Willow Park secure survival with victory over league champions

Leeds United were not the only club to escape the relegation trapdoor last weekend - Willow Park did likewise in the Leinster Senior League.

Willow had to beat Lucan United last Saturday night in order to retain their place in Division Senior 1 Sunday (the second highest flight in the LSL). And the Athlone club duly did so with a 1-0 win over league champions Lucan United.

“Relief was the feeling more than anything else and that was clearly evident after the game,” Willow Park manager David McGuinness told the Westmeath Independent.

“It’s been a very long season. It was the longest season ever because of Covid and we started back early last July. Normally we wouldn’t start back until August.

“We might be in a town but we are a rural club in the sense that a lot of our players also play GAA. That caught us at times while there would be no crossover with most of the Dublin clubs,” continued McGuinness.

With five games gone in the season, David took over as Willow Park manager from Declan Holohan after the latter took up a director of football role in the club.

The fact that Willow defeated newly crowned league champions Lucan to secure their survival made it even more satisfying. And although Lucan had already secured the league crown and promotion, McGuinness insisted that the Dublin outfit did not come down to Athlone to make up the numbers.

“Anyone who was at the game will tell you that they didn’t come down to hand us a place in the division - far from it, it was the exact opposite,” he said.

“The integrity of the league couldn’t be questioned. One of the hardest games we had was against Newbridge and I think they finished the league with only six points.”

There were plenty of ups and downs during the run-in, with Willow winning two and drawing one of their last four games. The draw probably felt like a defeat at the time as Willow were 3-0 up away to Ballymun United in the second last game of the season, but the Dubliners battled back for a 3-3 draw.

“We had played three games in a week at that stage and we were dead on our feet and it was a very hot morning as well,” David recalled.

“It’s a very competitive league and we were dropping points against the teams around us. We didn’t pick up any points against Leixlip, who were relegated in the end, and we didn’t pick up any points off Greystones, who finished just above us, but nobody else in the league took four points off Lucan.

“We had two weeks of a break before the Lucan game and we were carrying a couple of injuries and the break allowed us to get bodies on the pitch. Had it been just a week (between the games), I don’t think it would have the same result,” added the Horseleap native.

McGuiness acknowledged that a Lucan player receiving a red card early in last Saturday’s game was a factor in how it unfolded, but added: “Funnily enough, before the sending off we were probably playing better against the 11 men, and they got more bodies behind the ball after that. We battled it out and we managed to keep a clean sheet against the team who scored more goals in the league than anybody else.”

As for Willow’s winning goal last Saturday night, there has been some good-natured debate over who scored it.

“They’re still arguing over who scored it,” said David, who is sure it was scored by Cathal Callinan, despite the claims of his own son Ciaran.

“The other lad is chancing his arm, I think,” said David with a laugh. “It was a great ball in from Conor McCormack - everybody is forgetting about the quality of that delivery (from a corner) into the box from Conor,” he added.

McGuinness admitted it has been “really hard” for Willow to replace some of their experienced players, saying “the transition has been difficult”.

“Bryan Hughes has come up and done a tremendous job for us and he’s only 19 years of age,” said David, adding that he would have liked to have given more opportunities to young players this season.

“From the outside looking in, people might think we are an ageing team but with the exception of Niall Scullion and Mark Sherlock, who have been absolutely brilliant for us, the average age of the team is still pretty young,” he continued.

Pointing to the likes of Jack Quinn (who is departing Ireland for a spell in Australia), Ryan Gaffey, Conor McCormack, Jamie Fahy, Ciaran McGuinness and Cathal Callinan, David said: “The main core of the squad will be there again next year”.

With Edenderry Town having been relegated from the top flight of the LSL (Division Senior Sunday), Willow Park will be the highest ranked midlands team along with Edenderry next season.

“It’s Willow Park’s highest ever finish. I genuinely believe this is our biggest achievement. It’s a very high level of football, it really is. To get three points when you’re in a relegation battle is next to impossible and we had to win on Saturday,” McGuinness said.

McGuiness has now stepped down as team manager and having being involved for several years, he pointed to the time commitment involved.

“I’ve been 13 years down there and five or six seasons with the senior team, working with Deccie (Holohan) and Jimmy (Greene) and looking after it myself.

“It’s as close to a full-time job as you can get and it takes up a lot of your time,” said David, also praising assistant manager Tadhg Carey, saying he has been “phenomenal” and a “calming influence” on the sideline.

Rumours that McGuinness would now join Erik ten Hag’s backroom team at his beloved Manchester United could not be confirmed at the time of going to press!