Chances galore but league rivals can't be separated

There were no goals at Kilmacuagh Avenue last Saturday afternoon as the under-twelve schoolboy league teams of Athlone and Longford played out a nil-nil draw. Although sixty minutes of play couldn't separate these two well-organised sides, play was still entertaining with both teams exhibiting some nice touches as well as some very skilful players. For Athlone the attacking duo of Aaron O'Neill and Jamie McBride posed numerous problems for a Longford defence marshalled superbly by Peter Reynolds. While for the visiting side the imposing figure of Martynas Kalinauskas was the main threat. It was the home side that started the better and soon got into their rhythm. But it wasn't until the tenth minute that they carved out their first meaningful opening. After winning a free-kick in the centre-circle Tiarnan Dickson floated the ball beautifully in behind the Longford defence for Cathal Stacey to run on to. Stacey had only goalkeeper Dylan McGoy to beat but his poked effort was saved well by the feet of McGoy. From the resulting Jamie McBride corner, Patrick Sleator rose highest only to see his towering header fly just wide of the mark. On sixteen minutes Aaron O'Neill gave a glimpse of what he could do when his superb first-time pass found Cathal Stacey in space. Stacey then laid it off to the onrushing McBride whose first-time strike went wide. Three minutes later a Jamie McBride corner was fumbled by goalkeeper McGoy. The loose ball fell right at the feet of Tiarnan Dickson who saw his snap shot cleared of the line by Danny McGee. With ten minutes remaining in the half Longford finally gave a glimpse of their attacking prowess when Kalinauskas showed some nice skill inside the penalty-area before pulling back to Keith Byrne. Byrne immediately shot for the far corner but saw his effort saved by Conor Murray who had gotten down well. Two minutes later, Kalinauskas had Murray scrambling again when he flashed a shot across the face of the goal after running at the Athlone defence. That was to be the last bit of goalmouth action of the half as teams went in for the break at nil-nil. Within five minutes of the restart, Longford had almost taken the lead. After making a break from midfield, Jamie Heslin managed to get in behind the Athlone defence where he drilled an effort across goal. From close range, Kalinauskas then flicked Heslin's shot goalward only to see Murray pull off a fantastic reflex save. Athlone responded soon after with Tiarnan Dickson threading a perfect through-ball to Cathal Stacey who then had a clear run at goal. But, opting to place his shot, Stacey saw McGoy get down well to save once again. Forty-two minutes in and it was Athlone's turn to breathe a sigh of relief when they saw Aaron Clyne's free-kick headed off the line by Aaron Rourke with Conor Murray beaten. A lull in play ensued during which Athlone re-established themselves in the possession stakes but continued to struggle to carve open any opportunities. Instead, they nearly handed Longford the victory on a plate in the dying minutes when Conor Murray, having a fine game so far, scuffed a kick-out straight into the path of Jamie Heslin. Heslin ran straight at the goal before rounding Murray. But with the goal at his mercy, he somehow managed to lift the ball over the crossbar - lucky escape for the home side. Longford were finishing the game well and, with one of the moves of the game, they nearly snatched victory. A darting run down the left-wing by Tobi Lawall saw the substitute play the ball inside to the feet of Heslin. Heslin, in a tremendous show of skill, then flicked the ball perfectly into the path of Dylan Ryan who struck the ball on the run from the edge of the area. But the impressive Murray was once again equal to the task and Athlone held on for the draw - a fair result. TEAMS ADSL: Conor Murray, Aaron Rourke, Brian Stack, Patrick Sleator, Shane Kelly, Tiarnan Dickson, Cathal Stacey, Ciaran McGuinness, Aaron O'Neill, Jamie McBride, Conor Payne. SUBS: Gary Nicholson for A. O'Neill (41'), Stephen Connolly for C. Stacey (41'), Eoin Ryan for S. Kelly (47'). LDSL: Dylan McGoy, Peter Hanley, Aaron Clyne, Danny McGee, Peter Reynolds, Ronan Gordon, Ryan O'Rourke, Jamie Stenson, Martynas Kalinauskas, Keith Byrne, Jamie Heslin. SUBS: Dylan Ryan for R. Gordon (HT), Stephen Phillips for J. Stenson (49'), Tobi Lawall for M. Kalinauskas (51'), Kevin Maloney for D. Ryan (60').