Kerley hopes Athlone can continue good form against Mervue Utd

ATHLONE Town manager Mike Kerley is looking for his side to continue their positive start to the Airtricity League 1st Division season when they travel to Mervue Utd on Friday (Fahy's Field, 7.45pm). The Town's home form has been encouraging to date, with two wins from two outings, but the lost to Longford Town in their opening away fixture. A brace from captain Noel McGee helped Athlone to a 2-0 win over Finn Harps last weekend, while despite finishing fifth in last season's 1st Division, and been tipped by many to compete for promotion this year, Mervue have had a slow start, losing all three games. However, Kerley won't be taking Mervue for granted. "You always get a tough game against Mervue. They lost 4-3 against Finn Harps, who we just beat, but had a player sent off early on. They were beaten by Limerick last weekend, but we'll have to work very hard to get anything from the game. We're up to second in the league, and there doesn't seem to be a great deal between any teams in this division. We'll be looking to work hard and play well against Mervue, and hopefully come away with a win. Failing that, you have to make sure not to get beaten, and to take something from away games," Kerley said. Kerley thought the performance against Finn Harps was "excellent",, and praised the players for "sticking to the game-plan". Kerley said Athlone should've scored more goals against Harps, but praised captain Noel McGee's contribution, describing his main striker as "a different player these days". The Town boss also noted goalkeeper Pat Jennings' impressive home debut, and said Jennings' recent arrival has come as a huge boost to the Town. Kerley described Jason Hughes' impact as "really good", but said he's been demanding Hughes produce such performances on a more regular basis. Ross Kenny, playing at left-back for only the third time for Athlone, also received credit from Kerley, who was also satisfied with Darren Coleman's debut in midfield, saying the former Killavilla Utd midfielder should get better with games. Both Tommy Barrett and Mark Walshe left the field injured during the first half against Harps. Kerley said Barrett has a back complaint and is very doubtful for the Mervue game, while Walshe was taken off with a hamstring injury. "We took Mark off as soon as there was a problem, so hopefully it's not too bad and he'll be okay for Mervue," said Kerley. Longer-term injury victims Robbie Kelleher (knee), Stephen Relihan (knee) and Damien Rushe (hip) will not feature against Mervue, while Joe Woods also picked up a slight knock against Finn Harps but is expected to be fine for Friday's game. Meanwhile, Kerley has also predicted a bright future for another of the club's youngsters. Former Birr Town schoolboy Val Feeney, a midfielder, was signed to play with the youth team a couple of months ago, but his impressive showings at youth level earned him a call into the senior squad for last weekend's game. Kerley said: "Val is a very promising young player, and I wanted to get him involved with the first-team as soon as possible. If the game had panned out a little different, or if conditions weren't so heavy and difficult, I probably would've given him some game-time. Val is only 16 years old, but I think we'll see a lot of him before the end of the season. We have to look after him but he's certainly good enough and will feature soon."