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Champions Crown For Unbeaten Town
Tues 12th February 2012. League of Ireland U19
Athlone Town 2-1 Mervue United
Having secured the title a week previous, Athlone Town Under 19s were crowned Southern Division Champions after a 2-1 win over Mervue United on Tuesday night in Lecarrow.
Unfortunately, due to an unplayable Lissywollen pitch, the occasion could not be marked on home soil, however credit to the Roscommon & District League who, not for the 1st time, came to the rescue to ensure an Athlone game went ahead.
With the title already wrapped up, there was a distinct lack of urgency to the Town play in the opening exchanges, with pot shots from distance rarely troubling the Mervue keeper. Mervue capitalised on the slow start and deservedly opened the scoring inside 15 minutes. To their credit, Mervue were 1 of just 2 teams to hold Athlone to a draw during the season (Limerick being the other), and they threatened to become the only team to beat them as they went into half time a goal to the good.
After the break, Athlone changed things around, with the lively duo of Jordan Conroy and Danny Campion coming off the bench. And it was Campion who helped Town get back on track after the referee adjudged the Mervue keeper to have taken him down in the box…much to the disgust of the visiting support.
Up stepped Ian Sweeney, who calmly sent the keeper the wrong way to level the score.
With the increased tempo came increased tension as Athlone fought hard to maintain their unbeaten League status. With the visitors eager to become “Town Slayers”, tackles flew in from all side as the intensity of the game stepped up a notch.
With 15 minutes to go, Athlone took the lead when midfielder David Brookes fired home from close range in a crowded penalty box, securing all 3 points for the champions.
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Evan McEvoy starts an attack for Athlone
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Ian Sweeney collects the ball after scoring the equalising goal from the penalty spot as the Mervue keeper still protests the decision
Hail, Rain And A League Title For Town 19’s
Sunday 27th January 2013. League of Ireland U19
Galway United ST 1-5 Athlone Town
As the hailstones pelted down on a horrid evening in Galway, Athlone Town inflicted a 5-1 defeat on their hosts to secure the League of Ireland Southern Division League title with a game to spare!
Jordon Conroy opened the scoring early in the game with a well struck angled shot that left the GUST keeper rooted to the ground. While Conroys pace was causing all sorts of problems to the Galway defense, at the other end Ronan Morris was a pillar of strength as he dealt with everything thrown at him. David Brookes had a tough battle in midfield with Junior Iyawe, while Brian Duhan proved to be a handful up front for. Despite Eoin McCormack and Dylan McCabe launching wave after wave of attack, Athlone couldn’t find a second goal before the half time break.
Barely 2 minutes into the second half, Ian Sweeney took a layer of paint off the crossbar as his powerful shot from distance was just too high to count. Just a minute later, with most of the spectators still finishing off their half time tea, substitute Danny Campion earned Athlone a penalty, and Sweeney made no mistake from the spot.
Town started to step up a gear and, once again, the crossbar foiled Ian Sweeney before Conroy notched up his brace. Next to get in on the act was center half Ronan Morris, who made it 4-0, bundling the ball into the net from close range in a crowded area.
As the game moved into the final stages, Patrick Madden pulled one back for the home side with a well placed shot that curled around the diving Brian Redmond in the Town goal. But GUSTs joy was short lived as Roy King put the finishing touch to a deserved win with a late strike to make it 5.
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Ian Sweeney, Danny Campion (13) and David Brookes celebrate with Jordan Conroy after the striker scored his second goal of the game
Convincing Win Keeps Town On Track For Title
Mon 21st January 2013. League of Ireland U19
Athlone Town 4-0 Wexford Youths
On a cold evening, at the Roscommon & District League grounds in Lecarrow, Athlone Towns Under 19’s maintained their 4 point lead at the top of the table with a convincing 4-0 win over Wexford Youths.
First half goals from Jordan Conroy and Danny Campion set Athlone well on their way to victory against a depleted visiting squad. Wexford battled hard but they lacked creativity and power up front, with Town keeper Brian Redmond rarely troubled during the game.
With the second half came 2 more goals when Conroy bagged his brace before Ian Sweeney rounded things off on the stroke of full time.
While both sides made substitutions during the second half, the most notable change of the game came in the closing stages when the linesman pulled up with a hamstring injury. With no 4th official, and after a quick discussion with both dugouts, the flag was passed to the first willing spectator who, it must be said, performed admirably under pressure from the crowd!
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David Brookes tries to stop Wexford breaking from midfield
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The stand in linesman looks on during Athlone Towns U19 clash with Wexford Youths
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Advantage Waterford
Saturday 20th October 2012. Promotion Play Off Semi Final 1st Leg
Longford Town 0-2 Waterford United
A goal inside the opening 30 seconds set Waterford on their way to a 2-0 win away from home in the first leg of the League of Ireland promotion play off semi final.
Before most spectators had even taken their seats, Blues midfielder Peter White headed the visitors into the lead to send the large traveling support into song. Waterford could have doubled their advantage before the break but for a fine save from Craig Hyland in the Longford goal. At the other end, things were a little quieter for Packie Holden due to a combination of Longfords lack of fire power up front and some solid defending from David Breen and John Frost.
Five minutes after the break Waterford headed themselves into a 2-0 lead when Craig Burns, almost unchallenged in the area, directed the ball towards Hylands top right corner as the keeper stood rooted to the ground. It could have been 3 not long after only for an acrobatic save from Hyland to deny Phelan a second goal.
Longfords clearest chance of note came in the last 5 minutes when Mark Sammon unleashed a powerful strike from distance, however Packie Holden pulled off the save of the game to stop the ball flying into the top corner of the net. From the resulting corner, Holden again was out to claim the ball in the crowded box to secure a clean sheet and two goal advantage going into next weeks sencond leg at the RSC
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Athlone Valiant But Vale Victorious
Wednesday 25th July 2012. Mid Season Friendly
Athlone Town 0-5 Port Vale
In a game that appeared more pointless than a broken pencil, an experimental Athlone Town side went down by 5 goals to NPower League 2 (old Division 4) side Port Vale.
The mid season friendly, originally scheduled for 24 hours earlier, fell foul to some monsoon type rain showers which left parts of the Lissywollen pitch holding more water than an otters play ground. Although the new match day yielded more favourable weather, the fact the game was rescheduled at all was of surprise to many considering Athlone have a far more important League clash with Limerick at home this weekend. However it may have just been a courtesy to Port Vale, and Mickey Adams, who looked somewhat irate when the original cancellation was announced.
With the short notice of the re-fixed game, Athlone were left with a number of players unavailable due to work commitments, so Mike Kerley used the match to give new, fringe and injury recovering squad members a run out. Recent signings Shane Dunne and Sean Skelly were handed their Athlone Town debuts while Eoin Monaghan, Neil Harney, Ethan Keogh and Lee Sung all got their first starts of the year. Ross Kenny returned from injury to take the left full position and Brian Collopy, despite injuring a wrist during the warm up, took his place between the posts.
In a lack lustre scoreless first half, Shane Dunne gave a decent account of himself, while Sean Skelly showed flashes of play that reminded Town fans of his brother Austin during his second stint at the club.
In the second half, as Athlone made a raft of substitutions, Vale stepped up a gear and the introduction of Tom Pope gave them a boost as the former Rotherham United forward netted 4 goals in half an hour spell, while Louis Dodds also nipped in to get on the score sheet as the small crowd stayed relatively silent.
And so, despite a 5 goal second half, the game ended with Town fans far more concerned about the playing surface recovery, and knocks taken by players, than the actual game itself.
Next up for Athlone is a potential season defining clash against table toppers Limerick FC
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Joe Woods blocks, former Cork City striker, Tadhg Purcells route to goal
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Sean Skelly gets away from Kingsley James
Town 19’s Remain Unbeaten
Sunday 4th September 2011. League of Ireland Under 19.
Athlone Town 1-1 Cobh Ramblers.
A Niall Boland free kick in the second half earned Athlone Town a well deserved share of the spoils against a strong Cobh Ramblers side, who the previous week stuck 5 past Galway. Town were in a position to field no less than 6 players with senior squad experience, with Eoin Monaghan and Robbie Murray playing their part in the first team win over Salthill the night before.
Athlone had a number of chances to win the game with Boland going close with a couple of long range efforts, however Cobh can feel aggreived for not getting the rub of the green with a number of refereeing decisions.
Athlone make it 2 draws from 2 game so far and next up is a home tie to a Galway side that have conceeded 9 goals in their opening 2 games.
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Eoin Monaghan whips the ball away from David Curran
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Town Go Down To For A Scoop
Saturday 4th September 2010. Airtricity League Division 1
Athlone Town 0-1 Cork City Foras Co-op
Not really much to be said about this one. They were decent, we were poor enough, referee was terrible and the weather and light was far from ideal.
Unfortunately at times Athlone really looked like a team that dont even train together … which is fair enough as they dont … in fact some dont even train with other members of the squad at all.
Brian McCarty saw red in the 2nd half to add to Towns collection of cards, an outcome that will have disappointed Ireland U23 manager Paul Doolin who was part of the small crowd in Lissywollen.
Gareth Kenna comes under attack
[Photos To Follow]
A Game Of Two Halves
Friday 2nd July 2010, Airtricity League Division 1
Shelbourne 6-3 Athlone Town
Over the past 2 weeks there has never been a more apt phrase than “its a game of two halves”. After last weeks second half self destruction, throwning away a 4, I’ll type it again, 4 goal lead against the Magic Mons, Town kicked off against Shels with a point to proove. And that they did with striker Gordon Watson netting his 2nd and 3rd goals of his Town career during a 2-1 first half. A 6 yard header and a tap in for Town while the Reds hit back with a shot in off the post from a long way out.
Still though, 2-1 up at the break, happy days. Happy days that is until the curse of the 2nd half. Things went from bad to worse as Shels pulled back an equaliser early into the half … then made it 3-2 … then 4-2 … then 5-3 … before Stephen Relihan bagged his 1st of the season to make it 5-3. Unfortunately Town didnt even have enough time to congratulate him before Shels hammered the 6th nail into the coffin.
The only other thing of note was Dean Marshall making his Town debut after transferring from Sligo.
Dean Marshall on the ball during his Athlone Town debut
Full Set Here
Skellys Corker Sinks FORAS
Saturday 29th May 2010 – Airtricity League Division 1
Cork City FORAS Co-op 0-1 Athlone Town
A 17th minute bicycle kick from Austin Skelly was enough to surprise many fans (well, me anyway!) and give Athlone Town a victory at Turners Cross.
Every Town player played like their careers depened on it … possibly due to the soon opening transfer window but it had the desired effect. Apart from Skellys acrobatics, Chris Bennion performed heroics between the posts to make sure Town left the Rebel County with all 3 points!
Austin Skelly puts Athlone into the lead with a bicycle kick
Full Set Here
Lims Leave It Late
Sat 8th May 2010 – Airtricity League Division 1
Athlone Town 1-3 Limerick FC. Athlone Town Stadium.
Two injury time goals ensured that Limerick left Athlone Town Stadium with the 3 points they deserved although they were so close to leaving with just one!
Its really a case of 1 step forward 2 steps back for Athlone as instead of building on Tuesdays battling performance in Waterford they slipped back into the all to familiar negative play and quite rightly finished the game with nothing. Despite having the lions share of possession and numerous chances on goal, Limerick went into the break a goal down when Stephen Place, possibly via a Lims defender, put Athlone 1 up late in the 1st half.
Limerick came out of the break all guns blazing and equalised almost straight away. Without having a single shot on target, and a very shakey looking defence to boot, Athlone managed to hold Limerick at bay although it was far from convincing. As time went on, Lims had wave after wave of attack and Town finally crumbled not once but twice after the 90 minutes to put the final nail in the coffin of a bad bad performance.
Credit to the travelling Limerick fans who kept everyone entertained with songs and chants, most notably “We’ve Got A 6 Foot Willie” in honour of new signing Willie Boland … and they also greeted Johnny Tiernan Snr with “The Athlone Subs … Are Very Old”, as he moved along the touchline to retrieve a football!
Stephen Place fires Athlone into a half time lead
10 minutes into his debut, Limerick lose their "6 foot Willie"
Full Set HERE
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