Athlone Town aim to continue winning

ATHLONE Town"s bid to continue their unbeaten start to the 2009 FAI League of Ireland First Division takes them to Limerick FC this coming Friday (Jackman Park, kick-off: 7.45pm). The Town have made a hugely satisfactory start to the campaign, beating both Mervue Utd (0-1) and Kildare County (3-1) in their opening two fixtures. Athlone rallied from a goal behind last weekend to deservedly see off Kildare, with Emeka Onwubiko netting a couple of goals and Noel McGee adding a third. Limerick are bound to present far more difficult opposition to Athlone on Friday, after narrowly losing to UCD (2-1) in their opening fixture and following this up with a 4-1 thumping of league new boys Mervue Utd. Athlone manager Brendan Place admits his side face their toughest test yet when travelling to Limerick on Friday. 'No disrespect to either of the two teams we played so far but I think it"s fair to say Limerick will be our biggest test to date,' Place said. 'I"m sure Limerick will be a good side and their confidence will be up after beating Mervue 4-1. They will be buoyed by that result but we"ve every reason to believe in ourselves, too. I want our players to approach the game in the right manner and try to play good football again. I think we"ll get our rewards if we continue to do the right things and play good passing football with a purpose,' added Place. Athlone have a fully fit squad to choose from this weekend, with Damien Rushe returning to the set-up after serving a one-game suspension against Kildare, however, captain Des Hope is due to serve a ban the following weekend against Waterford Utd. Goalkeeper Aaron Shanahan could also come into serious contention for his Athlone debut after taking a place on the substitutes bench last weekend. Limerick had anything but an ideal preparation for the season, with manager Mike Kerley departing the job just weeks before the campaign began. At time of print, Limerick had failed to appoint a new permanent manager, with Dave Mahedy in temporary control of team affairs. Athlone and Limerick played out three draws last season - two of which took place in Limerick. The Munster side, who finished last season in a respectable fifth place, also beat Athlone 3-0 in Lissywoollen last August. Place, meanwhile, is currently running the rule over a couple of trialists in midfielders Ciaran O"Reilly and Ian McInerney, and both were expected to feature in a friendly match for Athlone"s fringe players against local junior outfit Willow Park last Monday evening. However, rumours that Place could be about to swoop for either Ger Rowe or Robbie Shields have been denied by the Athlone manager. Place was also keen to bring former Cobh Ramblers and Waterford Utd midfielder Dave Warren to the club, but that deal looks unlikely to materialise as Warren is finding it difficult to commit due to heavy work commitments.