McGauley leaves Athlone

MANAGER Brendan Place was again left to rue several missed opportunities as Athlone Town fell to a third straight league defeat against Wexford Youths last Friday. However, the Town boss also felt there were many encouraging aspects to his side"s performance at Ferrycarrig Park, with three debutants showing up well. Among the most impressive performers was midfielder Mick Byrne, signed recently from Broadford Rovers in the Leinster Senior League, and Place was also satisfied with goalkeeper Alex O"Reilly and forward Johnny Mernagh, the latter of whom returned to the club last week after initially departing at the end of last season. The manager said: 'Unfortunately the result doesn"t always reflect the pattern of the game and I felt we deserved at least a draw against Wexford. There were some encouraging aspects. Mick Byrne looks like he might do a good job for us in midfield. He retained the ball well and showed a good physical presence. I felt his midfield partnership with Robbie Benson showed some promise. I"m confident Alex (O"Reilly) will do a solid job for us. It"s taken a long time to get him to the club and he hasn"t played too much football in recent years, but I felt he did okay and will get better and sharper. 'Athlone supporters will know about Johnny Mernagh and he gives us options we didn"t have previously. He"s got tremendous pace and I think he could be a real threat with more games under his belt. I"m still looking for another frontman but Johnny is a welcome addition.' Place also confirmed that a couple of players have been released by the club, with defender Thomas McGauley and back-up goalkeeper Tadgh Murphy allowed to leave. Former Town utility player Luke Hardy has also been training with the club in the past week and Place said it"s 'very likely' he will sign the Englishman. Hardy played for Athlone in 2007 under Michael O"Connor but moved to Longford Town last year, before spending the first half of this campaign with promotion contenders UCD. Young defender Kevin Dunne also had trials with UCD last weekend but at this stage it"s not certain whether he will attend there, and Brendan Place believes his immediate footballing future will be at Athlone. Athlone will look to break their recent run of league losses when neighbours Longford visit Lissywoollen on Saturday (kick-off: 7.45pm). They have already played and defeated Longford twice this season. Place said: 'I"d be delighted to keep that run going. We will have double the amount of points Longford have if we win, so that"s a big incentive. It would also be a much needed three points. To be honest with you, it"s coming to the business end of the season now and moral victories are no good any more - we need to start putting more points on the board again.' The Town manager also confirmed the club is looking at potential candidates to fill the position of under-20 manager at the club after Colm Muldoon and the club parted company last week.