Athea United Soccer

SUPER BEES WIN LEAGUE CUP

ATHEA UTD B       (1)  1    Shane Mulvihill 26 minutes

KNOCKADERRY    (1)  1     16 minutes

(aet, Athea Utd B won 4-2 on pens)

Athea Utd B captain Pa Kiely receives the Division 3 League Cup from Bernadette Hartnett of The Limerick Desmond Football League

Athea Utd B captain Pa Kiely receives the Division 3 League Cup from Bernadette Hartnett of The Limerick Desmond Football League

Shane Mulvihill receives the man of the match award from referee Pat King

Shane Mulvihill receives the man of the match award from referee Pat King

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last Friday night at Clounreask the Bs under the stewardship of Bobby Barrett and Paudie Lynch secured the division three league cup when we came from behind to defeat Knockaderry on penalties after the game ended one all aet.

We carried the early threat and dominated possession with the likes of Eoghan Nash, Pa Kiely and Shane Mulvihill driving them on from midfield and putting the Knockaderry defence under pressure. Having said this the Knockaderry back four, especially the central defenders were always able to get a head or leg to the ball first. The Athea management were disappointed by how many times good build up play on the right hand side resulted in poor deliveries into the box while the opposite was the case when we used the left channels. Our first chance came when a foul on Shane Mulvihill saw  Jason Quille deliver a free kick which Mike McCarthy headed over while Mulvihill was again involved two minutes later on the right where he linked with Steven McEnery but we failed to get the ball into the danger area. While we were on  top possession wise in the opening quarter we fell behind on sixteen minutes when we conceded a free kick on the left edge of our area which the Knockaderry player curled a right footed effort over the wall and into the net via the inside of the left hand post. Knockaderry had scored with their first meaningful attack but we didn’t panic and resumed taking the game to Knockaderry and two minutes later it took a brilliant tackle to deny McEnery getting in on goal after a brilliant 40 yard pass by Tom Greaney. Sean McGrath then headed off the line after a striker chased a ball over the top and placed the ball over the advancing Athea keeper Donal Woulfe and with the ball bouncing towards the goal but McGrath reacted quickest to clear the danger. On twenty six minutes we were level terms with a great finish from Mulvihill when a cross from Quille from the left broke to Mulvihill just outside on the right edge of the area who skipped past a defender before firing a dipping effort over the keeper and just under the crossbar. From then to the interval it was pretty even with both keepers displaying great handling ability except for a piece of fine play from Brouder who played a great ball out wide to McEnery who won a corner which McGrath headed over from. Half time 1-1.

The second half saw Athea start the better and had a couple of early chances through Horgan with  a low drive  that was blocked by a defender while Nash then saw his shot blocked at the near post. We continued to press forward and Kiely slipped the ball into the path of Mulvihill whose shot was spilled by the Knockaderry keeper but he recovered to claim the ball as Mulvihill was about to pounce. We nearly went in front when a Knockaderry cross was headed clear to Mike McCarthy on half way and the striker headed for goal but great tracking back by a defender saw him dispossess the Athea player. Knockaderry then came close with a great ball into our Athea defence but luckily for us there was nobody on the end of it. At this stage the game went into a lull as chances dried up for a while with action confined to the middle third and was there for the taking by either side. Another cross by Athea, this time from the right by Nash found McEnery at the near post but he couldn’t direct the ball goal wards while a minute later McCarthy headed the ball onto Mulvihill but the keeper was alert to the danger. On seventy five minutes Nash slided the ball to McGrath who played a brilliant 50 yard diagonal ball over their defence to Horgan who was coming in from the left only for him to blaze wildly over. A similar diagonal ball saw the best chance of the game so far, skipper Kiely chipping the ball to the unmarked Morgan O’Connor who, if he had gotten any touch on the ball it would have been in the net. Would this miss haunt us? Time would tell. We were now enjoying a decent spell of possession but weren’t creating a whole pile and indeed took a great tackle by Horgan as Knockaderry threatened to catch Athea on the break. Full time 1-1.

And so onto extra time and the first half started quietly and it wasn’t till midway through the first half of extra time that we had a great chance. Kiely played McCarthy clean through but the forward seemed in two minds as what to do, and in the end his chip only ended in the keepers hands. Greaney then headed over from a Mulvihill corner on the left and after 100 minutes the sides still remained deadlocked. Two minutes into the second half of extra time Knockaderry came very close to regaining the lead when the right back went down the right and played a pacy cross to the back post where a Knockaderry played headed the ball down to a team mate whose low shot was saved with his feet by keeper Woulfe. McCarthy then shot weekly at the Knockaderry keeper before the Knockaderry number two was again involved when he sent a half volley goalwards but the ball was always curling away from the far post. There were no more goals and so onto penalties where Athea prevailed 4-2.

In the penalty shoot out we scored out first four spot kicks while Donal Woulfe saved their second penalty and their fourth went over the bar. Atheas scorers in the shootout were Sean McGrath, Shane Mulvihill, Mike McCarthy and Mark Horgan with the decisive penalty. After the game referee Pat King presented the man of the match award to Shane Mulvihill with Bernadette Hartnett of the junior league presenting the cup to Athea Utd B captain Pa Kiely.

Best for Athea Utd B along with man of the match Shane Mulvihill were Sean McGrath, Pa Kiely, Tom Greaney and Mark Horgan.

Man of the match Shane Mulvihill (Athea Utd B)

Athea Utd B: Donal Woulfe, Raymond Brouder, Jason Quille, Tom Greaney, Sean McGrath, Pa Kiely (capt), Eoghan Nash, Shane Mulvihill, Mark Horgan, Steven McEnery,  Mike McCarthy.

Subs used Chris Hayes, Morgan O’Connor and John Geoghegan. Also Dan McMahon, Beanie and Gary Carroll.

Referee Pat King. Assistant Referee’s Jim Molyneaux, Pat O’Donnell. Fourth Official Donie Wallace.

ATHEA UTD FIXTURE

Sunday, April 28th  

Junior As home to Rockhill Rovers at 2.30pm.

FAI SUMMER SOCCER SCHOOLS 2013
Once again it’s the time of the year to start to think about the FAI Summer Soccer Schools and like previous years Athea Utd will be hosting one at The Vales from Monday, July 22nd to Friday, July 26th. All the camps are open to all boys and girls between the ages of 6 to 14. All head coaches and coaches are FAI Accredited and are also Garda Vetted as is FAI policy. Cost per participant is €65 with a €10 family discount for each additional brother/sister attending the same camp. Further details to follow very shortly so watch this space.

All participants will receive an eFlow FAI Summer Soccer Schools full Umbro kit, backpack and football along with a certificate of participation at the end of the week.

The camps run from 10.30am to 3pm daily from Monday to Friday and that’s five fun filled days packed with top quality coaching. The FAI are proud to have one of the highest standards of child safety and welfare maintained on all their camps with all participants constantly supervised as well as all coached Garda Vetted.

BOOKING: To book a place on any of the eFlow FAI Summer Soccer Schools log ontowww.summersoccerschools.ie or call 1890 653 653.

ONLINE BOOKING OFFER: Book online early to receive a free adult and child ticket to a Senior International game at The Aviva Stadium.  If you book two children at the same camp get two free child tickets with adult ticket for a Senior International game at The Aviva Stadium. Booking three children you will get three free tickets etc.

ATHEA UTD LOTTERY RESULTS FOR APRIL 22nd   

The results of our weekly lottery draw held on Monday, April 22nd at Donie’s are as follows
Jackpot was €8400. Numbers drawn 5, 8 11, 14. No jackpot winner.
Lucky dips to the following – Nellie Ahern, Garrygloss. Agatha Barrett, Athea. Catherine Madigan, Ardagh. Mike Molyneaux, Ardagh. Nora Mahony, Athea.
Sellers Declan Barrett & Liz Gould.
New jackpot will be €8500 next Monday night, April 29th at White’s Bar.

 

 Athea GAA

Club Draw:

Our Club Draw will be taking place shortly and this is a great opportunity for people to support our local club. Money collected from the draw will also benefit the Coiste na nÓg and Ladies football. Our promoters will be out and about shortly selling tickets and all support would be greatly appreciated.

Fixtures:

Thursday April 25:
The Junior Bs are at home to Gerald Griffins this Thursday evening April 25 at 6.45pm in Páirc na nGael.

Friday April 26:

The Intermediates will play Cappagh in the West Intermediate semi -final on April 26 in Rathkeale (Bog Garden).

Saturday May 4:

The Intermediates will play St. Mary’s/ Sean Finn’s in the County Intermediate Championship on Saturday May 4 in Newcastle West.

Old Photographs:

The Club are still looking for any old photographs or match programmes from anyone that has them in the parish. Contact John Hunt or Lal Browne.

 

Athea Coiste na nÓg:

 

 Matches:

Thursday April 18:

U12s:

Athea U12s played their first match of the year away to St. Senans in Foynes on Thursday evening last. We had 22 togged out on the night which was great to see. Playing with the wind in the first half we started brightly with our mid-field pairing of David O’ Connor and John Sexton on top and it was John who opened the scoring with a well taken point. Shortly afterwards we were on the score board yet again when Jack O’ Connor scored a great point from out in the wing. Jack followed this up when he grabbed a long ball in and found the top corner of the net for Athea’s first goal. Our next point came from John Sexton before St. Senans rallied to score two points of their own. St. Senans continued to push but our back line of Seamus Leahy, Alex McEldowney, Ciara O’ Shea, Rhys Keily and Jamie O’ Mahony coped very well and a great save by Evan Wallace in goals kept them at bay. Just before half time John Sexton notched up another point for us. In the second half, it was always going to be tough playing into a strong wind and it was St.Senans who dominated the rest of the match, despite the teams best efforts it was St.Senans who ran out winners in the end. Team: Evan Wallace, Ciara O’ Shea, Rhys Keily, Jamie O’ Mahony, Alex McEldowney, Seamus Leahy, John Sexton, David O’ Connor, Aidan Curry, Jason Dillon, Jack O’ Connor, Claire Carmody, Sarah O’ Conor, Thomas McEnery, Nicola Scanlon, Laura Dalton, Jack Hunt, Jack McCarthy, Colin Broderick, Eoin Sheahan, Luke Gleeson & Amy Ryan.

Gum Shields:

Following the GAA’s Annual Congress in April 2012 a new rule was enacted that made it mandatory to use a mouth guard in all Football Games and Football Training sessions from January 1st 2013 for all age grades up to and including Minor. The club by ordering in bulk can buy them for €5 each. If you wish to order one please contact Jacqueline.

Coiste na nÓg on line:

You can now view all our notes ,results, fixtures and pictures of Athea Coiste na nÓg on the Athea GAA website. Just go to www.atheagaa.com and click on the ” Coiste Main Page” for all the latest news and information.

Fixtures for April/May:

Monday April 29:

U16: Athea U16’s are at home to St. Mary’s/Sean Finn’s in Páirc na nGael on Monday April 29 at 7pm. All Players to be at the field for 6.30pm.

Thursday May 2:

U12: Athea U12’s are at home to Gerald Griffins on Thursday evening May 2 at 6.45pm. Players to be at the field for 6.20pm.

Training:

Wednesday April 24:

U12: Training for U12’s will continue this Wednesday evening April 24 in Páirc na nGael from 7pm to 8pm. All players are asked to attend. For any player who has not registered they can do so on the night.

Thursday April 25:

U16: Training for U16’s will continue this Thursday evening April 25 in Páirc na nGael from 7.30pm to 8.30pm. All players are asked to attend. For any player who has not registered they can do so on the night.

Friday April 26:

U6: Training for U6’s will continue this Friday evening April 26 from 6.30pm to 7.30pm in Páirc na nGael. Any player who has not registered can do so on the night. All players need to wear gum shields and can be purchased from the Club for €5. For any player who has not registered they can do so on the night.

U8: Training for U8’s will continue this Friday evening April 26 from 6.30pm to 7.30pm in Páirc na nGael. Any player who has not registered can do so on the night. All players need to wear gum shields and can be purchased from the Club for €5.

U10: Training for U10’s will continue this Friday evening April 26 from 6.30pm to 7.30pm in Páirc na nGael. Any player who has not registered can do so on the night. All players need to wear gum shields and can be purchased from the Club for €5.

Tuesday April 30:

U14: Training for U14’s will continue next Tuesday evening April 30 in Páirc na nGael from 6pm to 7pm. All players are asked to attend.

Croke Park:

This weekend the Club will be travelling to Croke Park with our U10 and U12 football teams to support the Limerick Senior Footballers in the League Final on Saturday April 27. An action packed day is planned including a trip to Dublin club Parnell’s where our U10s & U12s will take on the locals in their home ground in Coolock village. After lunch in Parnell’s very modern club house we will then travel to Croke Park to support Limerick in the final.

County:

We wish Limerick Senior Footballers the best of luck when they play Offaly in this years Division four league final in Croke Park this Saturday.