CRESCENT ATHLETIC MAR 2001

CRESCENT ATHLETIC


Crescent Athletic secretary Nelius Dineen is hoping for a rise in their fortunes when games resume in Premier A: "Currently we are lying lowly in the league but, with games in hand, we are confident of moving up the table."



Nelius is one of a four man management team. The others are Jim McCarthy (the team trainer), Brian Marshall, and Joe Dineen (also club treasurer). They reinforced the panel this season by signing Ger O'Brien, Trevor O'Sullivan, and Owen O'Brien, but lost Pat Lynch who emigrated to the USA.



Ger O'Brien has turned out to be a handy signing as he is currently the leading scorer, closely followed by Crescent's long-time sharpshooter Niall O'Regan. Other long serving players include Pat Murphy, John Chisholm (current player of the year), John O'Donovan, and Dominic Dineen.



The small Northside club, who now play in Monard, have their main sponsors in Paul Deveraux (at the Glenryan Tavern) and APOC Builders. All the lads in the club send their best wishes for a speedy recovery to William Wyse who sustained a bad injury in a recent game against Kinsale.



Crescent's first date after the foot and mouth enforced break sees them take on Hill Celtic next Sunday in what is sure to be a cracking clash. Both teams are staring relegation in the face and the Watergrasshill visitors, who had seemingly turned the corner before the cancellation of games, will be favourites but Crescent won't go down without a fight.



1982 to 1995: THE CRESCENT STORY

Back in '82, Nelius Dineen, George Cummins, Jim McCarthy,

Stewart Joyce, and John O'Donovan, all previously involved in

football, were without a club. So they went and formed one of

their own: Crescent Athletic. A pitch was rented at Newcastle

(close to Blarney) and was used until 1989 when Crescent moved to

Northvilla Park.



Their first competitive match (which they drew 2 - 2 with Lee

Rangers) was played in Newcastle. Players from that game still

involved with the club are John O'Donovan and Dominic Dineen

(both still playing), Neilus Dineen and Jim McCarthy (both now at

administration level).



That first season was a learning experience with the team finishing a creditable third in 3A. Quite a few new players were recruited for the second season and the reinforcements, which included Joe Dineen, Frank Riordan, Anthony O'Connell, Mick Heslam, and Donal O'Riordan, helped Crescent to the 3A title.



Crescent rapidly made ground through the divisions, winning 2A (1985)

and 1A (1991) in the process. But they had no luck in cup finals,

losing out in the President's (1984), the St Michael's (1986), and City Challenge Cup (1991).



Later recruits, such as Brian Marshall, Niall O'Regan, John

Chisholm, Joe O'Sullivan, and Nicky Montgomery, kept the club in

the hunt for honours. Neilus took over the manager's role in

1991, with sideline assistance from Stewart Joyce (who also doubled as treasurer) and Joe Dineen.



In their very first season in Premier football, Crescent finished second. A year later, in 1993, they took the title. They finished runners up again in 1997. But cup success continued to elude them as illustrated by their loss 2 - 1 to Bandon in the 1992 AOH decider.



The club has contributed players to the AUL junior representative team. Leading scorer Niall O'Regan is perhaps the most prominent but the league has also called on the services of Anthony O'Connell, John O'Donovan, and keeper Pat Murphy.