Athenry 0
West United 2
West Utd’s Mathias O’Malley netted a minute from time to finally settle this game and sooth the nerves of the league leaders as they inflicted the title holders’ second defeat of the season in Athenry on Sunday morning. It was a valiant effort from Timmy Holian’s men, who had been reduced to 10 men early on, but Thomas Caldwell’s goal on the stroke of half-time broke their resistance and they will look back on a couple of glorious chances which could have altered the outcome.
The defining moment of the game occurred in the 13th minute. West had started well and were forcing the pace, with Mike O’Malley and Ian Burke driving them on. O’Malley’s corner looked harmless enough but was handled on the line by Paddy Quinn, making his ultimately short return to action, as he received his marching orders from Vincent Carew and West were awarded a penalty.
Given their scoring rate in the opening weeks, Simon Murray or Mathias O’Malley would have been expected to step forward, but instead Tom Burke stepped forward from the back. It was later discovered that the centre half had a 100% record from 10 efforts in penalty shoot outs, so the choice was an obvious one. That record, however, didn’t stand up to this test as Burke blasted his shot wide and left of Kieran Kilkelly’s goal.
Two minutes later Mike Madden, in acres of space at the back post, headed Seamie Crowe’s free kick wide. It was a let off for West, who were restricted to long range shots from Dara Ryan and Mike O’Malley as they struggled to get their passing game going. Brothers Emmet and Pakie Byrne formed a solid pairing at the back and it was going to take a moment of class to break the deadlock. This duly arrived in the 44th minute.
Mathias O’Malley picked up possession and as the ball hopped up he dinked a pass in behind Shane Gilhooley for Caldwell to chase. The winger got there first and angled a volley across goal with the outside of his right foot, beating Kilkelly who got a hand to it but couldn’t keep it out.
Although they were ahead, West got a roasting from their management team at half time who were unhappy with their inability to exploit the man advantage. Dara Ryan should have given them the perfect start to the second half when he got on the end of Gary Fitzgerald’s cross but somehow headed wide from close range.
Athenry changed to a 3-4-2 formation soon after as Emmet Byrne moved forward into a striker’s role which had proved fruitful in recent weeks. If he, and not Madden, had been on the end of Crowe’s free on 54 minutes they may have been level. Madden, again afforded the freedom of the penalty area, could only head wide.
West began to create some decent opportunities out on either flank, but frequently the final ball was poor from either Mike O’Malley or Caldwell. When O’Malley did get it right on 64 minutes, Simon Murray was foiled by the intervention of Gilhooley.
The longer the game went on, the feeling grew stronger that the hosts would punish West for their inability to get a second. Could Seamie Crowe, whose low centre of gravity gets him out of so many tight situations, trouble John Cotter with a shot from distance? Or would Benny Lawless break West’s hearts with a moment of wizardry? The threat was always there, and when Murray shot straight at Kilkelly with 20 minutes left, the visitors’ unease deepened.
Athenry did force a couple of set-pieces which West dealt with relatively comfortably, while a number of close offside decisions robbed West of the chance to kill off the tie. The large West travelling support had to wait until the 89th minute for O’Malley’s decisive effort, as he got his studs to Murray’s cross and diverted the ball into the bottom corner.
Athenry, minus the victorious Corofin trio, put in a brave effort and are far from removed from the title quest. West are now the team everyone will be aiming to beat. Undefeated after five games, they have another crucial event to deal with next Saturday when they take on second-placed Hibs. A win will put them in pole position for a first league title in over decade, something William Grant has his sights firmly set on.
Athenry: K Kilkelly; S Gilhooley (C Cannon, 81 ), E Byrne, P Byrne, D Crimmons; J O’Driscoll, S Crowe, R Kineen, B Lawless; M Madden (B Costello, 62 ), P Quinn.
West United: J Cotter; J Egan, T Burke, K McHugh, G Fitzgerald; Mike O’Malley, I Burke, D Ryan (Dara O’Neill, 82 ), T Caldwell (J Curran, 74 ); Mathias O’Malley (P Murphy, 90 ), S Murray.
Referee: Vincent Carew.
