St Benildus College 3 Athlone CC 0:ST BENILDUS College overcame Athlone Community College and gale force winds in Leixlip yesterday to win the Leinster Schools' Senior Cup, Conor Day's spectacular goal a minute from time, hit from close to the half-way line, completing a 3-0 victory for the Stillorgan school.
A deserved victory it was too in woeful conditions, even if the scoreline was a little harsh in the end on Athlone, making their first ever appearance in the Leinster final.
The game was scoreless for the opening 28 minutes, during which time the Westmeath side came closer to breaking the deadlock. Shane Blackweir and Emmet Kenny both shot just wide with long-range efforts before Blackweir skipped past a couple of defenders on the right only to see his shot from a narrow angle parried by Keith Finn in the Benildus goal.
By then, though, Benildus were beginning to get a grip of midfield through the excellent Ben Meagan and Conor Butler, the pair repeatedly feeding Paul Mannion on the left, his link-up play with the front two of Paul Connolly and Daniel Byrne increasingly testing the Athlone defence.
And it was Mannion and Connolly who combined just before the half hour mark to give Benildus the lead, left-back Stephen McAuliffe picking out Connolly who switched the ball left to Mannion, his beautifully struck shot landing in the top right corner of the net.
Athlone responded by switching wingers David Brooks and Eoin McCormack, and the pair promptly provided their side’s best moment of the first half. After a weaving run on the left Brooks’ cross found its way across the box to the advancing McCormack, Finn again doing well to hold his first-time shot.
After the break, though, Benildus were the dominant force in the game, despite the best efforts of Athlone captain Robbie Murray in midfield, and the lively front pairing of Kenny and Blackweir. But Tadhg Healy and Karl McGrath, at the centre of the Benildus defence, proved impenetrable.
Meagan, meanwhile, continued to excel in midfield, with Mannion and Connolly, in particular, a persistent menace in attack.
A curling left foot shot from Connolly drifted just wide in the opening minutes of the second half, but the forward got the goal he deserved after 53 minutes, this time Mannion turning provider.
The winger used his skill to make space on the left, firing the ball across the face of goal, Connolly sliding in to make it 2-0.
It should have been 3-0 soon after, Connolly’s free header from a corner going wide, and the same player, like Meagan a member of Shamrock Rovers’ youth team, came close on four more occasions, one a close-range shot saved by Conal Sheerin following a fine passing move involving Meagan and Day.
And it was Day who provided the game’s most memorable moment when, from just inside the Athlone half, he spotted Sheerin off his line and lobbed him, the wind-assisted effort sailing over the goalkeeper’s head and into the top left corner of the goal.
Benildus, then, advance to the semi-finals of the All-Irelands where they will play the Munster Senior Cup winners next month – either Cashel Community School or De La Salle, Waterford.
ST BENILDUS COLLEGE: Finn; Rogers, Healy, McGrath, McAuliffe; A Byrne, Meagan, C Butler (capt), Mannion; Connolly, D Byrne. Subs: Day for McAuliffe (55 mins), D Butler for A Byrne (55 mins), Simon for Mannion (80 mins).
ATHLONE COMMUNITY COLLEGE: Sheerin; O’Connor, Dempsey, Shaughnessy, Morris; Brooks, Woods, Murray (capt), McCormack; Kenny, Blackweir. Subs: Connellan for McCormack (61 mins), Rosney for Kenny (80mins).
Referee: John Clarke.
