The Town look to strike back after maiden defeat of the season

Kevin O'Neill

Ian Ryan's Athlone Town senior men's team will be looking to bounce back from a first defeat of the SSE Airtricity League First Division when facing Cobh Ramblers at Athlone Town Stadium on Friday (7.45pm).

Athlone had made a really positive start to the 2026 campaign with victories against Finn Harps and Kerry FC, and a drawn game against Wexford. However, despite taking the lead at Bray Wanderers last Friday night, the Town eventually shipped two goals in the second half to come up short at the Carlisle Grounds.

The Town's cause wasn't helped last weekend when captain and goalkeeper Brendan Clarke was forced off with a head injury shortly before half-time. He was ably replaced by local netminder Andrew Stuart Trainor but Clarke's potential absence tomorrow would come as a blow to Ian Ryan's side.

Ryan told the Westmeath Independent that he remains “hopeful” that Clarke can play against Cobh and that the same applies to on-loan midfielder Aaron Moloney, who missed the last couple of games through injury. Defender James Crawford, who recently got injured on his debut against Wexford, is likely to miss another couple of weeks.

Cobh Ramblers were a strong side in last season's First Division and finished the campaign in second position. However, their promotion hopes were dashed when losing in the promotion-relegation play-offs against Treaty Utd. Under the stewardship of Francis Rockett, they will be expected to push strongly towards the top of the league again, and like Athlone Town they recently came under the ownership of an American investor.

The Ramblers had a mixed start to the season, losing their opening fixture against Wexford before picking up five points from the last three outings, including a morale-boosting draw against title favourites and local rivals Cork City last weekend.