-back Flanagan Cup wins, despite playing the entire second half with 14 men after corner back Tom McHugh was sent off. Garrycastle led by four points at half-time before a Joe Fallon free made it a three-point game just after the restart. That was as close as Athlone came, however, as Garrycastle made light of their numerical disadvantage to run comfortable winners.
"The lads didn't do themselves in that game," Paul recalls.
"We faded out of the game after being in a decent position at half-time and that was very disappointing. Malachy Gately is staying on as manager this year and he'll be aiming to give the championship a good rattle again. We have the makings of a good senior team and the younger players know what's required now."
Elected chairman in succession to Niall Lynch at Athlone's AGM over the Christmas period, Paul Connellan is a former Raheny and Dublin player who has been living in Athlone since 1981. He won minor and under 21 championship honours with Raheny and played in Dublin's 1975 All-Ireland under 21 final defeat to Kerry.
He won a League of Ireland medal with Dundalk in 1976 and was also a talented rugby player. He was elected as the first president of Buccaneers rugby club in 2001. Paul has been involved in underage coaching in Athlone GAA for many years and is looking forward to his latest challenge within the club.
Athlone's under 16 championship winning team was: Darren Cassidy; Aaron Watts, Daniel Lynam, Eoghan O'Reilly; Daniel Boland, Tommy McCoy, Ciaran Prendergast; Gavin Downey, Ray Connellan; Patrick Sheriff, Warren Conroy, Sam Omokoro; Seamus Byrne, Neil Scally, Jordan Marshment. Subs used: Roy King, Aidan Mannion and Aaron Dully.
The Athlone under 14 team that landed the Feile title was: Darren Cassidy; Fabian Cooke, Mike Aka, Kevin Martin; Shane Galvin, Stephen Ward, Fionn Dowd; Matthew Darling, Sam Omokoro; Charlie McMicken, Peter Ryan, Chris Reid; Aidan Byrne, Jack Quinn, Alex Molloy. Sub used: Johnny Ruane. Tweet
