Athlone beat Wexford to end long wait for away win
Wexford FC 0 Athlone Town 2
By John Dingle
A first away win in four months keeps Athlone Town on the fringes of the play-off positions after fellow promotion hopefuls Wexford FC were beaten at Ferrycarrig Park last Friday night.
The visitors opened the scoring just before half-time from the penalty spot and had a number of good chances to increase their lead before Wexford were reduced to ten men. Max Murphy was shown a straight red card for a reckless challenge after 74 minutes but it took Athlone until the final minute to double their lead. Callum Cleary put the gloss on the final score as Athlone returned home with a rare victory from their travels.
A win for Wexford would have moved them six points clear of Athlone, while Sean O’Connor’s men knew that if they were successful it would move them ahead of the hosts on the table. The stakes were high then when play got underway and it was no surprise that the deadlock was broken from the penalty spot as both teams struggled to make any impact from open play.
It took nearly a quarter of an hour for the first chance when Robert Lyons fired over for the Town from the edge of the penalty area. Wexford replied with a similar off target attempt as a shot from Gavin Hodgins cleared the bar. Ryan Ritchie continued with the inaccuracy to date as his effort also went over for Wexford. Athlone earned the first corner kick of the contest after 24 minutes with a second soon following.
Chances continued to be at a premium as the half progressed with neither goalkeeper having to make a save. Athlone’s Gradi Lomboto fired over at the far post from a rare opportunity.
The visitors were handed the opportunity to open the scoring when Wexford were penalised after 32 minutes. Kian Dignam fouled Patrick Ferry as both chased possession inside the penalty area from a long ball forward with the offended player opting to take the resulting spot kick. Paul Martin dived the wrong way as Ferry’s strike found the net to hand Athlone the lead.
There was only one further piece of notable action for the remainder of the half as Mikie Rowe had a shot saved by Town keeper Brendan Clarke. In general though, the Wexford captain had little opportunity to trouble the Athlone defence. Athlone, in spite of defeat to Waterford a week earlier in the cup, took heart from that good display on their return to league action.
The only surprise in the second half was that Athlone did not score more than one goal as they had a number of good chances to defeat Wexford with a greater margin of victory. An early corner for the visitors was followed by Lomboto firing a shot off the Wexford keeper.
The hosts though could easily have been back on level terms after 56 minutes but Ritchie swept the ball wide after getting on the end of a free kick. Athlone took heart from the let-off and should have increased their lead just before the hour mark. Peter Grogan was just in the action as a substitute and could have made an immediate impression, but he fired wide with only Martin to beat.
Wexford earned their first corner moments later with a second following. The only shadow on a bright Town performance saw Aaron Connolly leave the pitch after 55 minutes with what looked like a hamstring injury.
Athlone still posed more of a threat going forward and another substitute had the next chance to double the lead. William Smith had come on with Grogan in the earlier double swap but after twisting and turning to create an opening, screwed his shot wide after 63 minutes.
Former Athlone player Gideon Tetteh had the next chance when firing over for his new club after 70 minutes. Wexford then had Martin to thank for keeping them in contention when he tipped over a shot from Sean Brennan. The hosts drew some confidence from their keeper’s save and again had a good chance to level matters but Jake Doyle was off target with a headed attempt.
Their cause was not helped though when they were reduced to ten men after 74 minutes as full-back Murphy saw red for a reckless challenge on Smith in midfield. The referee had little hesitation in flashing the red card and it handed Athlone a major advantage for the closing stages.However, it took the Town until the final minute to make the most of their numerical advantage. Two more corners were followed by a great tackle from Ritchie to deny Grogan who was just about to fire to the net.
The lead was finally doubled after 90 minutes when good approach play was rewarded for Athlone. Lomboto on the left passed to Brennan who then set up Cleary who scooped the ball home from close range. It sealed the away victory and although Wexford earned two more corners in stoppage time, they could not put a blot on Athlone’s copybook as the visitors came away with a clean sheet.
The win moves Athlone up to seventh place on the League table where they are six points behind both Longford Town and Cobh Ramblers, who occupy the final play off positions. Next up is a home meeting with third-placed Bray Wanderers where another win would move the Town to win six points of the Wicklow team.
Man of the match: James Crawford (Athlone Town). Playing against his former club, Crawford helped Athlone to keep a clean sheet in defence as he limited the home team to a handful of chances throughout.
Talking point: Just a third away win of the season for Athlone and their first since beating Finn Harps in Ballybofey at the end of April.
Wexford FC: Paul Martin, Max Murphy, Robert McCourt, Rhys Bartley, Mikie Rowe, Kaylem Harnett, Jamie Wynne, Ryan Ritchie, Gavin Hodgins, Kian Dignam, Jake Doyle. Subs: Gideon Tetteh and Ryan Butler for McCourt and Hodgins (64 mins); Adam Verdon for Harnett (75); Zak O’Sullivan and Billy Vance for Ritchie and Doyle (85).
Athlone Town: Brendan Clarke, Dylan Connolly, Evan O’Connor, Sean Brennan, James Crawford, Robert Lyons, Brian McManus, Aaron Connolly, Gradi Lomboto, Callum Cleary, Patrick Ferry. Subs: Thomas Considine for A Connolly (inj., 55 mins); Peter Grogan and William Smith for Ferry and Lyons (58).
Referee: Ian O’Keeffe (Waterford).