Ryan claims first win as Athlone boss in derby duel
Athlone Town 3 St Peter's 0
By John Dingle
Ian Ryan finally claimed his first win as Athlone Town manager when the home team dashed St Peter's hopes of progressing in the Leinster Senior Cup last Friday night.
Athlone took the lead close to the interval and added a second goal before the hour mark. A third score was recorded on the stroke of full-time as the local derby ended in disappointing fashion for St Peter's.
The permutations beforehand were uncomplicated with the Hoops simply needing a win in this Group A game to make the knockout stages of the oldest cup competition in Ireland. The margin of victory was of no significance with Shelbourne the team to lose out in the event of a win for Peter's. Athlone, with two defeats already, were out of contention and all they could do was hope to stop the Hoops from advancing by either winning or drawing with local pride also at stake.
In front of a bumper crowd, both teams adopted a cautious approach in the early stages. St Peter's, with most to play for, needed to score to have any chance of advancing further but offered little up front where Dylan Gavin often ploughed a lone furrow. It was a big step up for the McCarthy Park outfit facing a strong home team.
Athlone had the first chance when Robert Lyons headed wide after 11 minutes, with the home side soon forcing two corners. The Hoops' first chance after 19 minutes saw Niall Scullion have a long range attempt saved. It was a rare chance created by the visitors with Town keeper Andrew Stuart Trainor not seriously troubled throughout. Athlone had leaked nine goals in their two previous outings in the competition but it did not look like the tally would be added to on this occasion.
Midway through the half, Aderinsola Adewale delivered the ball across the box from the left with Kyle O’Connor having a shot pushed behind by St Peter's keeper Darcy Lawless. Gavin had a rare chance for Peter's when heading a free kick wide. Athlone earned another corner on the half hour mark, while Aaron Connolly headed wide from Reece Webb’s cross from the right.
The deadlock was finally broken after 35 minutes. Aaron Moloney, from the left, squared the ball to Brian McManus on the edge of the penalty area and his low shot flew to the net past Lawless.
St Peter's now needed at least two goals to keep alive their hopes of advancing but offered little in response as they failed to rise to the occasion. The visitors earned their only corner kick after 38 minutes from which Scullion, who won a First Division title with Athlone over a decade ago, headed over at the near post. The hosts forced another corner before the break with the action completed in stoppage time when Webb’s inviting cross from the right was collected by Lawless.
Neither team made any changes for the second half but it was the home side that seemed to up a gear as they dominated after the break. Athlone soon doubled their lead with their dominance rewarded on the scoreboard. The warning signs were there when, from Connolly’s left wing free, Gradi Lomboto fired off the post with a follow up attempt from Lyons pushed away by Lawless.
The respite was brief though as Athlone struck again after 57 minutes. A shot from Adewale on the left took a deflection with the ball looping over the keeper into the net for an unfortunate own goal. It all but killed off the challenge from the Hoops who now needed to score three times with half an hour left.
That never looked like happening as the brave Peter's challenge fell well short of achieving its goal. Three more corners for Athlone midway through the half pushed their total into double figures.
St Peter's manager Mark McConnell unloaded his bench for the closing stages but his charges could not make the tie more interesting with a goal. Probably their best chance of the game came after 77 minutes when Dylan Sumner headed wide from a free kick after pushing forward for the set piece.
As Athlone eased down to the final whistle, the victory was sealed on the stroke of full-time. Substitute Will Smith played in Adewale who stayed calm as the defensive cover backed off to then finish to the net with a low shot. It put the gloss on the result for Athlone as the Hoops' hopes of making further progress were dashed.
History of sorts was made by the home team as Ryan had at last got a win under his belt for the first time since taking over as Town manager during last season.
The result means Shelbourne now join Dundalk in the knockout stages. The only consolation for St Peter's was that, in spite of the result, they still stayed ahead of Athlone in the final Group A table. Both teams ended up on three points with St Peter's ahead due to having a superior goal difference.
Man of the match: Aaron Connolly (Athlone). Athlone's campaign depends a lot on keeping Connolly fully fit and the Town midfielder put in a commanding performance to show his worth in what is his fifth season in the Midlands.
Talking point: The close links between the clubs was reflected in the fact that eight of the St Peter's starting eleven had played with Athlone at some stage of their careers either at underage or senior level.
Athlone Town: Andrew Stuart Trainor, Kyle O’Connor, Dylan Hand, Evan O’Connor, Aaron Moloney, Aaron Connolly, Robert Lyons, Brian McManus, Gradi Lomboto, Reece Webb, Aderinsola Adewale. Subs: William Smith for Lyons (72 mins); Rokas Katkauskas for Lomboto (89).
St Peter's: Darcy Lawless, John McCrossan, Adam Dowling, Nenad Lazic, Dylan Sumner, Niall Scullion, Kyle Martin-Conway, Cameron Keighery, Dylan Gavin, Luke Kelly, Josh McCarthy. Subs: Tadhg Heavin for McCarthy (63 mins); Cormac Hannan for Keighery (72); Graham Whittaker for Scullion (79); Marko Matkovic for Gavin (86); Paul Allen for McCrossan (90).
Referee: Ray Conlon (Athlone).