Athlone CC 0 St Joseph's CBS 0 (AET: Athlone won 8-7 on penalties): Goalkeeper Michael McMahon emerged as the hero for Athlone Community College when his sudden-death penalty earned his side a dramatic win in the final in very cold but dry conditions in Mullingar yesterday.
The game itself was a disappointing spectacle, not helped by a very strong wind blowing from the clubhouse end of the ground.
Very few clear-cut chances were created by either side, with Athlone’s impressive striker Eoin McCormack always looking the most creative player on view.
The Dubliners had the ball in the net in the 85th minute but the effort was disallowed for a foul on goalkeeper McMahon.
Sudden death
St Joseph’s took the first spot-kick but Athlone led the penalty shootout 2-1 with five penalties taken. However, it was 3-3 when sudden death came into play.
Despite the pressure, the standard from the penalty spot was good until Fairview substitute Thomas Murphy missed his side’s 10 kick, allowing McMahon to win the final by beating his opposite number Alan Conroy, thereby sparking jubilant scenes in the Athlone camp.
ATHLONE CC: M McMahon, C Hayden, M Darling, J Quinn, R Daly, B Shaughnessy, A Nevin, R Connellan, I Rosney, E McCormack, E Kearney. Subs: C Reid for Rosney (64 mins), J Kiernan for Shaughnessy (82 mins).
ST. JOSEPH’S: A Conroy, R Mason, P Gannon, L Grouse, C Bowe, M Byrne, C Doyne, A Gannon, E Dongo, J Devlin, S Doyne. Subs: K Kelly for Grouse (82 mins), T Murphy for Devlin (104 mins). Referee: R Matthews (Mullingar).
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