Defensive issues still concern Carberry as new season looms
Athlone Town head coach Adrian Carberry is happy with the additions to the squad since last year, but he still predicts “a very tough season” for his side in 2021.
Athlone Town begin their SSE Airtricity League First Division campaign away to UCD in Belfield tonight, Friday, (kick-off 7.45pm). “We have strengthened well, we’ve brought in a good few players but all the other teams have strengthened as well,” Carberry told the Westmeath Independent this week.
“When you see that Cork City and Shelbourne have come down, historically very big clubs, and you also have a situation where Bray are very unlucky to be still in the division. They’re still there and Galway have gone full-time. The starting point in the First Division, the overall standard, is a lot better than last season, so it will be very tough for us.”
Goalkeeper Mícheál Schlingermann and striker Kurtis Byrne are two of the stand-out signings made by Athlone. Schlingermann has returned to Athlone from Galway United (having had a previous spell with the club), while Byrne has signed from Waterford.
“We were missing that experience last year,” said Carberry. “We had a lot of young lads who did very well but they just needed help. You expect young players coming through to make some mistakes or to struggle to keep things up for a full 90 minutes.
“We were delighted to get that experience in, fellas who have been around clubs, who know the situation and know how to help younger players. The main things is that they’re good, decent lads and they will impart their knowledge to the younger players.
“The downside of bringing in so many new players is that it takes a while for them to get used to each other. We have seen that in pre-season. I feel the best is yet to come. We are a work in progress and we will get there; it will take a bit of time.”
Although Adrian stresses that he “wouldn’t be too downhearted about pre-season results”, he believes lessons can be learned from the games.
“There are not many points handed out in pre-season but at the same time, you would want to come back with some positive results as well. We have had some very good displays in patches of games. You can see the potential is there.
“The disappointing thing is the way we are conceding goals. That was our Achilles’ heel last year and we need to tighten up on that.”
Carberry admitted he was disappointed with his side’s showing in last weekend’s friendly against Treaty United (which ended with a 2-1 defeat).
“They went at us from the start and we failed to cope with that. They won the battles. It’s the old saying - ‘you have to earn the right to play’.
“It was a bit of a shock but I’m not so worried about it, as that’s exactly what you want going into a first game of the season. What you don’t want is to think everything is sorted and then you find out in the first game of the season that you’re a bit short. We have time to make sure we’re not found wanting against UCD and to sort out a few defensive things.”
Incidentally, Dean George - who scored a hat-trick in Athlone’s FAI Cup quarter-final win over Shelbourne last season – is now with Treaty United, with Carberry explaining the move came about because the player wanted regular games.
Adrian admitted he was sorry to lose Adam Lennon to Friday’s opponents, but he’s pleased to see the Athlone native benefit from a UCD scholarship. “We wouldn’t want to stand in the way of a young fella who has an opportunity of a scholarship to play football and he can also look after his future on the academic side. It was tough to lose Adam, he was great for us last year, but it gives a chance to other young players,” said Carberry.
Current UCD manager Andy Myler had a brief but very memorable spell with Athlone, and Carberry played with him. “He had a fantastic return of goals in one season. He was a fantastic striker,” he said.
“UCD are always a good footballing side and we’ll have to cope with that. We aim to put up a decent display and we hope to come away with something,” Carberry added.
It has also been confirmed that Taner Dogan and Terique Mohammed have returned to Dundalk from their loan moves to Athlone Town.
Athlone Town squad - 2021 season
Mícheál Schlingermann, David Brookes, Killian Cantwell, Jonathan Carlin, Derek Daly, Scott Delaney, Aiden Friel, Dylan Hand, Tumelo Tlou, Mark Birrane, Jordan Carr, James Doona, Oisin Duffy, Israel Kimazo, Brandon McCann, Daniel McKenna, Stephen Meaney, Jack Reynolds, Jack Watson, Adam Wixted, Shane Barnes, Kurtis Byrne, Lee Duffy, Tristan Noack Hofmann, Jamie Hollywood, Kayleum Rice.