The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Double the glory for Killarney Athletic
GREYHOUND BAR KO CUP FINAL Killarney Athletic 3 Mitchels Avenue 0
KILLARNEY Athletic brought off the double in tremendous style at Mounthawk Park on Sunday when they were crowned Greyhound Bar Cup champions after a comfortable win over a spirited Mitchels Avenue side.
Athletic already had the Premier A title under their belts and they came into this game as red hot favourites and they justified this tag with a stylish performance.
It was a game in which Mitchels Avenue had to do all the chasing as Athletic passed the ball around comfortably and this was very energy sapping and the big effort they put in resulted in fatigue setting in towards the end of the game.
Ruling affairs at midfield Athletic produced some slick passing with Sean Cournane, Shane Doolan and Mike O’Donoghue the playmakers and the excellent William Courtney was a constant threat down the left wing.
Mitchels Avenue started strongly and enjoyed a lot of possession in the opening 10 minutes but they failed to test the Athletic keeper in this period of dominance.
Gradually Athletic began to impose themselves on the game and it was evident that they had the capacity to score goals.
They could have won much more comfortably but for the brilliance of Mitchels Avenue keeper David Hennessy who made 4 fantastic saves during the game that any cross channel Premiership keeper would be proud of.
Mitchels Avenue had an early chance when Brendan Coffey latched on to a Lorcan Seymour cross but his header was too weak to test the Killarney Athletic goalie.
Athletic almost opened the scoring in the 13th minute when William Courtney found Daithi Casey with a corner kick and his glancing header was just inches wide.
However they were not to be denied 5 minutes later when William Courtney opened up the Avenue defence with a great ball in to Sean Cournane and while he still had a lot to do he showed great composure and drilled his shot low past the Avenue keeper finding the bottom corner of the net.
Athletic doubled their lead in the 29th minute when William Courtney found Shane Lynch with pin point accuracy and he applied a great finish from 10 yards.
He could have scored again two minutes later but he pulled his shot wide.
Just past the half hour mark Mitchels Avenue created a chance from a corner kick but James O’Sullivan headed his effort wide.
Just before the break Avenue were forced to make a substitution with Ruairi Keane replacing the injured James O’Sullivan.
Avenue goalie David Hennessy was called into action 4 minutes into the second half when he was spotted off his line by Shane Doolan and his effort on goal looked destined for the net but Hennessy showed great athleticism to claw the ball away and prevent a certain goal.
He was called into action again in the 57th minute when Shane Lynch put William Courtney through on goals and his bullet of a shot was brilliantly saved by Hennessy.
Athletic had the ball in the net shortly afterwards but Shane Lynch was ruled offside.
Even though Athletic were 2-0 up Mitchels Avenue were battling hard and if they could get a goal it could throw the game wide open again.
They almost pulled one back in the 65th minute when they got a free kick 5 yards outside the box.
It was struck delightfully by Sean O’Reilly and looked to be heading into the net but Brian O’Conor who had virtually nothing to do up to this pulled off a magnificent save, tipping the ball on to the crossbar.
The Avenue goalie produced heroics again in the 78th minute making a great save to deny William Courtney.
As the clock wound down both sides used their benches and Athletic were within touching distance of being champions.
With Avenue trying their best to engineer a goal they were caught flat footed n the 87th minute when Athletic struck on the break with sub Mike Milner linking up with Wil- liam Courtney who rolled the ball across to Shane Doolan and with the keeper off his line he steered the ball to the back of the net.
It was a very polished performance by Athletic who were always in control of the game and they were very worthy winners at the end.
They showed a great appetite for the game and their work ethic was superb.
Full marks to Mitchels Avenue who made them fight hard for their victory and while it was a bridge too far for them on this occasion they will be back next season planning to try and get promoted to Premier A and they will have a good chance of attaining this objective.
What a season it has been for Athletic manager Stuart Templeman winning the double in his first taste of being a team manager.
The team got great support in their path to the double with very big crowds attending the two finals they were involved in which was great to see.
Now even richer pastures lies ahead as they will be representing Kerry in the Keane Jewellers Champions Trophy which will kick off at the beginning of October.
Mitchels Avenue have now lost two finals this season so far but they can still pick up silverware before the season is over as they are in the Dominos Pizza Reserve Cup semi-final and in the Tommy Healy Memorial Cup Final.
There was a huge reception for the joint captain of the side Conor Farrell as he was presented with the cup by the secretary of the KDL John O’Regan.
The captain said he was delighted they had won the double and he paid tribute to all the people involved in the club over the past 50 years.
He was also loud in his praise of the management team of Stuart Templeman and Alan Brady for the faith they showed in the players and the great commitment the players gave during the long season.
He also commended all the people who supported the team and turned out in huge numbers for the two finals they won.
He said it was a season to remember for the club and he also thanked all the back-room staff that helped out during the season.
He also thanked Mitchels Avenue who made them fight hard for victory and wished them the very best of luck for the future. KILLARNEY ATHLETIC: Brian O’Connor, Conor Farrell, Adam Moynihan (Brian O’Reilly, 85 mins), Paudie O’Connor, Enna Kavanagh, Shane Doolan, Sean Cournane (Eamon Lavin 81 mins), Mike O’Donoghue, Shane Lynch (Mike Milner, 87 mins), Daithi Casey (Jamie Doolan, 65 mins), William Courtney (Michael Lyndsay, 89 mins).
MITCHELS AVENUE: David Hennessy, Danny O’Shea, Chris Murphy, James O’Sullivan (Ruairi Keane, 43 mins), Emeka Sheeznerio (Craig Locke, 71 mins), Robert Lynch, Sean O’Reilly (John O’Brien 84 mins), Scott Hennessy, Lorcan Seymour, Graham O’Leary (Nathan O’Leary, 57 mins), Brendan Coffey.
REFEREE: Adrian Quirke