Athlone Town continue to attract top local talent
BRENDAN Place has promised to continue pushing local players into his Athlone Town side following the recent capture of talented young midfielder Tom O"Halloran from Belvedere. Athlone native O"Halloran made his first-team debut in last Friday"s 2-1 defeat to Waterford Utd following other local teenagers like Robbie Benson, Kevin Dunne and Kevin Horan into the side this season. Place was very content with O"Halloran"s signing and believes it shows the club in good light. 'I think our acquisition of Tom shows our ambition to attract as many of the best local players as possible to the club. Getting Tom to come back to Athlone from Belvedere is excellent news for the club and its supporters. I"m sure he can be a hit in the League of Ireland,' said Place. Speaking of O"Halloran"s debut last weekend, Place said: 'We don"t want to overburden the lad with too many pressure and it will take a bit of time for Tom to get to grips with the pace of the league compared to the Dublin & District Schoolboy League. He has plenty of natural ability and I feel he did alright on his first-team debut. We saw how it took a bit of time with Robbie Benson, you have to be patient with these boys, but we"re now reaping the rewards for giving Robbie plenty of game time. Tom"s case is a bit similar in that it will probably take a bit of time to get used to the speed and physicality of the league. It takes time for young players to realise you have to make quicker decisions at this level and move the ball quicker. For someone so young I thought Tom did very well against Waterford. But it"s not about one particular game, it"s about the club showing a willingness and desire to get the best young players from the area to join the club. I think it"s a very positive and encouraging indication that young lads like Robbie Benson and Tom O"Halloran want to sign for the club.' Other talented local youngsters to feature with Athlone include Kevin Dunne, Kevin Horan, Ronan Stack and Cathal Joyce all featuring for the Lissywollen outfit this season.