The unavailability of several key players contributed greatly to Athlone's senior football championship demise, according to club chairman Martin Flynn. Athlone must wait at least another year for a 21st senior football title after their 2002 championship interests were ended at the quarter-final stage by Mullingar Shamrocks last August. Last crowned champions in 1998, the Shannonsiders have slipped down the pecking order in recent seasons. Much to the frustration of supporters, their fall from grace has coincided with the emergence of town neighbours Garrycastle as the dominant force in Westmeath football. "Garrycastle have stolen the limelight over the past two years and fair dues to them," says Athlone club chairman Martin Flynn. "A few years ago, Athlone supporters would not even have regarded Garrycastle as a threat, but they have improved beyond all recognition and are going to be very difficult to beat again this year. "We have now gone five years without winning a county championship, and I'd like to think that what Garrycastle have achieved will be a huge motivating factor for our boys in the coming year," he adds. Flynn, who captained Athlone in their Leinster club final defeat to Portlaoise in 1971, regards 2002 as a poor year with the club's failure to win promotion from Division 2 of the All-County League proving almost as disappointing as the championship defeat to Shamrocks. "A big aim for us was to get back into Division 1, but defeat to St. Malachy's in our opening league game left us with a mountain to climb. That we didn't achieve promotion was a big blow because it's all the harder to win a championship from Division 2 where the games aren't as competitive as in Division 1." Athlone began their senior championship campaign against Moate All-Whites on May 19. After a sub-standard first half, Moate led by 0-2 to 0-1. But second half scores from Joe Fallon, Dermot McManus, Neil Dolan and Brian Corry propelled the blue and whites to a 0-7 to 0-5 victory. Athlone suffered their first defeat on June 11 when Castledaly - under the guidance of former Athlone manager Brendan Clarke - pipped them by 0-15 to 1-10. The Shannonsiders led by 1-5 to 0-1 at one stage, but Castledaly recovered to trail by 0-7 to 1-6 at the interval. Two Joe Fallon frees helped to keep Athlone's noses in front on the restart, but with JP Casey and Niall Duffy in fine scoring form, Castledaly finished the stronger to claim victory. Two weeks later, Neil Dolan swooped for a brilliant injury-time goal to earn Athlone a 1-12 to 3-6 draw with St. Loman's at Moate. The Mullingar side led by 2-3 to 0-5 at the break and when Colin Whyte added their third goal in the 39th minute, the game looked over as a contest. But, with Joe Fallon proving unerring from placed balls, Athlone had reduced the deficit to three points before Dolan netted the equalising goal. Athlone moved a step closer to reaching the knockout stages when a last gasp pointed free by Joe Fallon gave them a 1-9 to 1-8 victory over Tyrrellspass. The sides were on level terms at half-time, 1-5 each, and it remained nip and tuck until Fallon converted the winning point from close range. The win atoned for Athlone's defeats to the 'Tidy Town' in the previous year's semi-final replay and in the 1999 county final. There was further drama in Athlone's final outing of the league section when Neil Dolan's injury-time goal ensured them of a 3-9 to 1-11 victory over The Downs at Cusack Park. The Shannonsiders scored the opening goal after just six minutes, but they needed a second from a Stephen Hahessy penalty to draw level before half-time. The game remained in the melting pot until Dolan took a pass from Dermot McManus before blasting home the insurance goal and copperfastening Athlone's place in the quarter-final. Mickey Heavin's charges reached the end of the road, however, when they succumbed to old rivals Mullingar Shamrocks by 3-9 to 2-15 at Cusack Park on August 18. Shamrocks led by 1-7 to 1-6 at the break, but a goal from 'Dobsie' Prendergast had Athlone perched on a 2-7 to 1-8 lead early in the second half. Shamrocks fought back and a 54th minute goal from Shane Colleary looked to have settled the issue. But Athlone finished very strongly, with Neil Dolan's second goal cutting the gap to three points. Less than 60 seconds from the end, 'Dobsie' Prendergast thought he had earned his side a penalty, but his appeal was turned down by referee Pat Fox, much to the disgust of the Athlone faithful. Despite the controversial ending, Martin Flynn believes that Athlone could have few complaints about the result. "When you score 3-9 in a game, you shouldn't be losing," he says. "Our biggest problem against Mullingar was the amount of scores we conceded. Our defence was weakened greatly by the absence of Fergal Murray, Brendan Kenny, Paul Mullen and Philip Allen. Fergal and Brendan picked up injuries just a few days beforehand while Paul left us to join the Garda club last year. Philip spent most of the year out of the country on army duty. "On top of that, Joe Fallon was in America for that game. When you're missing five of your best players, it makes things very difficult." Flynn, who is the holder of five senior championship medals and was also a member of the Athlone team which won the first county under 21 championship in 1963, acknowledges that Athlone need to strengthen up defensively if they are to reach the Holy Grail this year. In this regard, he expresses the hope that Fergal Murray will have made a full recovery from his cruciate ligament operation and that Paul Mullen will return to the club after a 12-month absence. "We've got a decent squad, but we need everyone available. There's a perception out there that we have a huge pick, but that isn't entirely true. Athlone may be the biggest town in the county, but our area is effectively confined to Coosan and the town centre, where there isn't that many people living any more. "All around Athlone, you have the country clubs coming in and we're also competing with Garrycastle for players. And then, of course, you're competing against soccer and rugby which are very strong in Athlone." At underage level, Athlone continued to show signs of a revival last year, despite the fact that success proved elusive. The under 14 team reached the club final before Christmas, but were forced to give second best to St. Loman's in a game played under lights at Tubberclair. "We were a bit lax at underage level a few years ago, but there has been a big revival in recent times," Flynn enthuses. "We're a club geared very much towards the future and we have major plans to install full floodlighting and to develop our existing clubhouse at Pairc Chiarain this year. We want to have the best of facilities for the youngsters coming through." Once again, the Flanagan Cup is Athlone's number one target for the coming season and Flynn is predicting a major championship bid from the Shannonsiders. "The players have seen what Garrycastle have achieved and you can sense that they are very determined this year. Assuming we have everyone available, I'll be very disappointed if we're not in Mullingar come September," he concludes. Tweet

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