Sporting Fingal 1-0 Athlone Town
Saturday, 26 July 2008Sporting Fingal moved three points within First Division leaders Dundalk following a hard-fought win over Athlone Town at Morton Stadium.
The victory was secured courtesy of a 55th minute strike by Sporting skipper Paul Caffrey after good approach work by Conan Byrne.
Athlone had by the far better of the first half exchanges and were unlucky not to be ahead by the break.
John Mernagh should have given them the lead on the half hour mark when he got clean through from Eric Lavine's flick-on but the striker lobbed the ball wide of Steve Williams' post from eight yards.
Colm Jinks was denied by Williams two minutes later after turning inside the box following Ian Rossiter's right-wing cross and fired in a low shot as the Midlanders enjoyed their best spell of the match.
The home side improved in the second half; Fiachra McArdle drilling a shot low that Ciaran Kelly saved with his legs two minutes after the turnaround.
Sporting pressed for a goal and it duly arrived from the most enterprising move of the game.
Conan Byrne's raiding run from the right enticed two defenders towards him and he had the awareness to spot Caffrey running unmarked into the area.
Although goalkeeper Kelly kept out the first shot by Caffrey, the midfielder stretched to tuck the rebound home from an acute angle.
Robbie Doyle's speculative half-volley from 30 yards on 72 minutes almost caught Kelly out for the second goal but one was sufficient in the end to clinch Sporting's fourth win on the trot.
Sporting Fingal: Williams; Tyrell, P Byrne (Collins, 27 mins), Deans, Gannon; C Byrne, Crawford (James, 39), P Caffrey, McArdle; Hynes, Doyle.
Athlone Town: Kelly; Rossiter, Hope, Keady, Reilly; Maloney, Russo, Jinks, McCartney (McGee, 60 mins); Lavine, Mernagh (Fallon, 75).
Referee: Darren Coombes.
