Feature game (By Jamie Connolly)

Casey Division 2 Cup Final.

St Anthonys Youths FC 1 Old Fort Celtic FC 4

Old Fort Celtic produced a breathtaking opening quarter of an hour to capture the Casey Division 2 Cup, running out 4–1 winners over St Anthony’s Youths FC to bring the trophy back to Portlaoise for the third time in club history.

Old Fort exploded out of the blocks at 100 miles per hour, swarming the experienced St Anthony's backline with a relentless high press that forced uncharacteristic errors. The breakthrough arrived on ten minutes. Old Fort won possession near the halfway line, where Johnny Pukuta fed Jamie Shinners, who quickly shifted the ball out to Danny Rooney.  Rooney picked out Padraig McDowell on the counter, and the in-form forward took a sublime touch before rifling an unstoppable strike from the edge of the box into the back of the net.

Just two minutes later, Old Fort struck again. Johnson Lionde forced a turnover and found Ryan Carroll, who released Nyasha Mahona down the flank.  Mahona’s delivery picked out Padraig McDowell once more on the edge of the area, and he made no mistake, burying another clinical finish to make it 2–0. The Portlaoise outfit were in dreamland by the 16th minute. A well-struck free-kick was parried by the Anto’s goalkeeper, but Johnson Lionde reacted quickest to the rebound, hammering home from eight yards out to give Old Fort a stunning 3–0 cushion.

St Anthony's showed immense character not to buckle under the blitz. Lifting their heads, Anto's knocked the ball around smartly to gain a foothold in the contest.  Daniel Downey registered their first clear sight on goal in the 21st minute with an effort that sailed just over the bar.  Bernard Redmond covered every blade of grass to drive Anto's forward, but Old Fort’s defensive unit held firm—anchored by the aerial dominance of Conor McLoughlin, who won virtually every header—to preserve their three-goal advantage at the interval.

The second period began as a scrappier, more evenly contested affair as both sides moved the ball briskly through midfield without finding an immediate breakthrough in the final third. St Anthony’s were handed a route back into the cup tie in the 55th minute. Awarded a free kick from distance, Dara Kavanagh floated a delivery into the penalty area that evaded everyone, took an awkward bounce, and looped into the net to cut the deficit to 3–1. With renewed hope, St Anthony's threw everything at the Old Fort rearguard in search of a second.  Efforts from Kavanagh, Ben Donnelly, and Redmond flashed agonisingly wide of the target as the Portlaoise defence dug in deep to protect their lead.

In the 96th minute, with St Anthony’s fully committed on the attack, Jack Condon Egan dispossessed the last defender near the halfway line and found himself with acres of green grass ahead of him.  Showing composure beyond his years, Egan raced clean through on goal, calmly rounded the goalkeeper, and rolled the ball into the empty net to make it 4–1, sparking wild celebrations on the Old Fort bench.

Standout Performers, Old Fort Celtic FC: Conor McLoughlin (Man of the Match): A colossus in central defence, commanding his box and dominating aerially to repel St Anthony's second-half onslaught. Padraig McDowell: The match-winner in the opening exchanges, bagging a sensational early brace from the edge of the area. Johnson Lionde & Nyasha Mahona: Caused relentless problems on the counter, with Lionde pouncing for the third goal and Mahona providing a constant threat out wide. Jamie Shinners: Dictated tempo and transitions during Old Fort’s blistering first-half burst.

St Anthony’s Youths FC, Bernard Redmond: The driving engine in midfield, tirelessly pushing his side forward to spark the second-half revival. Dara Kavanagh: Delivered a dangerous set-piece threat all afternoon, clawing his side back into contention with a 55th-minute strike. Dan Culleton & Ben Donnelly: Battled relentlessly under pressure to help Anto's regain their shape and composure after the opening 15 minutes.

Altitude Electrical Under  20 Premier Division

Kilcullen AFC 7 Suncroft AFC 0

Kilcullen AFC continued their blistering start to the league campaign with an emphatic 7–0 victory at home over Suncroft AFC.  While the hosts delivered a clinical, multi-pronged attacking masterclass to make it two wins from two, immense credit went to a depleted Suncroft side whose eleven players—including three who had already completed an Under 17 fixture earlier that morning—battled with grit and spirit until the final whistle.

Kilcullen took control of the contest from the outset, dictating the tempo and cycling possession with composure.  The hosts made their early pressure count in the 7th minute when William Burke unlocked the Suncroft rearguard with an incisive pass to Josh Finn, who calmly slotted the ball past the keeper to break the deadlock at 1–0. Suncroft dug deep to stay within touching distance, but Kilcullen found a second on the 22-minute mark via a direct set-piece route. 

Daniel Morgan hurled a monster throw-in deep into the penalty area, and captain Dan Collins rose to meet it with a well-directed header that the goalkeeper could not keep out. The visitors held their ground through the remainder of the half, trailing by two at the interval.

The game opened up substantially in the second period following the introduction of Josh Kelly off the Kilcullen bench. On 63 minutes, Finn turned creator to feed Kelly on the left wing, who cut inside and unleashed a spectacular curling effort into the top right corner to make it 3–0.

As fatigue inevitably took its toll on Suncroft's exhausted squad, Kilcullen capitalized with ruthless efficiency. Kelly turned provider shortly after entering the scoresheet, squaring for Fionn Howard to coolly dispatch a close-range finish from six yards out for 4–0. A tactical adjustment on 77 minutes saw Finn move into central midfield, where he immediately pulled the strings with a range of sweeping passes. 

Finn picked out the run of Jay Doyle behind the defensive line to slot home the fifth, and just five minutes later, Finn linked up with Kelly once again to finish off a fluent team move and make it 6–0. With the final kick of the match, Jack McDonell played a superb delivery into Charlie Mallon, who applied the finishing touch to round out a seven-goal haul, preserving Kilcullen's perfect start to the season with 13 goals scored and just one conceded in two outings. Standout Performers, Kilcullen AFC: Josh Finn (Man of the Match): Exceptional all afternoon; scored the early opener, moved into midfield to dictate play, and racked up multiple assists. Josh Kelly: A transformative impact off the bench, bagging a clinical brace and providing an assist. Dan Collins (Captain): Commanded the pitch from the back and powered home the crucial second goal. Adam Barry, Conor Cremin, & Kian McNally: Kept the engine room disciplined and snuffed out transitions to preserve the clean sheet.

Suncroft AFC:, Eoin Deans: Suncroft's standout performer, carrying the fight forward and continuing his excellent individual run of form. Dean Barnby: Delivered an outstanding shift at right-back, showing remarkable endurance after playing a full U17 match earlier in the day alongside Adam Carroll and Daniel Mahon. Kian Keogh: Ran tirelessly as a lone outlet in attack despite minimal service against a dominant home defence.