‘We always believe we can compete with any team'

Madison Gibson really made people sit up and take notice when she scored a sensational hat-trick against Wexford Youths in the FAI Women’s Cup semi-final.

The American attacker’s contribution was obviously a key factor in Athlone Town reaching the final where they will face Shelbourne at Tallaght Stadium this Sunday (kick-off 3pm).

The performance against Wexford is the obvious highlight of Gibson’s time with Athlone so far.

“I just think our team played so well in that match. Even if I didn’t score, we would have won that match anyway. Everyone came to play and worked so hard - there was no way we weren’t winning that match,” Madison told the Westmeath Independent.

As you might expect, the manner of the victory over Wexford was a major confidence boost for Athlone and they backed it up by defeating the same opponents in their next league match.

“When we beat them the second time the week after, it showed the semi-final win wasn’t just a one-off and the team was actually capable of winning games like that and doing well in this league,” said Gibson, who usually operates as a striker or left winger.

Originally from Cape May in New Jersey, Madison (also known as Madie) played soccer from a young age.

“I was playing since I was about four years old. I was kind of brought up in a soccer family. As soon as we could walk, we were kicking a soccer ball,” she recalled.

Madison secured a scholarship at Monmouth University where she was a communications major in addition to playing soccer for the college for five years.

It could be said that Madison has taken the road less travelled in her soccer career. Having graduated from Monmouth University, she joined the Gintra club in Lithuania, a move that was organised by her agent.

“They offered me a contract and then Covid hit and the league got postponed. Then I tore my knee in the first season but I went back for a second season,” recalled Madison.

Indeed, she enjoyed league title success with Gintra and played for the club in the Women’s Champions League.

As for playing conditions in the Lithuanian winter, she said: “It was definitely freezing there but I kind of got used to it after a while. Now the cold doesn’t really bother me.”

Madison’s journey to Athlone Town came about through her college teammate Dana Scheriff, who joined the club last January.

“Dana came first to play for Athlone. Unfortunately, she got injured so they were looking for another player. She called me up and asked me if I wanted to come here. She knew I was kind of in between teams at the time and I needed to find a new team,” said Gibson.

Dana is still recovering from her ankle surgery and has been out of action for some time, though she was on the bench for Athlone’s last home game of the season against Galway.

Madison quickly settled into her new sporting environment after joining Athlone.

“Some of the accents were hard to understand at first and I still don’t know what some of my teammates are saying! But I’ve got more used to it as time has gone on. Everybody has been really welcoming and that helped me settle in nicely,” she said.

The 25-year-old is currently living in the Athlone area and is studying for a master’s degree in digital marketing in the Technological University of the Shannon (TUS).

Last weekend, Shelbourne were crowned Women’s National League champions as Athlone’s hopes of forcing a play-off were ended. But with the cup final looming, any sense of disappointment in the Athlone camp has been well and truly parked.

“I think we are really happy with finishing in the top two, considering where the team has come from last year,” said Madie. “It just goes to show that we are progressing as a team and as a club. We’re just keeping that in mind and if we can work even harder next season, hopefully it can happen for us next season. It’s just about progression right now and getting better.”

Shelbourne made a very notable signing of their own during the season with the arrival of Heather O’Reilly. Madison is very familiar with the exploits of her American compatriot having watched her play for the USA national team on many occasions.

“Growing up a lot of girl soccer players love watching the national team as we have an amazing national team. I’ve seen her play many times. I was really excited when she came to this league. It kind of puts the league on the map for other US players and I think the league is going to keep growing in the next couple of years,” said Madie.

Although Gibson grabbed the headlines in the cup semi-final, the scoring feats of Athlone top scorer Emily Corbet have also caught the eye this season.

“I would say we have a lot of goalscorers in the team. Some of our midfielders have been stepping up and we’ve had players coming off the bench and scoring. We have a good attacking force and a lot of us can put the ball in the back of the net,” said Madison.

The excitement is building among the Athlone squad as Sunday’s big occasion draws closer.

“It’s definitely going to be a tough match. Every time we’ve faced them, it’s been tough but we’ve never gone into any match against them scared or timid. We always believe that we can compete with any team that we play against and that’s going to be a huge factor this Sunday,” said Madison.

“We’ve been waiting for a while now since the semi-final. We were trying to focus on each game leading up to this as they came but now that those games are out of the way, we’re completely focused on the cup final and we’re all really excited for the experience,” the New Jersey native added.