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Through the Years
:: Introduction
1998 - 2000
:: 1998 AUL Div. 1 Winners
:: 1999 DDSL U/17 Major
Winners
:: 2000 DDSL U/10 Lge. &
Cup
:: Double Winners
:: Team Photos / Clippings
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1998 AUL Div. 1 Winners
A win in our last game the previous season saved the team from relegation to Division 2. A 3-0 win v Ballyouster with goals from Paul Martyn, Domo Murphy and Jody Jones made the League Winners Trophy in 97/98 all the sweeter.
Click on the pics below to view the larger version.
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Div. 1 League Winners Report
In the summer of 1997, Paul Martyn took charge of the Senior Sunday team. As part of the 40th Anniversary celebrations his first match in charge was against Shamrock Rovers. The League of Ireland club arrived with a full strength squad and won 7-0. The team that that day was Declan O'Rourke, Paddy Collins, John Butler, Paul Tierney, Jerry Martyn (Capt), Garrette Martin, Colm Martin, Ian McDonnell, Joe Jones, Mark Leavy, Ivan Freeman, Alan Brady, Pat Casserly. There were four guests (all ex-player's), Colm Kavanagh, Niall Keogh, Peter Kelly and John Kelly.
The Div.1 season started with a tough away opener against WFTA in Finglas. A man of the match performance and two goals from Alan Brady saw the team off to a winning 5-2 start.
There followed two straight defeats against Strand Ath. and Ballyoulster and after a couple of week's of cup games and as Hamilton Utd. had 7 wins from 7 games we were a massive 15 points behind the leader's in mid November. The two defeats would be the only league defeats of the season. We got back to winning ways when Ivan Freeman and Jason Martyn inspired and scored three of the four goals as we beat Gardenville 4-2 away. The team started climbing the table and just before Christmas the crunch game with Hamilton arrived
With the game at 1-1 and 15 minutes to go, the match was abandoned for bad light. It was fixed for two weeks later and a Ray McHugh goal was the difference and the gap was closing. As we kept getting the points on the board Hamilton started to slip and the gap was down to four points and a game in hand when the sides met in March.
Top goalscorer Ray McHugh and Mark Jenkinson scored and although Garrette Martin missed a penalty a 2-1 win was achieved and it was in our own hands. An injury to Declan O'Rourke meant that Robert Costello made his debut for the Senior Sunday team at the age of 16. The most memorable of his four games was the 0-0 draw away to Balloulster when we finished with nine men but battled through to earn a point.
There was a mini injury crisis as we came into our last four games, Ray McHugh, Ian McDonnell and John Butler were all struggling and Robbie Meares, Paul Martyn and John Gaffney were brought in to bolster the squad. Our last home game was against Gardenville and just after Ray McHugh scored, he and Ian McDonnell retired injured. With five points required from the last four games a goal by Paul Martyn with his first touch midway through the second half seemed to secure the three points but Robert Costello could do nothing about a late Gardenville equaliser.
Marks Celtic provided the opposition next and Ray McHugh scored in the first half but his re-occurring injury forced him off. With Marks' pushing forward for an equaliser Ivan Freeman broke and scored and a late Peter Smith brace secured a 4-0 win and the league title was just one point away.
Out to the AUL Complex we went to face a determined Orchard United side. In a nervous first half, Ray McHugh pounced (as always) and we went to the break 1-0 up. Even though a point was needed, we started at a fantastic rate and early goals from John Butler and Steo Woods put the game and the League title beyond doubt and the celebrations were under way.
We still had a game to play and a 7-2 scoreline including 4 from Peter Smith and Ian McDonnell's start meant an ever present season for the big midfielder? Paddy Doyle made a late appearance to set up a couple of goals and we were on our way to Premier C. A winning start and promotion to Paul Martyn's reign, the first of many. |
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