Vital away points for Athletic senior team

Mullingar Athletic AFC Senior team made the long journey to Roscrea on Sunday last for CCFL Senior Division game against Killavilla United FC. Going into Sundays game Killavilla United were lying in third place on nineteen points from twelve games with Athletic on twelve points from nine games.Athletic"s league form has been poor since Christmas picking up just two points from nine and Sundays game was always going to be pivotal for their season.These two sides have met four times over the course of the last two seasons and they shared two draws and a narrow home win in the Counties Cup for Athletic and of course that memorable away win on penalties in the third round of the FAI Junior Cup last October. So with this history this game was always going to be a close encounter.One of the most encouraging factors of the Mullingar Athletic AFC performance on Sunday was the welcome return of striker Marcin Mazgis to the starting line up. Mazgis who was in such splendid form in front of goal in the early part of the season, has been out with a knee injury since that FAI Junior Cup win over Killavalla Utd last October and this Mullingar side have missed his goal scoring and have struggled to find the net while he has been out of the team.As if to prove a point it was Marcin Mazgis who put Athletic into a lead on twenty minutes. A driven corner kick from Kevin Keegan on the left side was parried by the Killavilla "keeper and as the ball spun loose Mazgis pounced to fire it to the net through a crowed goalmouth. This goal came following a sustained period of early pressure from the home side, However the Mullingar back four of James Carroll, Mark Syron, David Masterson and the versatile Willie Coyne were on top of their game throughout and offered fantastic protection to young goalkeeper Jason Daly who was making his first competitive start of the season for Mullingar Athletic senior team.Following the goal from Mazgis, Mullingar took control of the game with Kevin Keegan and Stevie Markey winning their share of possession in the central midfield battle against a very good Killavilla central pairing. Sylvester Booziomy also just back from injury and playing in an unfamiliar role on the left side of midfield was a constant thorn in the home sides rearguard. On thirty five minutes Kevin Keeegan played a sublime diagonal ball behind the Killavilla lefy back for Marcin Mazgis to run on to and with the keeper advancing to close down the angle Mazgis shot low and early only to see his effort shave the left hand upright. Niall Flynn playing up front with Marcin Mazgis was having a quiet game by his standards, however on the forthy second minute he picked up a pass in the right hand channel from Claudio Nardone and taking the ball to the end line he skipped past the Killavilla left back and found his way into a good position inside the penalty area only to see the ball take a difficult bobble on the hard surface allowing the central defender to poke the ball away to safety.At the opposite end, just before the break Mullingar central defender Dave Masterson had to be alert at the back post to head a ball away for a corner with Killavilla striker Kirwan lurking following a good delivery.With the second half underway the home side began to turn up the tempo and they got their reward on sixty five minutes when an chipped ball from the left hand side found Killavilla centre forward Kirwan in an off side position and with the linesman poorly positioned and keeping his flag by his side the striker advanced and slotted the ball home from twelve yards. This was the lifeline the home side had been hoping for and it was now up to this Mullingar side to stand up and be counted and this they did with great credit.Following the goal, the Mullingar as if released from the shackle of defending their lead, began to take the game back to Killavilla and with eighty two minutes gone on the clock Niall Flynn pounced on a loose bouncing ball on front of the Killavilla central defence and headed the ball past the advancing defender and as the keeper advanced he stroked the ball firmly to the back of the net. The home side threw everything forward in search of an equalizer, however it was Mullingar who nearly got a third when Flynn and Mazgis combined passes before Mazgis was released behind the home defence and in a race with the advancing keeper Mazgis shot early only to see his effort hit the side netting. Unfortunatley for Mullingar Flynn was to receive a second yellow card on the eighty ninth minute and was sent to the lene by natch referee Alan Lynch. With Athletic down to ten men, Killavilla did produce a few scoring opportunities in the final five minutes, however the Mullingar side defended steadfastly to earn a valuable three points from this difficult away fixture.Team: Jason Daly, James Carroll, David Masterson, Mark Syron, William Coyne, Claudio Nardone, Kevin Keegan, Stevie Markey, Sylvester Booziomy, Niall Flynn, Marcin Mazgis. Subs: Paul Radford, Conor McEntee, Joey Broderick (Not Used)