Athlone are looking forward to the new playing season with plenty of optimism after winning both the under 21 championship and the All-County League Division 2 titles, according to new chairman Niall Lynch. What for a long time looked like being a hugely frustrating year for Athlone ended on a positive note when the Shannonsiders landed both the under 21 football championship and All-County League Division 2 titles. Both successes have provided the club with a massive lift as they begin their preparations for a major assault on this year's senior championship. Athlone haven't lifted the Flanagan Cup since 1998 and, as far as new chairman Niall Lynch is concerned, that's far too long of a wait for the county's most successful club. "Let's call a spade a spade here, last year's championship performance was abysmal," he says. "Our failure to progress beyond the group stage wasn't acceptable and we have a lot of improving to do in the coming year. But I've no doubt that we have the ability to turn things around. We got a great lift from winning the under 21 championship and Division 2 of the league, and everything is geared towards mounting a strong challenge for senior championship honours in 2006." Lynch, who succeeded Martin Flynn as chairman at the club's recent AGM, took particular satisfaction from the under 21 win - Athlone's first in a decade. Like the Division 2 success, it came as a surprise to most football followers in the county with the Shannonsiders upsetting a highly-fancied Mullingar Shamrocks in the final. "Winning the under 21 championship was a huge boost to Athlone. There wasn't an awful lot expected of the team, but they showed a tremendous will to win and won hard-fought games in both the semi-final and final. "We had an outstanding midfield partnership in Paul Bannon and James Tobin, and they provided a good supply of ball into the forwards. We started the final with three minors and finished with five. I was pleased for them because they had been on the losing side against Mullingar Shamrocks in the minor semi-final - a game we had high hopes of winning. "Our victory in Division 2 has also given us a boost ahead of the new season. Rosemount led the division for most of the year, but when Maryland beat them, it threw us a lifeline and we took the opportunity with both hands. We were five years in Division 2 and I think most people would agree that it was about time that we got promoted," he adds. Managed by Nigel Johnson and Sean Connell (a brother of Dublin footballer Senan), the Athlone under 21s played three games en route to winning the championship. They beat Castletown-Finea/Coole/Whitehall by 0-8 to 0-4 in the quarter-final and had just a point to spare over St. Loman's in the semi-final which was played on St. Stephen's Day. The Shannonsiders led by 0-5 to 0-2 at the interval, but St. Loman's battled back to level the scoring at 0-6 each. However, Athlone showed a steely resolve and with 17-year-old John Connellan in unstoppable form at full forward, they finished the stronger to secure a 0-8 to 0-7 victory. A week later at Castletown-Geoghegan, Athlone upset the odds to beat Mullingar Shamrocks by 1-8 to 0-10 in the final. Substitute Ian Lacey was the Athlone hero, scoring the winning goal four minutes from the end. Backboned by players from the 2002 and 2003 minor winning teams, Shamrocks entered the final as hot favourites but were left stunned after Lacey struck late to give Athlone their first success in the grade since 1995 when the likes of Rory O'Connell, Tom Silke, Neil Dolan, Richie Daly and Tom Stuart-Trainor were on board. With new county panelist Paul Bannon to the fore and John Molloy in unerring form from placed balls, the Shannonsiders opened up a 0-5 to 0-2 lead at the break. However, Shamrocks dominated after the break with a flurry of scores from Darren Moore and Aonghus Smyth easing them into a 0-9 to 0-6 lead. Athlone managed to narrow the gap to two points before they struck for the only goal. Despite being hampered by a first half injury which forced him to relocate from midfield to full forward, Paul Bannon supplied the pass to Lacey who crashed the ball to the net from close range. Shamrocks had ample chances in the time remaining to salvage an equalizer, but they couldn't get back on terms as Athlone held on for a dramatic victory. Lynch, who captained the Shannonsiders at all levels and was also a regular on the Westmeath senior team during the 1980s, bemoans the fact that the under 21 championship was played so late in the year and, claims that it isn't being taken seriously enough by the county board. "The under 21 championship is a very important grade, but you wouldn't think that the way it is treated by the fixture makers. It has always been a great platform for Athlone and hopefully that will prove to be the case again. I think every effort must be made to retain this championship and have it played earlier in the year. "Our lads put in a big effort and great credit must go to Nigel Johnson and Sean Connell for their work with the team. Sean missed the final, but Liam Byrne stepped in and did a good job." 2005 wasn't a vintage year for the Athlone senior team, whose failure to qualify for the knock-out stages of the championship came as a huge disappointment to supporters. However, an unexpected wobble by Rosemount in their final two games of the All-County League Division 2 campaign saw Athlone come back into the reckoning, and they made the black and ambers pay by winning a play-off to secure promotion to Division 1. The tone for a disappointing championship was set when the sky blue and whites lost their opening game to Tyrrellspass by 0-7 to 2-8. They bounced back to beat Tubberclair by 0-14 to 1-7, but another reversal at the hands of St. Loman's (1-7 to 0-14) left them facing an uphill battle. Athlone kept alive their hopes of reaching the quarter-finals when they edged out Coralstown/Kinnegad by 0-8 to 0-6, but a third defeat to The Downs (1-7 to 0-13) in their final group match ended their interests. League promotion appeared to beyond Athlone after a couple of early defeats, but they benefited from Rosemount's poor finish to the season, winning the play-off by 1-6 to 0-7 on a dreadful night for football in Tubberclair. While Athlone were always the better team, they needed a late goal from Tom Stuart-Trainor, after Rosemount goalkeeper Paddy McCormack had failed to deal properly with a Paul Bannon free, to make sure of the win. A feature of the game was the brilliant high-fielding of Rory O'Connell. The former All-Star was recently linked with a switch to Salthill/Knocknacarra in Galway where he is now based, but it seems he never had any intention of leaving his beloved Athlone. Niall's greatest wish for 2006 is for Athlone to return to the summit of Westmeath football. Former Mayo ladies football boss Finbar Egan has been reinstated as senior manager for another year and joining him as a selector is ex-Athlone and county star Ollie Keating. "Ollie has been appointed a selector and this is something which has been very well received in the club. He is a highly-respected figure throughout Westmeath and was a county selector during Luke Dempsey's time. "The management's first priority will be to get the commitment of every player and develop a good team spirit. Hopefully, this will lead to greater consistency in our performances. We've been underperforming in recent years and it's time to put that right." Taking a brief look at other happenings in 2005, the Athlone junior team acquitted themselves well by reaching the championship quarter-final. As touched on by Niall, there was disappointment for the club's highly-rated minors when they suffered a heavy defeat to Mullingar Shamrocks in the championship semi-final. The under 16s, who were managed by Fergal Murray and Liam Downes, defeated The Downs by 2-10 to 1-12 after extra-time to capture the Division 2 knock-out championship title, while the Rory Byrne and Gerry Quinn-managed under 10s won the Castledaly tournament and also qualified for the Lough Ree tournament final. Athlone's under 14 team were beaten by Mullingar Shamrocks in the Feile final, but had better luck in the Rochfortbridge tournament which they won outright. The Athlone ladies club continues to go from strength to strength with the junior, under 16 and under 14 sides all having successful years. The Athlone team which captured the under 21 football championship was: Ken Gaynor; Christopher Stephens, Paul McEnroe, Declan Rynne; Neil Lynch, Thomas Turley, Darren Costello; Paul Bannon, James Tobin; Emmet Egan, Dermot Bannon, Miko Daly; John Molloy, John Connellan, Brian Fogarty. Subs used: Ian Lacey, John Dunning and Eoin O'Flaherty. The senior team that defeated Rosemount in the Division 2 play-off was: Richie Daly; Paul Mullen, James Kilroy, Eimhin Griffith; Philip Allen, Fergal Murray, Robbie O'Dwyer; Rory O'Connell, Paul Bannon; Damien Kelly, Aidan St. John, Tom Stuart-Trainor; Dermot Bannon, John Molloy, Joe Fallon. Sub used: Seamus Mitchell. Tweet

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