Athlone women move to the brink of third straight league title

Athlone Town FC took a giant step towards retaining the Women's League of Ireland Premier Division title with a comfortable three-goal victory against DLR Waves last weekend.

Following defeats for closest challengers Shelbourne and Galway Utd, Athlone needs just one point from the remaining three league fixtures to mathematically ensure a third straight Premier Division success.

Leading goalscorer Dana Scheriff made her first start since suffering an injury in late July, and scored twice as Athlone stretched their lead at the top of the table to 12 points. Emma Mooney had earlier opening the scoring.

Athlone's day, however, was somewhat dampened by a late red card for skipper Hannah Waesch ahead of next Sunday's FAI Women's Cup final against Shels' (Tallaght Stadium, 3.30pm).

The Town's remaining league matches will be at home against Galway Utd (October 3), away to Shelbourne (October 17), and at home against bottom-placed Cork City (October 24).

It would take an unlikely set of results to see Galway catching Athlone, with second-placed Shelbourne out of the race after their defeat against Shamrock Rovers. Galway would only catch Athlone if the Town lose all three league games, and they win their four remaining fixtures.