St Peter"s stand on the brink

ST PETER"S stand on the brink of a historic breakthrough this weekend as they ready themselves to face Kerry outfit Lisselton Rovers in the quarter-finals of the coveted FAI Umbro Junior Challenge Cup (Sunday, McCarthy Park, 2pm). Victory over Lisselton will not only seal a place in the semi-finals of the FAI Junior Cup for the Athlone side - but will also see them qualify for the first round proper of the FAI Senior Cup for the first time ever. Firstly though, Michael Collins" side have to overcome Lisselton Rovers, who have bagged an impressive 12 goals in the previous two rounds, before even contemplating a meeting with Clonmel Town in the FAI Junior Cup semi-final. Despite never being among the genuine favourites for the competition on a national scale, St Peter"s have so far shocked many people by eliminating both the 2005 champions Westport Utd and then last year"s winners Carrick Utd - both after dramatic and tense games which went to extra-time and penalty kicks. And now, the Connaught-side club are just one step away from creating a huge piece of history. St Peter"s warmed up for this weekend"s game with a 4-3 victory over Killavilla Utd in the quarter-finals of the Combined Counties League Paddy Cotter Cup. Mark Sherlock notched all four goals for St Peter"s on the day, but while they would be satisfied to have eventually shrugged off Killavilla, St Peter"s would not have been overly satisfied with their performance in their most recent outing. Lisselton, meanwhile, were busy putting six goals past Sligo"s City Utd in the last 16 of the FAI Junior Cup and they also hammered Limerick side Granville Rangers 6-1 in the last 32 stage. So, St Peter"s know another tough test awaits this coming Sunday. The Athlone side go into the tie with no major injury worries and experienced campaigner Adrian Carberry admits the occasion is massive for the players. 'It"s a huge game for the club and ranks with the biggest I"ve been involved in, to be honest,' Carberry said. 'I played in FAI Senior Cup quarter-finals and semi-finals with Athlone Town but I"ve had a long association with St Peter"s, as have many of the players, and the FAI Junior Cup is the holy grail of junior football, so this is a massive occasion for everyone involved with St Peter"s,' he added. Carberry spent last season with local rivals Willow Park before rejoining St Peter"s on their return to the top division of the Combined Counties League.And St Peter"s will be looking to him, among others, to exert major influence over Sunday"s proceedings.'There"s going to be nerves in the dressing-room but we"ve a great spirit and determination to do well. We know it"s going to be very tough because Kerry junior football is very strong, but Athlone has a strong football scene at the moment and I think we"ve every chance,' said Adrian. Stephen Mullan returns to the squad after missing the last 16 victory over Carrick Utd through suspension. A strong home following helped St Peter"s see off Carrick Utd in the last round and Carberry is urging as many people as possible to attend on Sunday, too. St Peter"s have a strong spine to their team, with goalkeeper Keith Hynes, defenders Rory McGowan and Tom Silke, and midfielders Michael Collins and Patrick Craughwell playing key roles this season. They also have a fair selection of attacking options with the likes of Brian Caldwell, Adrian Carberry, Dave Donohoe, Stephen Mullan and Mark Sherlock all very capable of hurting the opposition in the final third. Other solid performers for St Peter"s during the cup run have been long-serving club-man Gareth Gaffey and left-back Paul Murphy, who will both expect to make good contributions to the cause this weekend. Meanwhile, St Peter"s local rivals Willow Park travel to Ballymun Utd on Sunday in the quarter-finals of the LFA Junior Cup (see page 29 for more).