DIT advance in Sigerson Cup with commanding win over Athlone IT

By Daire Walsh, Grangegorman

DIT booked their place in the Sigerson Cup third round with a commanding victory over Athlone IT at Grangegorman last night.

With inside forwards Oisin Lynch and James Conlon in scintillating form, the hosts bounced back from last week’s surprise defeat to UL. Despite losing attacker Luke Loughlin to a straight red-card in the early moments of the second half, Brian Flanagan’s side comfortably progressed to a tantalising showdown against defending champions UCD.

Following unanswered points by Loughlin, goalkeeper Mark Jackson, Conlon, Ronan O’Toole and Lynch, DIT midfielder Sean Flanagan registered the opening goal of the contest on 12 minutes. However, after Rian Brady and Robbie Forde points got Athlone up and running, Offaly’s Gio Russo converted a penalty to bring the gap down to three.

Lynch reinforced DIT’s authority with a clinical strike past opposition netminder Cormac Haslam, while Flanagan and Conlon raised white flags at the end of subsequent moves. A superb Gavin Horan goal ensured the visitors were just five points in arrears (2-7 to 2-2) at the break and Loughlin’s 31st-minute dismissal offered them a potential lifeline.

Yet, DIT made light of their numerical deficiency to record an impressive 2-5 on the bounce. Dublin senior star Brian Howard was deployed in a deep-lying role throughout and his incisive pass released Conlon for a 38th-minute goal.

A brace of points by lively substitute Tom Keane offered DIT further breathing space, before the excellent Lynch grabbed his second major inside the final-quarter.

A beleaguered Athlone had entered this game on the back of a heavy reversal to UCC and were comprehensively outclassed for a second week running. They eventually replied through Forde, Cian O’Dea and Bill Berry, but a superior DIT had the final say courtesy of Keane’s third point off the bench.

Scorers for DIT: O Lynch 2-2, J Conlon 1-4, S Flanagan 1-1, T Keane 0-3, R O’Toole 0-2, M Jackson (’45’), L Loughlin 0-1 each.

Scorers for Athlone IT: R Forde 0-4 (3f), G Russo (pen), G Horan 1-0 each, B Berry 0-2, R Brady, C O’Dea 0-1 each.

DIT: M Jackson (Wicklow); J McCusker (Dublin), B Power (Meath), A McGowan (Dublin); D Toner (Meath), R O’Brien (Wicklow), L Hughes (Longford); S Flanagan (Westmeath), S Hurley (Kildare); C Pearson (Dublin), R O’Toole (Westmeath), B Howard (Dublin); L Loughlin (Westmeath), O Lynch (Dublin), J Conlon (Meath).

Subs: T Keane (Dublin) for Pearson (38), K O’Gara (Dublin) for O’Toole (46), R Finn (Wicklow) for Flanagan (49), S Tully (Dublin) for Hurley (55), F O’Shea (Wicklow) for Howard (59).

ATHLONE IT: C Haslam (Galway); D Healy (Westmeath), A Cregg (Kildare), D Carroll (Westmeath); G Horan (Kerry), E O’Connor (Clare), E Tully (Roscommon); K Maguire (Cavan), T Watts (Westmeath); R Forde (Westmeath), G Russo (Offaly), D McManus (Roscommon); R Brady (Longford), B Berry (Westmeath), S Clarke (Longford).

Subs: C O’Dea (Mayo) for Brady (h-t), E Gallagher (Westmeath) for Clarke (57).

Referee: S Mulhare (Laois).