Magnificent Tullamore finally break their St Francis duck

Tullamore Town 1 St Francis 1 Tullamore won 6-5 on penalties Tullamore finally beat a highly-fancied St Francis side and to make it all the better it was a national cup competition. Tullamore Town ignited their season with a magnificent but hard fought win over arch rivals St Francis of Athlone on a wet morning in Leah Victoria Park. Tullamore started the game at a great pace and look up for the game right from the first whistle. Tullamore brought the game to St Francis and the visitors were put off their stride by some ferocious tackling by the Tullamore lads. Tullamore were rewarded for there tenacity when a long ball over the top from Arron Dooner looked destined for the safety of the Francis keeper however Cian Daly showed great determination to force a mistake from the keeper before passing 2 Francis defenders before slotting the ball home to give Town the Lead. What followed was some great football from both sides, but with Ger Crowe and Max Osanu controlling midfield Tullamore looked the more likely side to score. In the second half Francis came more into the game but with Ross Kinnarney, Arron Dooner, Rory Condron and Luke Kelly in defence Francis must have felt like they were trying to break through a brick wall. With Darragh Kelly and Gary McDonald energetic on either wing Tullamore looked as if they would add a second. Up front Ted Conway and Cian Daly were popping up everywhere in defence of Tullamore's cause. As expected the St Francis onslaught began with 10 mins remaining and only for a magnificent save from town keeper Niall McCabe, who was in great form between the posts all day, Francis would have been level. Two minutes into injury and with Tullamore ready to celebrate, disaster struck for the Town as they were caught out by a ball to the back post, where despite the best efforts of McCabe the ball bounced of the Francis centre half's knee and trickled over the line. The ref blew for full-time and Tullamore felt as if they had lost. However the management team got the boys' heads right for extra time and indeed straight from the kick-off Ted Conway shot into the side netting. With tired legs becoming a problem Corey Mangan came on for Darragh Kelly who had run himself into the ground. Chances were few and far between in extra time and so it went to the dreaded penalty shoot out. First were St Francis and they scored despite the best efforts of McCabe. Up stood Ger Crowe to level then Francis scored their next. Up next for Town was Ross Kinnarney who coolly slotted home. Niall McCabe followed and made it 3-3 Francis then went 4-3 up in the shoot up. Ted Conway was next up for Tullamore but the Francis keeper saved his shot well. Niall McCabe was the hero for Tullamore when he saved the next Francis spot kick. Francis scored their next one and Cian Daly made it 4-4. Arron Dooner stepped up in sudden death and made no mistake 5-5. Then McCabe became the first hero of the hour when he saved Francis seventh penalty. Tullamore thought they had won but miscounted the penalties and had to score the next one to win. Rory Condron was the coolest man in Leah Victory Park, with all the pressure on him he calmly put the ball to the keeper's left and the Tullamore boys booked their place in the next round and the celebrations began. This was a fully deserved win for the Tullamore boys and hopefully they can push on from here for the rest of the season. Tullamore put in a great team performance and it was very hard to pick a man of the match, but Ross "Jimmy" Kinnarney got the nod for his outstanding performance at right back. Team: Niall McCabe, Luke Kelly, Ross Kinnarney, Arron Dooner, Rory Condron, Ger Crowe, Max Osanu, Darragh Kelly, Gary McDonald, Ted Conway, Cian Daly. Subs: Corey Mangan, Sean Aherne, Sean Donegan, James Shanahan, Michael Cleary, Stephen Lynam. Polikoff Cup 1st Round Tullamore Town 2 Blackrock College 1 (aet) Tullamore advanced to the 2nd Round of the Polikoff Cup with this hard-earned win over Blackrock College last Friday in Leah Victoria Park. Despite dominating proceedings for long periods they had to wait until extra time to secure their place in the next stage. Starting with a very experienced side which saw the welcome return of Trevor Moylan after a six-month absence they were quickly into the attack with Jason Pohl and Trevor Francis looking particularly dangerous in the opening period. With the impressive College defence holding firm the home side were rocked back on their heels in the twenty fifth minute when their centre forward picked the ball up thirty yards out and crashed a superb drive into the back of the net. Tullamore continued to play measured football but half time arrived with the score remaining 1-0 in the visitors favour. Early in the second half manager Kevin O'Connor began to ring the changes with Brian Francis, Enda Carroll and Gary Buckley coming on as Tullamore tightened their grip on the game. The equaliser duly arrived on sixty five minutes when Ken Doyle received the ball on the edge of the area and clipped a lovely pass into the path of Stephen Francis who controlled it before sweeping the ball into the bottom left hand corner for a fine goal. With the home side now rampant Brian Francis saw his effort come back off the crossbar as the College keeper was forced into a number of fine saves to keep his side in the game. With five minutes remaining Tullamore found themselves reduced to ten men with the dismissal of Jason Pohl as the game drifted into extra time. Despite their numerical disadvantage they continued to pile forward and seven minutes into extra time they hit the front for the first time, and it was worth the wait. Full-back David Gorman picked the ball up in his own half and went on a surging run that carried him through the Blackrock defence before drilling his shot into the back of the net from the edge of the area for a memorable goal. Tullamore nearly increased their lead when Enda Carroll played a great ball through to Gary Buckley but his fine effort came back off the post and was cleared as the home side ran out deserving winners. Tullamore : Martin Cunningham, David Gorman, Ken Doyle, Shane Colsh, Stuart Kavanagh, Stephen Francis, Trevor Moylan, Keith O'Connor, Fergal Gorman, Trevor Francis and Jason Pohl. Subs : Brian Francis, Enda Carroll and Gary Buckley. CCFL Womens League Athlone/Bealnamulla 2 Tullamore Town 1 Tullamore travelled to Athlone last Sunday as these two great rivals met in this top of the table clash. Played on a very tight pitch the visitors started brightly and took the lead after only fifteen minutes when Richelle O'Neill played the ball over the top for the inrushing Patrice Stapleton to fire a great shot into the corner of the net. Athlone quickly regrouped and began to take control of the game but with the Town defence holding firm and Hilary Healion outstanding in goal the interval arrived without any further scores. The second half began with the home side continuing to press forward and they eventually made the breakthrough on seventy minutes when they found the net following a corner. The winner arrived in the eighty second minute when Athlone were awarded a somewhat fortuitous free and when the ball was whipped in from the right the unfortunate Catherine Gunning deflected the ball into her own net in attempting to clear the danger. Tullamore refused to lie down but despite their best efforts could not breach the home defence as the Athlone girls laid claim to all three points. This was a hugely entertaining game between two outstanding teams that was a wonderful advertisement for the womens game and the return fixture in Tullamore will certainly be one to look forward to. Tullamore : Hilary Healion, Joan Lennon, Anna Connolly, Regina Healion, Catherine Gunning, Orlaith Cullen, Sylvia Gee, Claire Cantwell, Richelle O'Neill, Louise Molloy and Patrice Stapleton. Subs : Jenna Cornally, Camilla Dunne, Rebecca Molloy, Laura Guinan and Vanessa Browne.