1996/99
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AIB CONNAUGHT SENIOR CUP (First Round)
Soccer
11 February 1998
Castlebar Celtic................1 St. Peter's, Athlone...........0
KEITH BOURKE REPORTS
The second round of the Connacht Senior Cup awaits Castlebar Celtic after they outclassed Athlone outfit St. Peter's at Celtic Park last Sunday. However, they made life difficult for themselves by missing some glaring chances and deserved to win by a greater margin than one goal.
Aided by the stiff breeze, St. Peter's made the early running but came up against an uncompromising Celtic back line well marshalled by the central defensive pairing of Fintan McHale and Barry Redmond, the latter of whom was deputising for the injured Kieran Murphy.
The home side weathered the early storm and created some chances of their own with pacey striker Dara Ainsworth top the fore.
Celtic's game plan was upset when target man Michael Horan was forced to leave the field of play in the 14th minute, he was replaced by Lynden Reilly who slotted into the midfield, this meant Dara Ainsworth faced the daunting task of spending the remainder of the game as the lone striker.
There was an interesting battle going on in the middle of the park between Celtic's Kevin Ryan and St. Peter's Kevin Sherlock.
The Castlebar side broke the deadlock in the 38th minute when a beautifully flighted free-kick by Brendan Horan found substitute Lynden Reilly at the front post and his well directed header nestled in the bottom corner.
Celtic maintained the pressure and full-back Ollie Cunningham broke the St. Peter's offside trap, but Dara Ainsworth was unable to convert Cunningham's low cross.
In the final minute of the first half, St. Peter's were awarded a free-kick just outside the box, but Anthony Sherlock's well struck free-kick was brilliantly tipped over by Celtic goalkeeper, Declan Kilkelly, this was to be the last action of an exciting first half.
A fiery half-time pep talk by Celtic manager Michael McDonagh geared his side up to extend their lead.
Forward Dara Ainsworth was the fulcrum of all Celtic's attacks and he was certain he had won his side a penalty when he appeared to have been hauled down inside the area by St. Peter's goalkeeper Brendan Lynch, but was aghast when his appeals for a penalty were turned down by referee Jimmy Blake and St. Peter's cleared the resulting free-kick.
Celtic's raiding full-back Ollie Cunningham imposed himself on the game in the second half with some darting runs down the right flank.
The Castlebar side piled on the pressure and had some good chances, but they must have left their shooting boots in Hynes's
St. Peter's did not trouble the Celtic defence thanks to left-back Sean Reilly and the tenacious tackling of midfielder Stephen Murphy.
Dara Ainsworth toiled selflessly upfront and tormented the St. Peter's defence every time he got the ball, but he was unable to net that elusive goal despite hitting the crossbar on one occasion with a cross cum shot.
Despite their best efforts the home side could not add to their tally and 1-0 was how it was to finish. This was a strong, solid performance by a Castlebar Celtic team missing some of their most influential players, this emphasises the vast pool of talent Michael McDonagh has at his disposal.
Best for Castlebar Celtic: Dara Ainsworth, Sean Reilly, Ollie Cunningham, Brendan Horan and Stephen Murphy.
Best for St. Peter's: Brendan Lynch, Anthony Sherlock, Jimmy Sheve and Paul Philips.
Castlebar Celtic: Declan Kilkelly, Ollie Cunningham, Sean Reilly, Barry Redmond, Fintan McHale, Stephen Murphy, Harry Flynn, Brendan Horan, Michael Horan, Dara Ainsworth, Kevin Ryan. Subs used: Lynden Reilly, Kevin Ruane.
St. Peter's, Athlone: Brendan Lynch, Sean Magill, Jimmy Sheve, Derek Moore, Elton Garelan, Jason Canney, Paul Philips, Anthony Sherlock, Ronan Fagan, Jason Monaghan, Gerry Coffey.
*Star Rating - Dara Ainsworth - toiled relentlessly upfront.
Connaught Telegraph - News & Sport - February 1998
