Published: Wednesday, 24th March, 2010 5:00pm

Nine man Athlone maintain their unbeaten record at home to Cork

Athlone Town 1 Cork City Foras 1

Athlone Town's unbeaten start to the league campaign remains intact following an eventful and, at times, controversial tussle with the new-look Cork City in Lissywollen last Saturday.

This was a night of fluctuating fortunes for an Athlone side which looked in control during much of the first half and took the lead courtesy of Gareth Kenna's delightful top-corner finish in the 36th minute.

However referee Rob Rogers, who was to prove the game's most influential figure, awarded Cork a contentious penalty kick which Davin O'Neill converted shortly before the interval.

In the second half, Athlone substitute Noel McGee found the net only to have his strike ruled out for offside, and Rogers later issued marching orders to Athlone defender Des Hope and winger Kevin Williamson.

The red cards meant the depleted Athlone side was forced to endure a few nervy moments in the closing stages before securing a point. Despite the sendings off, there were a number of positives which Athlone can take from this encounter.

The locals produced some confident passages of play and created more chances than the visitors. Goalscorer Kenna delivered an effective performance in midfield and a hard-working strike partnership of Robbie Farrell and Austin Skelly caused the Cork rearguard some problems. Winger Richie O'Hanlon also showed flashes of promise, though he faded somewhat in the second half.

The very healthy attendance of 882 included Derry City manager Stephen Kenny, RTE sports reporter Tony O'Donoghue and a sizable contingent from Cork.

Athlone boss Brendan Place made just one change from the side which defeated Mervue 1-0 at the same venue a week earlier. Midfielder Stephen Caffrey was suspended, having been sent off during that game, and he was replaced by Robbie Benson.

Athlone settled quickly and nearly took the lead on six minutes.

After collecting a pass from Benson, Skelly played a low ball past Cork goalie Mark McNulty and across the face of the goal. Robbie Farrell slid in but just failed to get the vital touch needed to turn the ball home.

The strike partners linked up well after 20 minutes, when Skelly latched onto a flick from Farrell and let fly with a thumping half-volley which was straight at McNulty. Cork looked toothless going forward for much of the game and it wasn't until the 30th minute that the visitors created their first half-chance.

Shane Duggan crossed to frontman Graham Cummins, whose attempted backheel failed to penetrate the sea of bodies in the Athlone penalty area.

Three minutes later, Cork winger Willie Heffernan showed good footwork to skip past Town full-back Mark, Nolan but his cross-cum-shot failed to worry Bennion in the Athlone goal.

The game came to life in the 36th minute. Athlone defender Brian McCarthy got on the end of a corner from O'Hanlon and let fly with a rasping shot which 'keeper McNulty did well to parry.

A spell of pressure from the Town culminated in a Gareth Kenna corner which was half-cleared by the Cork defence. Kenna then latched onto the loose ball and lobbed a terrific effort over McNulty's head and into the top corner of the net.

Unfortunately for Athlone, the lead was to last just four minutes. With Cork on the attack, a cross came in from the right and referee Rogers abruptly pointed to the spot.

The referee booked Des Hope and made a motion to indicate the penalty was awarded because Hope had pushed away striker Cummins, who had remained on his feet. It appeared to be a very soft decision.

Davin O'Neill stepped up, and, though Bennion got a hand to his strike, it wasn't enough to prevent it from creeping into the bottom corner of the net.

Athlone attempted to respond in the 45th minute, when Skelly's header from an O'Hanlon cross was saved by the Cork netminder.

It was the last significant action of the half and the Town players could justifiably consider themselves unlucky not to be in front at the interval.

One of the home side's best moves of the night came four minutes after the restart. Full-back Eoin O'Shea surged forward and delivered a fine cross which was met by Farrell.

The striker's header produced an excellent save from McNulty, who tipped it onto the crossbar and over.

From the resulting corner, Farrell had another effort blocked before McCarthy fired wide.

Cork gradually started to gain the upper hand as the second half wore on. In the 58th minute, Town 'keeper Bennion was called into action to stop a downward header from Cummins.

The game was hanging in the balance in the 75th minute, when Skelly crossed to sustitute Noel McGee who rifled home a first-time finish. However a linesman's flag for offside quickly put a damper on the home crowd's celebrations.

With nine minutes remaining, Des Hope picked up his second yellow card for a reckless challenge on Cork frontman Shane Duggan.

The momentum was now clearly with visitors, and when they won a free kick in an excellent position with two minutes to go the signs looked ominous for Athlone. However Duggan spurned the opportunity, blasting his shot high and wide.

The Town finished the game with just nine men after Williamson was red-carded in the 90th minute for a professional foul on Cummins.

Overall this wasn't a bad-tempered game, yet after the dismissal of Williamson - by my count - Rogers had issued two red and eight yellow cards.

Cork continued to press forward but despite the numerical advantage, the visitors were unable to create any meaningful chances during the four minutes of injury time.

With seven out of a possible nine league points in the bag - along with a victory over Longford Town in the League Cup - this represents one of the best starts to a season by an Athlone side in recent years.

The challenge for manager Brendan Place will be to maintain this positive start and turn it into the basis for a successful season.

ATHLONE TOWN: Chris Bennion, Mark Nolan, Eoin O'Shea, Gareth Kenna, Des Hope, Brian McCarthy, Kevin Williamson, Robbie Benson (Stephen Relihan, 92 mins), Robbie Farrell (Noel McGee, 64 mins), Austin Skelly, Richie O'Hanlon.

CORK CITY FORAS: Mark McNulty, Ian Turner, Dave Rogers, Stephen Mulcahy, Cathal Lordan, Davin O'Neill, Graham Cummins, Shane Duggan, Cillian Lordan, Uros Hojan, Willie Heffernan (Eoin Forde, 79 mins).

REFEREE: Rob Rogers (Dublin).