St Anthonys - The club that Keith built

St. Anthony’s Youths FC senior team manager, Keith Powell continues to harbour hopes of his side soon breaking into the top ranks of the KDFL.

And given the very young age-profile of his squad and all that they have achieved over recent seasons, few would bet against such ambitions.

Since he established the Kilcullen-based club back in 2016, Powell has seen his side climb from Division Three up to Division One, and land back-to-back Division One Cup honours over the past two seasons.

Still Powell insists their primary objective remains securing another two promotions up into the Senior Division ranks in the not-too-distant future.

The team was again knocking on the door of booking their berth in the Premier Division for next season, stringing together a superb 13-game winning streak that had them well on course for such a feat.

But untimely injuries heading into the business end of the campaign proved costly, as St. Anthony’s lost ground in the title race and now appear to be on course for a third-place finish.

Whether or not that will be enough to secure them promotion to the second tier of the KDFL remains to be seen, but, either way, Powell firmly believes it will not be long before his men are dining at the top table of Kildare soccer.

“The goal always been to get up to the Senior Division, and, with the age profile of the squad that we have, we feel that it’s very much achievable” Powell told The Kildare Nationalist.

“The average age of the squad is about 20-21 and these players know how to win. It’s nearly unheard of for a team to win 13 games on the trot like we did this year.

“We were right up there in the mix and we really thought we were going to go on and win the league, but injuries caught up with us just at the end, and it was not to be.

“But we were still delighted to win the cup and have something to show for our season” he said.

It was the second successive year that St. Anthony’s raised the Division One Cup, denying newly-crowned divisional champions, Naas United in the showpiece, just they had done the previous season.

While a Dean Conroy goal proved the only score in the 2023 decider, spectators at this year’s final were treated to a seven-goal thriller, that saw St. Anthony’s edge it 4-3.

Tom Healy served up a hat-trick to put the Kilcullen side 3-1 up, yet Naas fought back on to level terms, a 91st-minute penalty restoring parity, only to see St. Anthony’s win a spotkick of their own two minutes later which Rob Ryan converted for a most dramatic win.

“Naas ended up winning the league this year, but we were the only team to beat them in that” said Powell.

“They’re a very good side and they deserved to win the league, but because we had beaten them once in that, we felt we could beat them again in the cup. We had no fear going into that match” he recalled.

Lifting the Division One Cup again this season was made all the more remarkable by the fact that no less than 11 players from the club’s Under 20 team had made the step-up to the senior panel this year, among them being their hat-trick hero in the final, Tom Healy “I’ve always been a firm believer in that age is irrelevant” stressed Powell. “If you’re good enough, you’re old enough.

“We do try to ensure that there is a pathway for younger players up to senior football and we take huge pride in that” he added.

Powell is hopeful his side can build on, what has been, another promising season, especially with the establishment of a second team in the club that will compete in Division Two next year.

Between the two senior outfits, the two underage teams and their academy, St. Anthony’s is, today, catering for close to 100 members.

It has proven another hugely successful project for Powell, who his also kept busy as a greyhound trainer.

“My main track would be Newbridge and I do quite well with the greyhounds” said Powell.

“My brother Jamie is a jockey and my father Anthony was a jockey, so in one shape or another, sport has been bred into the family.

“Jamie was a champion apprentice last year, so he’s doing great on the horse track” he added.

What’s more, Powell’s eldest son, Dean plays for St. Anthony’s seniors, while his youngest son, Anthony lines out for the Under 8s and his daughter, Alisha is club treasurer, showing just how much he and his family are invested in a club that is helping cater for the big demand for soccer in Kilcullen.

“There’s a huge appetite for football in the locality and there’s a huge number of local lads who want to join the club, so that’s why we’ll have two senior teams next year” explained Powell.

“It’s great for the club. We’re a hard place to go to and nobody likes to play us on the Kilcullen Community Centre astro that’s for sure. At home, we fancy ourselves against anybody” he smiled.