Athletic canter on to next round of FAI Junior Cup

Mullingar Athletic's first team will seldom have an easier outing than that which they experienced in Gainstown, as they simply strolled through to the second round of the FAI Junior Cup, in a totally one-sided mismatch against a very weak Straffan United side.In truth, only an occasional lapse of concentration in the home defence seemed likely to present the Kildare outfit with a goalscoring chance. Their 'keeper Matt Duggan brilliantly saved the first of the winners' three penalty kicks and his alertness, together with the natural complacency which befell the men in yellow and green, prevented the victory margin from reaching double figures.As ever, Gainstown looked magnificent and a very pleasant evening was ideal for football. However, from an early stage it was evident that this was a case of men against boys, as the home team totally controlled the ball. The losers were very much out of their depth and the only mystery is that it took Athletic ten minutes to open their account, with Jimmy McEntee and Darragh Kiernan's trickery on the right and left flanks respectively causing untold problems for the men in all-white with a green trim. The inevitable opening score arrived with the latter two players again to the fore, Kiernan picking out Michael Fadian whose deft cross teed up McEntee for a simple headed goal. Some four minutes later, Stephen Fadian's pin-point cross gave his brother Michael the opportunity to power a downward header to the Straffan net for a second, and a rout seemed likely.The bombardment of the visitors' goal continued apace and at exactly the midpoint of the first moiety, Matt Duggan was unable to control a backpass and Michael Fadian's inch-perfect lay-off gave Jimmy McEntee the chance to bury a low shot in the Straffan net. There was to be no respite for the beleaguered losers' defence (with a terrific goal-saving tackle from Kevin Fox on Michael Fadian a rare highlight) and a foul on the industrious Kevin Keegan gave Athletic a penalty in the 39th minute. However, Michael Fadian's well-struck shot was matched by a wonderful save low to his right by Matt Duggan. Indeed, the only wonder at the interval was that Athletic's lead was by a mere three goals.It was very much a case of 'the same again' on the change of ends, with Mullingar's closest early effort coming when Jimmy McEntee hit the side netting. In the tenth minute, Tony Dunne more than made amends for some occasional loose defending with a fabulous solo goal. Michael Fadian should have made it 5-0 in the winners' next attack, before Matt Duggan's place between the sticks was taken by Adrian Watson, who seemed certain to be faced with a difficult last half-hour. And so it proved with referee Tom Cunningham showing leniency to the visitors' Kevin Fox when he merely awarded a penalty to Athletic in the 17th minute of the second half, after Fox deliberately handled the ball on his own goalline. This time, Michael Fadian made no mistake from the spot. The Mullingar onslaught never abated and only complacency stopped a barrage of goals, as Athletic players almost queued up to get on the scoresheet. The final nail in Straffan's coffin came in the second last minute of normal time, a late challenge on Kevin Campbell resulting in the home side's third penalty kick of the evening. The outstanding Jimmy McEntee fittingly completed his hat-trick from the spot, his powerfully-struck shot crossing the goalline via the underside of the crossbar.Mullingar Athletic: Colin Baker, Tony Dunne, Kevin Campbell, Mark Syron (capt), David Masterson, Enda Matthews, Jimmy McEntee, Kevin Keegan, Michael Fadian, Stephen Fadian, Darragh Kiernan. Subs: Paul Radford (for Kiernan, 63 mins), Dalibur Pesic (for Keegan, 63 mins), Stephen Markey (for Syron, 70 mins).Straffan United: Matt Duggan, Lee Halsman, Stephen Ryan, Kevin Fox, Gordon McCrea, Adrian Watson, Shane McNamara, John O'Connor, Michael Murphy, Alan Fox, Richie Smith. Subs: Jura Jankaous (for Halsman, h-t), Ian Hennessy (for Duggan, 57 mins), Lee Drury (for Murphy, 63 mins).Referee: Tom Cunningham.