Clash of Athlone rivals to have big say in title race
Willow Park can take a major step towards winning the CCFL Senior Division title by defeating local rivals St Peter’s at McCarthy Park tonight (Wednesday), kick-off 7pm.
Willow currently sit on top of the table on 29 points, while St Peter’s are four points adrift, though the McCarthy Park outfit have a game in hand.
If Willow can win Wednesday night’s match, they would end the chances of St Peter’s, as that result would leave the latter unable to make up the points difference. A victory over St Peter’s followed by a draw in their last game against Ballinahown would be enough to clinch the league crown for Willow.
On the other hand, if St Peter’s manage to claim a home win, the men in the green and white hoops will be in the driving seat for the title.
Indeed, St Peter’s came out on top when the sides met in the Paddy Cotter Cup semi-final recently, claiming a 3-1 win at the TUS Midlands grounds in Athlone. On that occasion, the St Peter’s goals were scored by Gary Kelly, Ian Dempsey and Johnny Kiernan, with James Fortune replying with a consolation goal for Willow.
The sides played out a 1-1 draw in their league meeting at DPD Park earlier in the season. Interestingly, that game was a refixture as heavy fog ended the previous contest prematurely close to the end when Willow were leading 2-1. Goals from Bryan Hughes and Tommy Hurley gave the home side a 2-0 lead, before St Peter’s defender Scott Delaney reduced the deficit.
Mullingar Town and Clara Town (both of whom are on 20 points) are not out of the running yet as they have two games in hand on Willow.
However, Mullingar’s title hopes have been considerable dented in their last two games, with last week’s 2-0 defeat to St Peter’s - see report here - followed by a draw against against Clara on Sunday last. This was a game which both sides really needed to win in order to gain ground on the teams ahead of them.
With four teams still in contention - albeit Clara and Mullingar are very much outsiders at this stage - long-serving CCFL official Chris Hand describes this season’s title race as “the most exciting one we’ve had in years”.