Bell insists Athy must seize the moment

Sean Moore of Athy during the AIB Leinster GAA Football Senior Club Championship quarter-final match between Athy and Summerhill. Pic: Thomas Flinkow/Sportsfile

Athy (Kildare) 1-16 Summerhill (Meath) 0-9

With a player like Colm Moran in their full-forward line, Athy could figure they have time on their side.

The full-forward is still a teenager but gave a terrific impression of a seasoned performer as Athy powered through to a Leinster club SFC semi-final.

Moran's two points at the start of the second-half really got the team going, prompting their best form and the hosts ultimately outscored Summerhill by 0-10 to 0-1 in the half.

Overall, after a slow start, Athy outscored the Meath champions by 1-13 to 0-4 for the final three quarters or so of the game.

In one of the group stage games, Moran scored 3-8 in just 60 minutes, and next to him in the attack is Ronan Kelly, a Leaving Cert student who rifled 2-2 against Baltinglass in Athy's opening provincial game.

Yet joint manager Ross Bell speaks from experience when he insists that it's still about seizing the moment. They've learned in Athy that you can't presume the future will take care of itself.

"I played myself in 2011, we got to a Leinster semi-final against Garrycastle and were beaten in Newbridge," said Bell. "We spoke about that last week, that at the time we probably didn't really realise the magnitude of it and the opportunity it was.

"I was 25 in 2011. One of the other selectors now, he was 25 as well and I don't think there was anyone who was much older. It was a team made up of minor winning sides from 2008 and 2009. So when we won in 2011, we thought that county finals and county championships were going to be the run of the mill for us.

"It actually took nine years to win another one and then five years after that to this year. So yeah, it's great to have these young fellas now and to be looking to the future but you also need the experienced lads there to marry it all in and to realise that you need to take your chance when it's there."

Athy are certainly doing that. Since ending Naas' five-in-a-row bid, they've steamrolled through Leinster, beating Baltinglass and a surprisingly outclassed Summerhill with a cumulative 25 points to spare.

Kevin Feely, who also played in 2011, was one of the experienced crew who performed well on Saturday, scoring three points, the same as county colleague Niall Kelly. 

Summerhill led by 0-5 to 0-2 initially but were without injured talisman Eoghan Frayne in attack and when Brian Maher netted for Athy in the 17th minute, it put them into a lead they didn't relinquish.

Most impressive about Athy was how they pressed and squeezed the life out of Summerhill in the second-half, dismantling the opposition kick-out and forcing turnover after turnover despite playing into the wind.

"We don't actually have a preference whether we play with the wind or against it," said Bell. "We have a strong running team but, if we have the wind, we also have the shooters like Kevin, David Hyland and Niall to get the two-pointers if that opportunity comes."

Youth and experience, multiple styles of play, this is an Athy team that could finally smash through that semi-final glass ceiling and make it to a Leinster final.

"I think it's kind of hitting home now that the club is in a Leinster semi-final and we're one step away from going to Croke Park, something we've never done before," said Bell.

Athy scorers: B Maher 1-0; K Feely, N Kelly (1 tp, 1 free), S Moore 0-3 each; C Moran, B Purcell 0-2 each; J McGrath, D Hyland, C Keaveney 0-1 each.

Summerhill scorers: L Shaw 0-4 (2 frees); D McCabe 0-2 (tp); B Dardis, J O'Shea, C Lyons 0-1 each.

Athy: S Jackman; D Lawler, M Spillane, P Spillane; B Maher, C McCarron, S Moore; K Feely, C Doyle; B Kelly, D Hyland, J McGrath; R Kelly, C Moran, N Kelly.

Subs: M Hyland for Maher (43); B Purcell for B Kelly (50); C Kelly for D Hyland & C Farrell for Moran (59); C Keaveney for N Kelly (61).

Summerhill: S Muddiman; Ronan Ryan, I Hughes, B Moran; J Bannon, Ross Ryan, J O'Shea; A McDonnell, A Flanagan; D McCabe, K Ryan, D Larkin; C Frayne, B Dardis, L Shaw.

Subs: J Lavelle for Moran & C Lyons for Bannon (43); P Geraghty for O'Shea (49); S Dalton for Dardis (56); K Lyons for McDonnell (61).

Ref: A Nolan (Wicklow).