Without a county title since 1998, Athlone supporters are becoming increasingly frustrated at their side's failure to win back the Flanagan Cup. For the famine to end, however, star forward Seamus Mitchell believes there must be greater cohesion in the team. Athlone must wait at least another year for a 21st senior football title after their 2004 championship interests were ended at the quarter-final stage by Mullingar Shamrocks last October. After losing the 2003 decider to The Downs after a replay, the Shannonsiders had set their sights on atoning for that disappointment but a dreadful first half performance against Shamrocks ultimately proved their downfall. Last year's failure means that Athlone have gone six years without winning a senior championship and, according to busy half forward Seamus Mitchell, that could extend to seven if there isn't greater cohesion in the team. "Individually, we are very strong. Nearly all of us have played county football at some stage," he says. "But the problem as far as I can see is that we're not playing as a team. There is no point having good individuals when they're not clicking as a unit. We weren't pulling together last year and you can't expect to win anything when that is the case." Much to the frustration of supporters, Athlone's recent lack of success has coincided with the emergence of town neighbours Garrycastle as the dominant force in Westmeath football. Never was this more in evidence than last December when Garrycastle - fresh from their third senior championship triumph in four years - inflicted a humiliating 0-3 to 2-19 defeat on Athlone en route to winning their first Feis Cup. "A lot of Athlone supporters have found Garrycastle's success very hard to take but that is to be expected," says Mitchell, who joined Athlone from his native Menlough in Galway nearly four years ago. "Athlone are a traditional power whereas Garrycastle are still looked upon as the new kids on the block. Speaking for myself, I wouldn't begrudge Garrycastle anything they have won. They have worked hard to get to where they are now and they are the only team in Westmeath I would fear simply because they have to ability to grind out victories without playing to their potential. "As someone living in Coosan, I'm very much aware of the huge rivalry that exists between the clubs. Garrycastle have set the standards and it's up to the rest of the clubs to try and catch up with them. I'd like to think that what Garrycastle have achieved will be a huge motivating factor for us in the coming year," he adds. Under the guidance of Dubliner John Foley, Athlone opened their 2004 championship campaign with an uninspiring 1-9 to 0-9 victory over Coralstown/Kinnegad in early May. The Shannonsiders were slow out of the starting blocks but helped by a 25th minute goal from Joe Fallon, went on to lead by 1-4 to 0-2 at the interval. Coralstown/Kinnegad enjoyed the lion's share of possession in the second half but with Fallon, Tom Stuart-Trainor and Neil Dolan all in fine scoring form, Athlone did enough to secure the win. Following the resumption of the championship in August, Athlone made it two wins from two when they comfortably accounted for Ballymore by 0-14 to 0-4. The Shannonsiders were always in control, due largely to the dominance enjoyed by Rory O'Connell and Paul Bannon at midfield. They led by 0-8 to 0-2 at the interval and had little difficulty in completing the job in the second half. Athlone suffered their first setback of the campaign when they succumbed to south county rivals Castledaly by 0-9 to 0-13 in their third outing at Moate. Much of the damage was inflicted in the opening half when JP Casey shot Castledaly to a 0-8 to 0-3 interval lead. Joe Fallon reduced the deficit with two early second half points, but Castledaly kept their composure to run out deserving winners. The Shannonsiders regained winning ways with a 1-9 to 1-6 victory over St. Loman's - a result which effectively sealed their place in the knock-out stages. Athlone led by 0-5 to 0-2 at half-time, but were rocked back on the heels when a deflected goal saw Loman's hit the front early in the second half. However, Athlone responded impressively and after points from Tom Stuart-Trainor and Rory O'Connell had levelled matters, Seamus Mitchell set up Dermot Bannon for the goal which proved the difference between the sides at the finish. Although sure of a quarter-final spot, Athlone were keen to end their programme of group matches with a win over The Downs. But The Downs, who were already out of the running, repeated their 2003 county final victory with a stunning display which saw Athlone lose heavily on a 1-8 to 1-17 scoreline. Athlone were on the backfoot from an early stage and with Keith Shanley proving a real thorn in their side, trailed by 1-2 to 1-9 at the break. It didn't get any better for John Foley's charges in the second half as The Downs continued to pile on the scores to leave them shell-shocked. Athlone also experienced shell-shock in the quarter-final when, after an keenly contested opening 20 minutes, Cian O'Leary scored a brace of goals to give Mullingar Shamrocks a commanding 2-7 to 0-3 lead at half-time. By the 42nd minute, Shamrocks had extended their lead to 12 points and looked home and hosed. But despite the huge deficit, Athlone battled back with David Prendergast's goal handing them a lifeline. Points from Prendergast, Fallon, Mitchell and Dolan saw Athlone continue to eat into the Mullingar lead, but they eventually ran out of time as the green and whites held on for a 2-9 to 1-9 victory. "We paid a heavy price for our terrible first half display," Mitchell ruefully reflects. "To go into the half-time break trailing by 10 points after playing with the wind was a huge setback to our chances. We showed a big improvement in the second half but we probably left ourselves with too much to do. "Looking back now, the defeat to The Downs was an ominous sign because they were already out of contention for a place in the knock-out stages. I think that defeat was still in our heads when we played Shamrocks and it was something we never really recovered from." Another source of great disappointment for Athlone was their failure to win promotion from Division 2 of the All-County League. "To be still playing our league football in Division 2 after all this time simply isn't acceptable," opines Mitchell, who was a member of the Galway senior panel in 1999 and went on to win a National League Division 2 medal as a Westmeath panellist in 2003. "Getting back up into Division 1 has become a huge priority for us, but it hasn't happened yet. Milltownpass and Kilbeggan, who are both intermediate teams, came down to Pairc Chiarain and beat us last year. With all due respect to them, that shouldn't be happening." On a brighter note, Athlone's underage set-up received a major boost when they captured the under 16 Club 1 championship title at the expense of St. Loman's last July. Managed by Dermot McManus, Roger Byrne, Danny O'Neill and Liam Byrne, this highly promising team showsed tremendous resilience to record a 1-7 to 0-9 victory in a thrilling final at Ballinagore. Loman's looked the most likely winners when they held a 0-6 to 0-2 lead at the break, but the Shannonsiders staged a great second half recovery to win by the narrowest of margins. Star of the show for the winners was county under 16 player John Connellan who finished with a personal tally of 1-3. Despite leading Athlone to a county final appearance in 2003, John Foley was replaced as senior manager by Finbar Egan at the end of last year. Egan, who is a native of Athlone, recently stepped down as manager of the Mayo ladies after leading them to an unprecedented four All-Ireland senior titles and Mitchell is, not surprisingly, hoping that he will enjoy similar success with the sky blues. "Finbar had a great track record with the Mayo ladies and it would be nice to think that he'll make a similar impact with Athlone. After the hiding we got from Garrycastle in the Feis Cup, he said he was starting from scratch and that's probably the best outlook to have. "I had great time for John Foley, but after two years in charge, the club committee wanted a change and you've got to respect their view. But at the end of the day, it's down to the players to bring about an improvement in our fortunes. A manager can only do so much," Mitchell concludes. The Athlone team which captured the under 16 Club 1 championship title was: Aidan O'Dea; Eoin Jordan, Andrew Healy, Eanna McNamara; Noel Mulligan, Joe Benson, Shane O'Neill; John Connellan, Daniel Grehan; Daniel Cochrane, Alan Gaughan, Daniel Kenny; Tom Egan, Simon Mulvihill, Cillian O'Driscoll. Sub used: David Fagan. Tweet

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