Willow still top dogs in local soccer scene

IT'S been very much a case of contrasting fortunes for Athlone's 'big two' junior clubs in 2011. While Willow Park continue to go from strength to strength, and are currently on track for a fifth successive Senior Division title, their biggest rivals over recent seasons, St Peter's, have recently been going through a difficult period of major transition. League champions back in 2006, and runners-up to Willow Park for the past three seasons, as well as reaching the FAI Junior Cup final in 2008, St Peter's have been the only genuine threat to Willow's dominance over recent times. But during the latter part of the 2010-11 season, the McCarthy Park club's form began to tail-off in alarming fashion, resulting in Willow eventually winning the league title with plenty to spare, and St Peter's crashing out of both local cup competitions at the semi-final stage. A couple of managerial changes throughout the campaign didn't help matters, while preparations for this season were struck by a deluge of player departures, including that of a handful to Athlone Town. Thus, the downward spiral has shown little sign of abating to date. New manager Derek Moran did well to merely assemble a competitive team for the start of this season, but results have been hit and miss so far, and St Peter's main target this season is to simply maintain Senior Division status. It's a long way from regularly competing for the local title, and appearing in the latter stages of national competitions. However, manager Derek Moran, a brother of Athlone Town stalwart Padraig Moran, is adamant St Peter's have enough quality to ensure top division football next season. "I've no doubt we'll stay in the Senior Division," said Derek. "It could take our club two or three years to get back to competing for honours, but the main thing is we've managed to keep it going despite a very tough period. We hope to come back even stronger than before, and at the moment we're just taking small steps to get there," he added. Those familiar with the strong St Peter's teams of recent years would not be overly au-fait with the current side. Only the likes of Dave Donohoe, capped at junior international level in 2008, veteran goalkeeper Keith Hynes, and vastly experienced defender Tom Silke remain from the core group of players that brought so much success to St Peter's. Pascal Dillon, who emerged as a solid right-sided performer over the past couple of seasons, is also still there. Otherwise, the panel has changed drastically this season, with Derek Moran managing to draft-in several younger players such as Cathal Joyce, Stephen Lawless and David McHugh. Moran is keeping an eye on the situation at Athlone Town, as the direction they take for the 2012 Airtricity League season could have a serious knock-on effect for St Peter's. "If Athlone are relying mainly on local players then there's very little chance of getting any of the lads back to St Peter's. We'll keep an eye on it and see what happens," said Moran. The St Peter's manager said the future of the club is "the most important thing", and to this end praised Barry Toland for his ongoing work with the club's underage and youth-team structures. "Barry is doing a great job there, and hopefully the senior team will benefit from having a better club structure over the next few years," Derek said. Monksland start to emerge The changing times at St Peter's has allowed Monksland Utd to fill the breach as Athlone's highest-placed junior team, after Willow Park. Only in their second season in the top division, after winning the Premier Division in 2009-10, Monksland have been comfortably placed in the top few positions in the Senior Division all season. Though a league challenge to Willow Park is out of the question, with Mullingar Athletic the only serious threat to the champions, Monksland are making real progress at this level. They comfortably consolidated top-flight status last year, and seem to have grown in stature since the start of this season. With the likes of Conor Jordan and Matt Scally providing much firepower in attack, Peter Sherlock's charges, barring a real slump in the second half of the season, look equipped to finish in the top half of the table. Willow Park, meanwhile, continue to lead the way in the Senior Division, and overall it's been another year of celebration for the club. Champions of both the Senior and Premier Divisions (which was won by Willow Park B), the club also installed new floodlights on its main pitch during the year, to accompany its already successful astro-turf facility. They look to have too much strength for the rest of the Senior Division pack, and it's hugely unlikely they will be pipped to a fifth straight title, though Mullingar Athletic are a good outfit and will harbour hopes of challenging Willow all the way to the end. The only real blips throughout the year, for Willow, was a surprisingly early exit from last season's FAI Junior Cup, but also a Combined Counties Cup final loss to Mullingar Athletic, which denied Willow a treble of local trophies. Worryingly for the rest of the CCFL, manager Tony O'Sullivan said Willow haven't yet hit top-form this season. "Generally, we're not playing as well as we can, but we're getting there," he said. "We want to go as far as possible in every competition, whether it's local or national, and hopefully by the end of the season we'll have another few trophies in the bag, but there's a lot of hard work to do before we reach that point," added O'Sullivan. The best of the rest ... Melville Utd It's been a topsy-turvy few seasons for the Sarsfield Park side, but another promotion challenge could see them back in the top division next season. Currently among the leading pack in the Premier Division, competing primarily with Gallen Utd, Willow Park B and CK Utd for the title, Melville are determined to regain Senior Division status following relegation at the end of the 2009-10 campaign. Manager PJ Keogh said: "We were solid last season (2010-11) and finished fifth, but we want to win the league this season," said PJ. Melville's squad was boosted recently with the return from Defence Forces duty of William Fitzmaurice, Wayne Flanagan and Colin McCormack, while Gary Stephens continues to lead the way in attack. Stephens has constantly been linked with other local junior sides, but has stayed loyal to Melville. "Gary is playing out of his skin this season. He performs week-in week-out. He's been very faithful to the club, and is one of the best junior players around," said Keogh. Melville are also looking for a good cup run this season, having won the Counties Cup back in 2006, and reached the semi-finals last season. "This club has always loved the Counties Cup, and hopefully we can get a good run this season," said PJ. Clonbonny The area's second youngest junior club (after Melville Celtic), Clonbonny are most definitely on the right track. Based at Valleycourt, on Athlone's Dublin Road, Clonbonny has won two promotions since its formation, and managed to propel itself as high as Division 1 (3rd tier) in the process. It's been a rapid and enjoyable ascent for the fledgling club, but secretary David Earl, who also plays as a flying winger, is predicting a period of consolidation over the next season or two. "We only formed in 2007, and finished third in our division that year. The following year we were runners-up, and then champions, and last year won the Division 1/2 Shield, so we've been making a nice bit of progress. We lost a fair few players before the start of this season, and had a few poor results early on, so we're looking to stay away from the bottom half of the table for the rest of the season," said Earl. Managed by Cha' O'Neill, it seems extremely unlikely Clonbonny will be dragged into a relegation scrap, and far more plausible they will continue to prosper and grow in coming seasons. Moate Celtic If ever a club is striving to move forward, it's Moate Celtic. Champions at Division 3B level last season, and three cup finals in two years (although all were lost), sees Moate coming along very nicely indeed. Currently among the front-runners for the Division 2 title, the club is also in the process of re-locating from its temporary home on the Carmelite Grounds to a new manor on the Clara Road. Manager Anthony Malone said: "We've a good squad of players and please God we can get promoted again this season. The club's on the go a long time and we're beginning to make really clear progress. We did great to win Division 3B last season, but have shown we're more than good enough for Division 2. Our main goal is to win the league and keep progressing up the CCFL ladder." The club also hope to re-open the Paddy Kelly Memorial Park for next season, and Malone said they have had productive talks with Westmeath County Council about this development. Gentex To the satisfaction of seasoned local football followers, the town's oldest junior club, Gentex, are looking resurgent. Promoted from Division 3B last season, Gentex are presently among the promotion contenders again in Division 2, and with a bit of luck, and consistent performances, could find themselves in the third rung of the CCFL ladder next season. Secretary Derek Beaumont said: "We were very happy to get out of the Division 3. Apart from Athlone Town FC, Gentex is the oldest football club in Athlone, and has competed in the League of Ireland 'B' Division in the past. We had a few difficult years, but we're getting a lot of good, young players now, and they're keen to do well for Gentex." Formed way back in 1943, Gentex - currently managed by Kevin Beaumont and Darren Greene - play at Athlone Leisure World on the town's west side, and are close to opening a new training pitch on the same patch of land. "The new training pitch is just behind the astro-turf facility at Leisure World, it's close to the banks of the river, and is going to be a massive boost for Gentex," said Derek. Also progressing well ... The overall strength of Willow Park is clearly visible when you consider their reserve team won the Premier Division (second tier) last season, and are also very much in contention to retain their title at the end of this campaign. They are facing tough competition for this year's title from the likes of Gallen Utd, CK Utd and Melville Utd. However, it will be no great surprise if Willow's massive strength in depth secures another title. In Division 1, Temple Villa continue to hold their own and though a promotion bid is probably out of reach, PJ Allen's men will probably finish in top five. Ballinahown have proved a little more inconsistent this season, and must be careful not to become embroiled in a relegation battle, though they're likely to prove just too good to get sucked into such a scenario. St Peter's B also compete in Division 1 but are currently struggling to get the necessary points on the board to pull away from the relegation battle. Melville Celtic, Clonown Rovers and Ericsson Athlone compete in Division 3B. Melville Celtic are only formed a couple of years and could yet put themselves in a position to compete for promotion. Both Clonown and Ericsson have struggled so far this season, and will be happy to merely survive relegation this time around. Monksland Utd B are holding their own in Division 4B and are likely to finish in a comfortable mid-table position, while Melville Celtic B are major contenders to win Division 3 Saturday.