Athletic Under 11s claim Midland League Cup

Having trounced a shellshocked Killavilla 8-1 in last Thursday evening"s semi-final, Athletic"s under elevens took on league winners, Killavilla.This team has played good passing football all season, not always getting positive results. However, when a strong competitive spirit was added to the mix, as has been the case for their last five matches, any match is winnable.True to form, the Mullingar team got stuck in from the start, and tested the Killeigh defence with early passes from midfield. The combination of a big and fast central defender, and an alert goalie kept Athletic at bay, but only for a while. As Killeigh pushed forward, a Ronan O"Toole clearance found Ryan Dempsey on the left. He raced clear and shot across the keeper where the inrushing Tye Adamson was on hand to tap in at the far post.Killeigh"s fought back and almost equalised as a lapse in concentration in the Athletic defence allowed their attacker to control a cross from the left. His shot rolled wide as Colin McGowan, in the Athletic goal quickly closed him down. Aside from a couple of miskicks, caused more by slippy conditions than anything else, Killeigh failed to threaten, mostly because Luke Tormey and Niall Gavin were in imperious form at the centre of defence. Jake O"Meara and Shane O"Keeffe had to work very hard to contain a strong Killeigh midfield and a pattern developed where Killeigh pushed forward, Athletic tackled, and counter-attacked quickly.Athletic got the two goal cushion their efforts probably deserved when, as half time approached, the industrious Ronan O"Toole was fouled five yards from the corner of the box. Andrew Kilmartin stepped up and fired over the wall and past a distracted "keeper. The same player followed this by gliding past three tackles on the right wing and crossing only to see the Killeigh keeper touching the ball away with Tom Gavin waiting to nod in.The second half was a more balanced affair, with Athletic having to fight hard to hold on to their lead. Colin McGowan had to get everything right as he parried a superb twenty yard volley on to the bar, collecting at the second attempt. Killeigh had several corners and three were headed over the bar. None of these were 'free' headers as the Mullingar defenders (and midfielders, and attackers) competed for everything. Left winger, Oisin Quinn, coped well with the heavy traffic on his side of the pitch. Full backs, James Monaghan and Ronan O"Toole stiffened up the back line as the game went on, and the latter even got forward, being tackled just before he shot. Glen Gaffney fired just over from a tight angle, Shane O"Keeffe shot over from outside the box, while Liam Bowes, Ryan Dempsey and Andrew Kilmartin were all adjudged offside in separate promising attacking moves.Athletic made good use of rotational substitution to rest and reintroduce players, and, towards the end, to pack the midfield in order to prevent Killeigh gaining any toehold in the game. Desperate tackles and frantic clearances were in abundance as Athletic clung on to the delight of players, parents and fans. Having played a lot of good football during the season, scoring no less than one hundred and three goals in competitive matches, a piece of silverware was well deserved.Squad: Liam Bowes, Glen Gaffney, Oisin Quinn, Ryan Dempsey, Ronan O"Toole, Tye Adamson, Shane O"Keeffe, Niall Gavin, Tom Gavin, Jake O"Meara, Andrew Kilmartin, Luke Tormey, James Monaghan, Colin McGowan.