All Tangled up in Blue and Black

Athlone Town F.C. Official Programme - 2012 Season Issue 14

Athlone Town v Longford Town

ATHLONE INSTITUTE Friday, 31st August OF TECHNOLOGY @ 7.45 p.m. Primary Club Sponsor

and Official Match Programme Sponsor for 2012

Shane Lafferty European Transplant and Dialysis Ten Pin Bowling Champion 2012

Kit Supplier: Pub Sponsor: Durty Harry’s

1 €2 PRIMARY SPONSOR OF ATHLONE TOWN F.C.

Be part of the AIT Story... For AIT Soccer Club Information contact: Maz Sweeney Email: [email protected]

For AIT Sports Scholarship Information contact: Gordon Brett Email: [email protected] Phone: 090 6442565

2 From the Chairman Athlone Town FC Directory

I’d like to extend a warm Ground/Office Address: welcome to all associated Athlone Town Stadium, and supporting Longford Lissywoollen, Town who are with us Athlone tonight in Athlone Town Phone: 083 1061267 Stadium for this important Email: [email protected] Airtricity League First Division Fixture. I’m sure Website: www.athlonetownfc.ie many of you will spend COACHING STAFF much of the evening discussing the departure of Mike Kerley, but within First Team Manager: Padraig Moran the club the focus has been on a fresh start under Asst. Manager /Youth Dev. Officer: TBC the guidance of Padraig Moran and we ask you all to U19 Manager: Mickey Collins rally behind him. U19 Asst. Manager: Alan McCaul U17 Manager: Mick Dolan It’s been a difficult period for us on the pitch. While we have been competitive and matching teams Club Physio: Anna Postawa in individual games it’s particularly difficult to view Kitman: Colin Forde the gap to the playoff spots that now exists, when Goalkeeping Coach: Kevin Fitzpatrick the sense around the club is that there is very little between the teams in the division. 2012 COMMITTEE President: Tony Knight Away from the first team, the club is gearing up for the Chairman/FAI Representative: John Croughan beginning of the underage season with both our U17 and U19 teams kicking off their League campaigns Secretary/ League Representative: Damien Milton this weekend, against Wayside Celtic and Longford Treasurer: John Comber Town respectively. The U19 fixtures have been Asst. Secretary/Media & IT Officer: Chris Enright relatively kind to us with just one long away trip to Committee; John (Cha) Nicholson, Liam Gaffey, Wexford, but the commitment to field both teams John Hannon, Bernard Larkin and give them the proper support structures is a Chief Executive Officer: John O’Sullivan significant outlay for the club, so we continue to need your support. Licencing Officer: Chris Enright Safety Officer/Event Manager: David Dully In recent weeks the club has been at the forefront Children’s Officer/Head Steward: Bernard Larkin in discussions around the future of the league, Hospitality Manager: Declan Browne including its structure. As things stand, with the gap Groundsman: John West to the play-off positions, we could be facing into a 7 team First Division in 2013. The Club is strongly Asst. Groundsman: John Corrigan advocating and lobbying support for a single division Club Doctor: Dr.Mick Brody next season to protect the future of the game here, to First Aid: Order of Malta avoid another Monaghan United debacle. Programme team: Chris Enright, Jimmy Kenny Yours in sport, Club Photographer: Padraig Devaney John Croughan, Chairman A.T.F.C. Club Promotions Officer: Shane Hunter

Season Match Balls sponsor: JAMES CURLEY, MONKSLAND, ATHLONE

3 Away Days - Waterford United 0 Athlone Town 0

Photos: Ashley Cahill www.acsportsimages.com Athlone Town secured a valuable point in a recent instalment of their Airtricity League Division One adven- ture. A number of changes were made from the team that had lost by the odd goal in their game against Limerick with Damien Rushe and Brian McCarthy returning to the back four and Barry O’Mahoney and Sean Skelly starting in midfield in what was a 4-3-3 formation with both wingers dropping back at times making it seem like 4-5-1. Athlone started the brighter with possession but despite this their best chance came on 7 minutes from a free but it went beyond the end line without a touch. On thirteen minutes Kiely had a half chance but Brian McCarthy was alive to the danger and cleared. Then finally two minutes later the first shot of the game by Kiely but it was easily held by Pat Jennings. Three minutes later a cross from Sean Skelly almost reached Mark McGoldrick but Packie Holden was alert to the danger. Athlone then had two great chances to break the deadlock but firstly Mark Walsh had an effort saved by Holden before McGoldrick robbed the ball from the Waterford defence only to shoot straight at the home keeper. McGoldrick again had a great chance when his neat one two with Skelly allowed him to shoot on goal but again Holden saved easily. The final chance of the first half fell to Waterford but Peter White was off target from twenty yards. Ten minutes into the second half a cross from Shane Dunne was met by the head of Noel McGee but his header was well saved by Holden down low. Then Waterford had a number of chances through firstly Peter White but his chance was wide and then Maguire couldn’t keep it on target before Dempsey tested Jennings with a shot but the Athlone keeper was always favourite in that contest. With eleven minutes re- maining Waterford were down to ten men when Kielys poor challenge on McGoldrick was rewarded with a straight red card from referee Kevin O’Regan . Despite going down to ten men Waterford continued to push forward and with a minute left on the clock the very talented Maguire skipped past three Athlone players couldn’t beat Jennings at his near post. Three more minutes of injury time passed and Athlone held out for a well deserved draw. 4 Away Days - Waterford United 0 Athlone Town 0 From the Manager

It’s a great source of pride for me to wel- come to Tony Cousins, his backroom team and players as well as to the officials and supporters of Longford Town for tonight’s match. Long- ford will be coming to Athlone tonight looking to cut the gap to Limerick in first place and automatic promotion, but they’ll face a stern test tonight, as they have in the previous meetings between the club. All through my playing career and later as I looked towards management, I’ve always wanted to represent and then manage my home town club. To be able to do so tonight is a huge honour for me. The circumstances around my being this position are not as I would have hoped; I learned a huge amount from Mike Kerley over recent years and he’s a manager and a man I will always have huge respect for. Having said that, this is an opportunity I have wanted for a long time and I intend to grab it with both hands. I’ve SCRUBS been delighted with the response from the players this week in what were difficult times LAUNDERETTE and I believe you’ll see that continued on the pitch tonight. All Laundry weighed & priced Reflecting on our last home game I felt that we were very unlucky to lose to Limerick Door to Door Service FC, especially given our second half perfor- Minimum Charge 12 Euro mance. I thought we contained Limerick very well in the first half and felt we were much the better side in the second half. Just be- 50% Deposit required on fore Limerick scored we’d seen Dave Ryan, all Laundry the Limerick keeper, make a fortunate save. It reminds us back that the main difference Baylough, Athlone between the teams above us and ourselves seems to be taking that first chance and get- Phone: (090) 6444278 ting our noses in front. email: [email protected] Padraig Moran, Athlone Town Manager 5 Athlone Town FC Weekly Lotto Tuesday 7th August 2012. Venue – The Olive Bar Numbers drawn were: 8, 13, 15, 19. Match 4 Winners - [€1,600] – None. Match 3 Winners - [€100] – None Consolation Draw - [€25 x 2] - Lorraine and Nathan, Raymond and Bronagh Reilly Monday 13th August 2012. Venue – The Shack Numbers drawn were: 1, 6, 8, 20 Match 4 Winners - [€1,700] – None. Match 3 Winners - [€100] – None Consolation Draw - [€25 x 2] - Helena Murray, Mick Curley Monday 20th August 2012. Venue – The Lough Ree Inn Numbers drawn were: 1, 4, 6, 13. Match 4 Winners - [€1,800] – None Match 3 Winners - [€25 x 4] – Vicki O’Brien, Aaron Gavin, Mick Heavin, Pat Dolan Monday 27th August 2012. Venue – Potters Bar Numbers drawn were: 11, 21, 26, 28. Match 4 Winners - [€1,900] – None Match 3 Winners - [€50 x 2] – Rose G c/o LG, Eamonn Connolly c/o Patrons Scheme

Draw takes place on Monday 3rd September in Castle Inn for a jackpot of €2,000 PLAY ONLINE AT WWW.ATHLONETOWNFC.IE or BUY TICKETS IN CLUB SHOP

Athlone Town Lotto Committee: Chairman: Liam Gaffey Secretary:Tom O’Neill Treasurer: Noel Lennon Committee: Eddie Francis, John Hannon,Tony Knight, Bernard Larkin Main Supporters: Fergal Hegarty,Tom Fitzgerald, John (Cha) Nicholson, James Croughan, PaJoe Green, Sean Hegarty, Damien Milton, Paddy Martin, Declan Browne, Paddy Mannion

Anthony Knight & Sons Builders, Athlone Best Wishes to Athlone Town for the 2012 Season 087 2437406

6 The Treatment Room Club Notes . . . Heat and Cold U19 Fixtures Treatment This season’s U19 fixtures have been announced. We start with an U19 El Classico. Exact dates are Heat and cold treatment yet to be announced but the games will be played is an easy and effective as listed below. Dates given are the Sunday of the way of self-treatment in weekend on which games will be played. many injuries. Proper us- 2nd SEPTEMBER 2012 age of these measures can significantly reduce Longford Town v Athlone Town the pain and speed up 9th SEPTEMBER 2012 the healing process. Athlone Town v Limerick For a better understanding of when to use heat 16th SEPTEMBER 2012 and when to use cold, we have to discriminate be- Athlone Town v Wexford Youths tween an acute pain and a chronic pain. Acute 23rd SEPTEMBER 2012 pain is a sharp pain that comes on quickly, is iso- GUST v Athlone Town lated and has limited duration. It usually results 30th SEPTEMBER 2012 from a specific impact or traumatic event. Chronic Athlone Town v Mervue United pain develops slowly. It starts from a small, nag- 14th OCTOBER 2012 ging ache, lasts long and usually results from a Mervue United v Athlone Town repetitive trauma or an overuse. Cold treatment 21st OCTOBER 2012 should be used for a first 48-72 hours of an acute Athlone Town v Longford Town pain or in athletes with a chronic pain, straight af- 28th OCTOBER 2012 ter a training session. Heat treatment should be CUP FIRST ROUND used for a chronic pain, in athletes with a chronic 4th NOVEMBER 2012 pain just before a training session and after a first Limerick v Athlone Town 72 hours of an acute pain but only if there is no 11th NOVEMBER 2012 swelling or other sings of inflammation. Wexford Youths v Athlone Town To apply cold we can use bagged ice or cold 18th NOVEMBER 2012 packs. In order to protect skin from a frostbites, CUP SECOND ROUND ice should be put on skin through a thin towel or 25th NOVEMBER 2012 cloth and a single session of icing should last up to 10 minutes. It can be repeated several times a Athlone Town v GUST day, but skin has to be allowed to come back to 2nd DECEMBER 2012 the normal temperature in between the icing ses- CUP QUARTER-FINALS sions. Heat can be applied with a hot packs, heat- 9th DECEMBER 2012 ing pads or hot water bottles. Skin should also be Longford Town v Athlone Town protected from burns with a towel or a cloth. Sin- 13th JANUARY 2013 gle heating session should last up to 20 minutes Athlone Town v Limerick and can be repeated several times a day. and CUP SEMI-FINALS Contraindication to cold treatment – skin sen- 20th JANUARY 2013 sation problems, Raynaud’s phenomenon, cryo- Athlone Town v Wexford Youths globulinemia, Buerger’s disease and prior history 27th JANUARY 2013 of frostbite. Contraindication to heat treatment – GUST v Athlone Town swelling, hemorrhage, active inflammation, skin 3rd FEBRUARY 2013 sensation problems. Athlone Town v Mervue United Anna Postawa , Athlone Town Physio 10th FEBRUARY 2013 - CUP FINAL

7 LIST OF OUR SPONSORS TAVERN ADSL WILLIAM WALSH DAVE MAHER THE BOUNTY P.J. DUIGNAN SMITHS SUPERVALU ORLA COONEY DURTY HARRYS TONY QUINN NUTS CORNER MIDLAND STONE GARVAN GILL DONIE KENNY RITE PRICE TILES TORC ELECTRIC SEAMUS FLYNN WOODFIT MILLENIUM MACHINERY DEERPARK WINDOWS LIAM McMANUS CENTRA PAT REDDINGTON JOHN CROUGHAN POTTERS MONAGHAN MILK FAI AVONMORE TOM RAFTERY CAR SALES CONOR HANNON PADRAIG EGAN SUPERMACS BAYSIDE HEATING LOUIS COPELAND PALACE BAR SHAMROCK LODGE HOTEL JAMES CURLEY THE GROVE POWERGUARD TANYA CANNON A. CUNNIFFE THE OLIVE BAR AIT MICHAEL HEAVIN TEXOIL SEANS BAR LUND P.J. CROWLEY FERNHILL GARDEN CENTRE GATEWAY THE SHACK AD CABS GERTIE BROWNES SONAS JOE DEVERY JIMMY MORAN JOHN MURRAY – AC75 SEERYS DECLAN BROWNE SENACA GROUP THE SNUG IARNROD EIREANN LARRY KILDEA MICK McDONNELL - MIDLAND SOUND EQUIPMENT (VIKING TOURS) THE CASTLE INN SEAN KELLY Teams for Tonight Athlone Town F.C. Longford Town F.C.

GARVAN BROUGHALL CRAIG HYLAND DARREN COLEMAN PAUL HUNT BRIAN COLLOPY MICHAEL LEE PAUL DANAHER GAVIN DOWNEY NOEL HAVERTY AARON DULLY DES HOPE VAL FEENEY CHRIS DEANS DWAYNE FARRELL SCOTT GAYNOR JEFF FLOOD BRIAN GILL GARY CRONIN SEAN GUERINS GRAHAM DOWLING GARRET HIGGINS NIALL O’REILLY PATRICK JENNINGS ROBBIE KELLEHER ALAN KIRBY JASON HUGHES MARK SALMON ROSS KENNY JAMES O’BRIEN JORDAN MARCHMENT KEITH GILLESPIE ROY KING BRIAN MCCARTHY THOMAS CRAWLEY NOEL MCGEE JAMIE DUFFY SAM MORAN DEAN COSGRAVE STEPHEN RELIHAN AUSTIN SKELLY DAMIEN RUSHE NIALL SCULLION KARL BERMINGHAM MARK SHERLOCK GARY SHAW JAVIER VERDU DANIEL PURDY MARK WALSH KEVIN WILLIAMSON JOE WOODS WARREN CONROY IDRIS OYEMIYI IAN SWEENEY ETHAN KEOGH LEE CHEOL SUNG BARRY O’MAHONEY STEPHEN LAST ERIC MOLLOY JORDON CONROY 9 Deerpark Windows Specialists in Design & Installations of uPVC & Aluminium Windows, Doors, Conservatories & Patios

Deerpark Road, Athlone Co. Westmeath

(090) 6493790 (090) 6493790 (090) 6492233 (087) 2250167

Sponsors of the Athlone Town Under 18s

Egan’s Coaches

Bonavalley, Athlone Co. Westmeath

Tel.: 090-6472236

For the latest news and information on Athlone Town F.C. please visit: www.athlonetownfc.ie 10 From the CEO Club Notes . . . A warm welcome to eve- Away Days to Finn Harps ryone here at Athlone The Club will run a supporters’ bus, pending Town Stadium tonight. It’s interest, to Finn Harps in association with Egan Coaches. If you are interested in travelling to the a busy time for the club game, please contact [email protected] or with a lot of football left for text 0831061267. Your support has been greatly the senior team, as well appreciated on our last two busses and we hope to see you at the RSC. as training gearing up and intensifying for our U17 Thanks to our previous Sponsors and U19 teams. We’d like once again to our sponsors for our previous home game against Limerick FC, Deer Park Windows and The Shack bar, their support It means that the stadium and pitches here are of the club is greatly appreciated and as always, in frequent use, with 7-8 training sessions and we’d like to ask our supporters to favour those businesses which support the club, a sponsor list matches across our teams and also through oc- is opposite the team sheet in each program. casional use by third parties e.g. tomorrow we will make the ground available to Deaf Sports Ireland Congratulations to Val Feeney who will play their provincial final at the stadium, a All involved with Athlone Town FC would like to congratulate Val Feeney on his selection for the game well worth watching, and for which entry is Republic of Ireland Under 17 Squad for the forth- free. With that in mind I’d like to acknowledge how coming Internationals versus Azerbaijan which will well our Groundsman John West has maintained take place in Mayo on 28th and 30th August 2012. Val started out his career with Birr Town at un- both pitches at the Stadium, over what has been derage level and while there he was capped three an atrocious summer. It’s also why it was so great times for the Republic at U15 . Val also scored on to see people help John work on the pitch in the his debut in Qatar in December 2010. A number of further caps at U16 level followed immediate aftermath of the Port Vale and Limerick Val has also had a number of trials with teams games, a distant five weeks ago. It’s great to see in England with the highlight being when Man- more people volunteer to help out, even for twenty chester City invited him to play in a tournament in the Ukraine that took place in August 2011 where minutes, each person involved makes the club he played against the mighty footballing powers of that little bit stronger. Ajax, Barcelona and Spartak Moscow. Earlier this season he became the youngest ever player 16years and 2 months to play for I’d like to thank our recent sponsors Melinn & Athlone Town senior team when he took to the Sons, Deerpark Windows, Richard Grace’s and field against Mervue United. The Shack as well as our very generous sponsors Lotto Sellers for tonight’s match against Longford Town, we The club are still looking to extend the reach of hope to see you in Durty Harry’s after the game, our successful Club Lotto. We are seeking a hopefully celebrating a win. limited number of sellers, who will be offered com- mission rate on tickets sold. If interested, contact John O’Sullivan, Athlone Town CEO [email protected] or phone 083 1061267 Underage games Please keep an eye on our website and social media outlets as the underage seasons kick off, I know that we have some fantastic talent in our U17 and U19 squads and with entry to games free, those will be entertaining Athlone Town games over the coming months.

11 Away Days - SD Galway 3 Athlone Town 0

Athlone Town F.C. 1887 – 2012

A ProudPhotos: AshleyTradition Cahill 12 of 125 years www.acsportsimages.com 12 ATHLONE v Derry, June 7/6/10 21:24 Page 27 Ground Regulations

Stats

Athlone Town Roll  !" of Honour  7C League Champions: 2 times (1980-81,$#$3 1982-83) 33$  3 3F3%313 $ #7 "#$ !" " 7#" # 72" 31 4(G!"" #E$"7

Ground Regulations Ground First Division Champions: 1 time (1987-88) 343136## 75383 9#E() C## FAI Cup Winners: 1 time (1924) League Cup Winners: 3 times (1979-1980, 1981-82, 1982-83) Record League Victory: 8-0 vs Thurles Town, Home, 27/9/1981 Record League Defeat: 1-9 vs Shelbourne,Away, 27/8/1927 Most points in a season: 67 in 1981-82 Most goals in a season: 29,Andy Myler (2000-01) Athlone Town FC, the F.A.I. and the Airtricity League welcome every supporter irrespective of Race, Religion, Sexual Orientation, Age, Disability, gender, Family Status, Marital Status or membership in the Travelling Community. We reject and condemn any form of bigotry and discrimination in soccer at any level. We will not condone any objectionable behaviour on these grounds including hostility toward or abuse of individual players, other spectators or officials. Anyone engaging in such behaviour may face ejection from the stadium and be subject to a complaint forwarded to An Garda Siochana. !"#$% Most&&'&#" ( ) "0#"""#& &( 1$2324353% league 9831"""" $$ #""" #!"# ( @"#A"0" goals:" "( @" ## # ( B"""$ !"##( B""# "#"#2C"# ( B"""## " ##( $#"$ 109,#(  @%$##&" @%D7#77# Michael$"$%&$" "   """"#3" ""( @7## %"#" "# ( #$C"# C O’Connor $# #( 6"#"$ " ##  $3"" ##"#" $ " 8!""""## @$1431 E)" (1979-87,"0#"""(   E7#" "$ "#" (@ !" C#$"7 #" 0  87"2 " @$1431 E1 E9 1989-95)"7#&"3&3A6 @7DD ## """7(G$" !"  7" 3"##"(  !"#!""#$%H"Q(  8  !"77" • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • ATHLONE v Derry, June 7/6/10 21:24 Page 31

Athlone Town FC, the FAI and the FAI League of SHOW Ireland welcome every supporter irrespective of SHOW Race, Religion, Sexual Orientation, Age, Disability, Gender, Family Status, Marital Status RACISMRACISM or Membership in the Travelling Community. We reject and condemn any form of bigotry and discrimination in soccer at any level. We will not condone any objectionable behaviour on these THETHE grounds including hostility toward or abuse of indi- vidual players, other spectators or officials. RED CARD Anyone engaging in any such behaviour may face RED CARD ejection from the stadium and be subject to a com- plaint forwarded to an Garda Síochána.

For more information go to: www.fai.ie www.equality.ie www.collane.ie

1327 Stats

ATHLONE TOWN STATS Total Home Away Matches played 21 10 11 Wins 8 4 4 Draws 4 1 3 Losses 9 5 4 Goals for 20 11 9 Goals against 24 12 12 Points 28 13 15 Clean sheets 6 2 4 Avg. goals scored p/m 0.95 1.10 0.82 Avg. goals conceded p/m 1.14 1.20 1.09 Avg. time 1st goal scored 46m 49m 43m Avg. time 1st goal conceded 48m 57m 39m Failed to score 7 3 4 Biggest victory 2 - 0 2 - 0 1 - 0 Biggest defeat 1 - 4 1 - 4 0 - 3

LONGFORD TOWN STATS Total Home Away Matches played 22 11 11 Wins 14 6 8 Draws 4 1 3 Losses 4 4 0 Goals for 36 14 22 Goals against 23 12 11 Points 46 19 27 Clean sheets 7 4 3 Avg. goals scored p/m 1.64 1.27 2.00 Avg. goals conceded p/m 1.05 1.09 1.00 Avg. time 1st goal scored 28m 17m 37m Avg. time 1st goal conceded 47m 49m 45m Failed to score 5 4 1 Biggest victory 4 - 2 4 - 2 2 - 0 Biggest defeat - 1 - 3 -

“Official Kit Suppliers to Athlone Town F.C.” Replica Kit, Polo Shirts and Jackets are on sale in the club shop. 14 In the Right Hands

Last week the club presented the first information session on the plans to install a co-oper- ative ownership structure for the club. Over the coming month we’ll run a number of further sessions at a variety of locations around the town to pass on information on what defines a Football Co-operative or trust, why they are appropriate as an ownership structure for football clubs and point out some of the success stories that exist worldwide. Domestically, Sligo Rovers, Cork City and Shamrock Rovers are examples of clubs owned by supporters. There are numerous examples across the lower leagues in the UK, perhaps the best known is Swansea City, who are owned 20% by their supporters. On the continent all German clubs adhere to the 50+1 rule where the majority of all clubs must be in the hands of the supporters of the club. Perhaps Barcelona is the most famous of all supporter owned clubs. There are clubs for whom supporters ownership hasn’t worked too, what is key is the people involved and the strength of the structure up front. The purpose of the information session is not only to spread information on the structure and concept of a co-operative trust but to gather information from supporters of the club on what their own expectations of the trust would be. In order to make sure that the Co-operative gets of on the right footing and is as successful as possible, it’s key that it’s not a process driven from the club down to supporters, but on which is developed in consultation with all those interested parties who wish to see Athlone Town FC reach our maximum potential. The Co-operative will on a very basic level be a members club, open to all. As such it will have an annual membership fee, we’ll be asking what people feel an appropriate fee is, and what benefits they would like to see to membership outside of the obvious one of owning your club. We’ll explain what the draft thinking on how the Co-operative should work is, but driv- ing direction on the structure will be entirely up to the membership of the Co-operative itself. While there will be structure to the trust, it will only be as successful as those who contribute to that success. Perhaps most importantly, we’ll be looking for people to get involved in setting up the Co- operative. We will need help to spread the word, canvas potential members and drive the progress on the establishment of the trust. If you are interested in becoming involved, you don’t have to wait for the information ses- sions to roll around, contact John O’Sullivan on 083 1021267 or on email at john.osullivan@ athlonetownfc.ie.

NEXT GAMES: Under 19s Longford Town v Athlone Town, Sunday 2nd Sept., Flancare Park, KO 2pm Under 17s Athlone Town v Wayside Celtic Sunday, 2nd Sept., Athlone Town Stadium, KO 11am First Team Athlone Town v Wexford Youths, Friday 14th Sept., KO 7.45pm 15 IT’S GOING TO BE ELECTRIC

We’re proud to power the Airtricity League and to partner with players, with clubs and most importantly with you, the real fans of real football. football made better www.airtricity.com Airtricity, the power behind Irish football. 16