Athenry starting to stir again as city men put to the sword

An impressive second half return of 2-12 guided the former kingpins to victory in this captivating first round match in Gort on Saturday evening.

Both teams came into the opening championship fixture hoping to find the right blend of experience and youth as both Athenry and Liam Mellows have a number of promising number of players coming through the ranks. The city side reached last year’s minor A final, losing out to Turloughmore in a replay, while Athenry were unfortunate to be beaten by eventual winners, St Thomas’, in the semi-final of the U21 A championship.

It was Athenry who got off the mark first. Points from county footballer Tom Flynn and David Donohue gave them the early initiative. Mellows responded quickly, however, and by the 10th minute, they led 0-5 to 0-2. Tadhg Haran was the main contributor, opening his account with a perfectly executed sideline cut before adding a free and another score from play.

Athenry were struggling to gain any meaningful possession up front at this stage as John Lee and inter-county player David Collins were clearing a lot of ball from the half back line for the city side. Athenry fought their way back into the contest midway through the half as they forced mistakes from their opponents.

Cathal Keane converted a free after Tom Flynn had pounced on some loose passing in the Mellows fullback line before Keane converted another free after superbly blocking John Huughes and then drawing a foul.

Athenry bagged two more well-worked scores in the following minutes to take the lead, 0-6- to 0-5. At this stage cornerback David Badger had been forced off for Mellows with a knee injury and his side needed to slow Athenry’s momentum quickly. Haran stepped up to convert another free, but Athenry re-took the lead instantly after goalkeeper John Grealish took a short puckout and, five quick passes later, Flynn got his second point of the evening.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.