REPORT: Sporting Fingal 2 - 0 Athlone Town

Absurd though it may seem to ascribe make-or-break significance to a side's opening home fixture of the season, such was the scenario which confronted Sporting Fingal (as both a team and a club) ahead of their meeting with Athlone Town at Morton Stadium, Santry this afternoon. A massive PR offensive which included the provision of dedicated buses from the club's Fingal catchment area and widespread free admission constituted an all-in gamble which, had it backfired, might have caused permanent and irreparable damage to the club's credibility.

Happily for all concerned, the afternoon was a triumph for both the club's marketing and playing components. A bumper attendance of 1,234 (respectable even by the standards of the four senior clubs in the capital) availed of the various promotions to witness a comprehensive 2-0 victory for the home team and a performance as rich in brio and panache on the field as the club's marketing strategy was off it. Neatly, Marketing Executive-cum-midfielder Conan Byrne was central to both.

Any skeptic tempted to demean the significance of this afternoon's turnout by reference to the generous admission policy would do well to remember that fixtures exist within the eircom League which punters wouldn scarcely attend if paid to do so. In that context, a crowd of this magnitude attracted to a stadium miles from the club's spiritual home, on a cold and blustery Sunday afternoon, and on the back of a 1-5 thrashing a week earlier represents an achievement worth lauding.

In a welcome departure from the perfunctory monotonal mumbling which serves as stadium announcement at many eircom League grounds, Sporting Fingal engaged Newstalk's Jerry O'Sullivan to compere their inaugural home fixture. Although occasionally betraying the environment in which he operates (at one point in the second half, he cranked up the PA system to reveal, in ecstatic tones, that "Ireland's Robbie Keane" had scored in the Premiership, an announcement which occasioned much eye-rolling and a weak chorus of largely ironic cheers) O'Sullivan's enthusiasm lent an essential air of occasion to what might otherwise have been a mundane First Division fixture. Additional entertainment was provided by two Carroll's-sponsored St. Patricks, whose well-meaning buffoonery may not have been to everyone's taste but was eminently excusable on the weekend that was in it. Just before kick-off, Dance Dimension (happily, not a tacky cheerleading outfit but a group of young girls from the club's local area) performed a slick routine which their choreographer might, in sympathetic retrospect, have rendered a little more energetic given the prevailing weather conditions and the girls' state of dishabille.

The real action was finally upon us, and an encouragingly partisan crowd roared Fingal into an early, withering assault on the Athlone goal. Philip Byrne had already seen a header cleared off the line by the time Peter Hynes opened the scoring in the seventh minute. A swift breakaway resulting from a move which had seen Athlone's David O'Dowd rebuffed by an offside flag after sweeping the ball into the net put Hynes through on goal. His initial shot was blocked by a defender, but a kind rebound enabled the club's first-ever goalscorer to double his total as he lifted a gentle chip shot over the advancing Ciaran Kelly and into the corner of the net.

Fingal's mobile and fluid formation shifted from 4-1-3-2 to 4-3-3 and 4-2-4 as the situation required, with the front five switching positions freely and none more prominent than the excellent Paul Caffrey. Hynes hooked a volley narrowly wide from a long throw-in before the seemingly reborn Robbie Doyle raced onto a long pass only to shoot against the legs of Kelly, who dashed from his goal with admirable foresight to clear. The second and seemingly inevitable goal was crafted in the 21st minute; another Philip Byrne header from a corner-kick was pushed as far as the present-minded Conan Byrne, who swivelled in the six-yard box and fired a low shot to the net. The raucous celebrations which greeted Byrne's goal on the field and in the stands bespoke a relief at placing the Longford aberration firmly in the past.

Hynes, Colly James and Caffrey all tested Kelly, Hynes's effort - a controlled first-time volley touched just over - reflecting the most credit on both attacker and 'keeper, before the referee's whistle terminated a first half which had belonged, exclusively and indisputably, to Sporting Fingal. Athlone were simply unable to counter the mobility of the home side's forwards or the insistence and frequency of their midfielder's sorties into the attacking third.

This pattern of play was replicated for much of the second half. Colly James, unattended in the six yard box, failed to make a useful connection with a left-wing cross which was essentially a goal-in-waiting. Peter Hynes's attempt to author a sequel to his spectacular long-range chip against Longford elicited a good-natured wave of laughter as his undercooked shot skimmed harmlessly along the turf. The sides traded chances midway through the second half when McCartney's perceptive through-ball gave O'Dowd a sight of goal swiftly obscured by the prompt action of Steve Williams. From the counter attack, Robbie Doyle drilled a first-time volley narrowly over at a distance in excess of twenty yards.

A clash of heads forced Fingal's Brian Kelly off the field on 76 minutes; he was replaced by centre-half Aidan Collins, with Dave Rogers shunted to left-full. A late rally from the visitors almost produced a goal when Colm Jinks headed just over from another teasing corner. With twelve minutes to play, Niall Scullion replaced the impressive but luckless Jason McCartney; two minutes later, Scullion was making the return journey after drawing a red card for an altercation with Dave Rogers. Although Scullion's transgression was more of a symbolic gesture towards a headbutt than an act of violence, it was enough to justify the referee's decision.

Athlone were now being stretched at will, but, paradoxically, created more and better chances in the final ten minutes than at any other point of the game. Nigel Keady slammed a half-volley narrowly wide from outside the box, before substitute Pádraig Moran rolled the ball tamely at Williams when clean through in stoppage time. Fiachra McArdle, a 93rd minute substitute for Conan Byrne, enjoyed an even more fleeting cameo than Scullion, although happily it was the referee's whistle, rather than his card, collection, which signalled "cut" on this occasion.

It was a night of resounding success for the eircom League newcomers, but the back four continues to look vulnerable to set-pieces and communication is not always what it might be. Nonetheless, if Sporting Fingal establishes itself as a fixture and a force in Irish football, this afternoon will surely constitute the prologue to that success story.

Sporting Fingal: Steve Williams; Derek Tyrell, Brian Kelly (Aidan Collins 80), Dave Rogers, Philip Byrne; Conan Byrne (Fiachra McArdle 90), Jim Crawford, Colm James, Paul Caffrey; Robbie Doyle, Peter Hynes.

Athlone Town: Ciaran Kelly; Ian Rossiter, Philip Reilly, Nigel Keady, Darren Young (Anthony Hayes 24); Robbie Hamm, Colm Jinks, Levi Tierney (Padraig Moran 60), Jason McCartney (Niall Scullion 81); David O'Dowd, Eric Lavine.
Sent Off: Scullion (82).

Referee: Mark Gough.

Attendance: 1,234

Extratime Man of the Match : Paul Caffrey (Sporting Fingal).