Decent display but Athlone pay

NOT too many people gave Athlone Town much chance of achieving anything against big-spending Sporting Fingal at a rain-soaked Morton Stadium last Friday. And although Brendan Place"s side ended up on the wrong end of a 2-0 scoreline, the result does little justice to what was a hugely encouraging overall performance by a sorely unlucky but also slightly profligate Athlone. In fairness to Athlone, they could conceivably have been a couple of goals in front by the time Sporting Fingal broke the deadlock against the flow of the game in the 70th minute. Top scorer Noel McGee was denied by a brilliant save from Darren Quigley in the opening half, while the tireless Stephen Place - who again worked his socks off for the cause - missed a couple of golden opportunities with the game still scoreless. Ultimately, Athlone coped poorly with falling behind and quickly conceded a second goal to Conan Byrne, but their unrewarded efforts on the night - against an expensively assembled squad - should not go unrecognised. Indeed, many Fingal supporters were hugely complimentary towards Athlone"s style of play after the match, with one observer describing Athlone as the best passing team he has seen at Morton Stadium so far this season. This is probably of little consolation to Brendan Place and his players, but it is slightly warming to see Athlone trying to do the right things even in defeat. Many observers can point to the fact that Fingal were missing several high-profile performers such as Shaun Maher, Gary O"Neill, Stephen Paisley, Shaun Williams and Eamonn Zayed. However, they were still able to field a side dominated by players with Premier Division experience in recent years. Athlone were once again without injured midfield duo Anthony Hayes and Damien Rushe, while fellow central midfielder Kieran O"Reilly was only fit enough to take a place on the bench, so youngsters Robbie Benson - who excelled and showed several flashes of brilliance in the second half - and the solid Kevin Dunne, played in a three-man midfield alongside David Tyrell. Thomas McGauley was back at the heart of Athlone"s defence after missing the 1-0 defeat to UCD and proved a welcome addition, while full-backs Brian Cleary and Robbie Hamm also played well. Athlone began the game in decent fashion and won a well placed free kick in the sixth minute when Gavin Whelan dragged down Stephen Place on the edge of the penalty area. Place had been bearing down on goal and Whelan was only saved a straight red card (he received a booking) because left-back John Frost was in a covering position. Disappointingly, Emeka Onwubiko blasted the resulting free kick high and wide. McGauley made a couple of brave blocks early on, in particular from a strongly hit Robert Bayly drive, and Whelan headed into the side netting at the back post, following a great delivery into the Athlone six-yard box by Conan Byrne. Byrne produced another dangerous cross on 18 minutes but the stretching Robbie Doyle couldn"t connect from six yards. Those couple of crosses were the best Fingal could muster in the opening half, while Athlone looked more dangerous. Onwubiko saw a 25-yard drive easily gathered by Quigley, while McGee almost set up a chance for Place on 17 minutes. Whelan was lucky to escape without another yellow card for felling Benson after a terrific solo run on 20 minutes. From this incident, Tyrell supplied an in-swinging free kick but Dunne fouled Quigley in a crowded penalty area. Athlone had a superb chance on 28 minutes when Place latched onto a dreadfully misplaced header by right-back Colm James. With Quigley advancing beyond the penalty spot, Place chose to lob the ball over the Fingal "keeper, but the ball dropped agonisingly wide of the target. Moments later, we saw impressive Fingal midfielder Alan Kirby weave some magic, beating two Athlone defenders just outside the box, but his searching cross was headed clear by Hamm. McGee then produced something out of nothing, driving a scorching effort at goal from 25 yards, but Quigley spectacularly prevented the ball from crashing into the top corner of the net. Doyle received the game"s second yellow card for fouling Tyrell but Onwubiko and Hamm contrived to waste the free kick. At the other end, Hamm did great work defending an outstanding cross by James, but Athlone were disappointed to go into the interval on level terms. In the opening minutes of the second half, Doyle and Shane McFaul combined to create an opening for Kirby, who had advanced into Athlone"s penalty box, but his toe-poked effort was comfortably gathered by John McGuinness. Both Place and Bayly were booked on 51 minutes for a needless tussle after the Athlone forward had fouled Whelan. Place then could have netted when put through on goal by McGee but his shot lacked conviction and Quigley made an easy save. Dunne was yellow carded in the 56th minute but Athlone then fashioned their best chance of the game on the hour mark. Benson"s fancy footwork took him away from a couple of Fingal challenges before he pierced the home defence with a delightful pass for Place. The workmanlike Athlone forward rounded Quigley and seemed odds-on to score, but his shot from a narrow angle was kicked onto his own crossbar by Whelan. The ball then rebounded for Dunne whose eight-yard effort was cleared off the goal line by Frost. It was a remarkable sequence of events and how Athlone failed to score is something of a mystery. Dunne then set up Place for another half-chance but Quigley was out quickly to clatter the striker and claim the ball. Athlone were then caught sleeping in the 70th minute, switching off for a brief moment as Brendan Place made a substitute, and Fingal took full advantage. Kieran O"Reilly, replacing Tyrell, had barely arrived on the pitch by the time Kirby waltzed into Athlone"s box, made it to the end line, and crossed into the six-yard area where the unfortunate Benson could do nothing but turn the ball into his own net under fierce pressure from Doyle. If Benson had not connected, Doyle would have had the easiest of tasks to score anyway. Indeed, it"s reasonable to question the timing of the substitution, made by Brendan Place as Fingal prepared to take a throw-in deep in Athlone territory - a switch which seemed to unbalance and mis-shape the Town for a brief but ultimately decisive period. It was 2-0 within three minutes. Doyle"s through ball had Des Hope stretching to clear but when the Athlone captain failed to connect with the ball, Byrne read the situation well before rounding McGuinness and tapping into an unguarded net. It was all rather harsh on Athlone but a fine example of what can happen if you don"t take your chances against good teams. SPORTING FINGAL: Darren Quigley; Colm James; John Frost; Brian Gannon; Gavin Whelan; Shane McFaul; Conan Byrne; Robert Bayly; Alan Kirby; Robbie Doyle; Ross Gaynor. Subs: Fiachra McArdle for Doyle (82 mins); Lorcan Fitzgerald for Bayly (85). ATHLONE TOWN: John McGuinness; Robbie Hamm; Brian Cleary; Thomas McGauley; Des Hope; Kevin Dunne; Robbie Benson; Noel McGee; Emeka Onwubiko; Stephen Place; David Tyrell. Subs: Kieran O"Reilly for Tyrell (70 mins); Ian Coffey for Onwubiko (80); Ronan Stack for McGee (86). REFEREE: Keith Callinan.