Home   AC Players   07/08 Results   07/08 Appearances   07/08 Scorers   07/08 Prem A Table   Previous Seasons   Picture Gallery   Guestbook   Links   Email Latest Result 08/01/06 - Castle Bar Cup AC Athletic (3) V Castleisland (2) Team: Cyril Dineen John Fitzgerald Mark Walshe Conor Harty Kieran Young Stephen Goggin Barry Walshe Conor Diggins Mark Dillane John Mike Dooley David Leahy Subs: John Paul Leahy for Stephen Goggin Shane Harty for David Leahy Shane Leahy for Conor Diggins Team: S O'Cairbhain B Lynch M McCarhty D Ryan S Clifford J McCarthy P Geaney H Huggard P McCarthy J Regan A Callaghan Subs: P O'Rourke Back to Results AC Athletic are a side that hit form at this time of the season and on Sunday last they sent Castleisland crashing out of the Castle Bar League Cup in a cracking contest played at Mounthawk Park. It was a game that looked destined for a replay until super sub John Paul Leahy, a mid season expensive transfer from Rattoo Rovers, popped up in the 88th minute to chip the keeper for the winning goal. By the way, this is the same Leahy who produced one of the goals of the season out in Moyvane in the North Kerry Final when he chipped the Listowel keeper to help Ballyduff capture the North Kerry Senior Football Championship. He is making a habit of scoring important goals and is some coup by AC Athletic’s slim line scout Paul Bunyan. Castleisland are conceding too many goals at the moment but are in second place behind Killarney Athletic in the Denny Premier A, so this was a good scalp for AC to take. In fact, AC are well organized defensively with Mark Walsh proving that there is no substitute for age and experience. When he decides to call it a day, he will be a hard act to follow. Conor Harty, the youthful partner of the central pairing, has pace to burn and is also good in the air while full backs John Fitzgerald and Kieran Young are difficult to get by. However, it’s up front that AC hold all the aces as John Mike Dooley is top class when it comes to finishing. When a side has such a prolific finisher, they are always a good bet for a cup upset. It was a typical cup tie from the very outset as both sides were intent on attacking with the midfield battle even enough despite the fact that Castleisland played five across the middle. Castleisland made the early pressure pay when Joe Regan scored from 15 yards but AC Athletic were creating chances as Lynch and McCarthy kept them at bay. In the 20th minute AC should have equalized but David Leahy fired just over the bar. However, when a Castleisland defender handled in the 23rd minute AC were awarded a penalty and John Mike Dooley expertly beat the keeper with a bullet like spot kick that went all the way to the roof of the net. Despite chances at both ends, the sides retired on level terms and it was everything to play for in the second half. After a frantic third quarter, AC seemed to have made their move when John Paul Leahy and Kieran Young combined to set up Dooley and he scored a cracking goal in the 75th minute. However, AC could not hold out for long, as three minutes later Castleisland equalized when Aidan O’Callaghan found the net. Neither side sat back and defended as they set in search of a winner and it came to AC in the 87th minute when Shane Leahy found Dooley. This time the big man turned provider as he crossed for the in-rushing John Paul Leahy who chipped the winning goal to the back of the Castleisland net. (c) Kerryman 2006