Athlone Town -v- Sporting Fingal
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On Saturday night Athlone Town welcome Sporting Fingal to Athlone Town Stadium (kick-off 19:45), having already competed against each other eight days previous in the FAI Cup. On that occasion, Fingal emerged with a claim on the bragging rights with a comprehensive 4-1 win which booked the North-siders a place in the Quarter Finals of the cup.
Athlone’s league form before their cup exit had seen them draw three games on the trot, taking a point from Fingal’s promotion rivals Shelbourne and UCD.
Speaking to athlonetownfc.ie, manger Brendan Place said “Tonight’s game will of course be a tough one but it is a different game and we start at 0-0 again. We are now back to league action and with 12 games remaining I intend to push and encourage the players to accumulate as many points as possible between now and the end of the season. The players, although disappointed with last week’s result, have an excellent attitude and are enjoying their football and we all want that to continue to the end of the season.”
In Athlone team news, Place welcomes back a number of players who were cup tied for last week’s game. Mick Byrne has a groin injury whilst Anthony Hayes is out with a hamstring injury. Noel McGee is serving a one match suspension having picked up four yellows. Apart from that, Athlone have a full squad to pick from.
Fingal manager Liam Buckley welcomes back Shane McFaul from suspension for Saturday clash while defender Philip Byrne is unavailable through a one-match ban having collected bookings in four matches.
Buckley has no fitness concerns amongst his crew for the fixture, with the sole injury absentee from last week’s 4-1 win, striker Robbie Doyle, fully recovered from a knee problem.
Despite the emphatic winning margin in last Friday’s Cup win, the Fingal boss is expecting a tougher task when the sides meet again in County Westmeath.
“Athlone had been on a good run coming into the Cup game, drawing at UCD the previous week, but clearly felt the loss of three key cup-tied players,” said Buckley.
“They’re the home team this week and need the points as badly as we do, so I think we’re in for a cracking game.
“From our side of things, I’m happy with our form of late and confidence is beginning to show in the displays and results. Four wins in a row is bound to breed that sort of confidence and it’s vital we continue concentrating on picking up points.”
Extratime.ie Prediction: Narrower winning margin for Fingal this time. 2-1.
Athlone’s league form before their cup exit had seen them draw three games on the trot, taking a point from Fingal’s promotion rivals Shelbourne and UCD.
Speaking to athlonetownfc.ie, manger Brendan Place said “Tonight’s game will of course be a tough one but it is a different game and we start at 0-0 again. We are now back to league action and with 12 games remaining I intend to push and encourage the players to accumulate as many points as possible between now and the end of the season. The players, although disappointed with last week’s result, have an excellent attitude and are enjoying their football and we all want that to continue to the end of the season.”
In Athlone team news, Place welcomes back a number of players who were cup tied for last week’s game. Mick Byrne has a groin injury whilst Anthony Hayes is out with a hamstring injury. Noel McGee is serving a one match suspension having picked up four yellows. Apart from that, Athlone have a full squad to pick from.
Fingal manager Liam Buckley welcomes back Shane McFaul from suspension for Saturday clash while defender Philip Byrne is unavailable through a one-match ban having collected bookings in four matches.
Buckley has no fitness concerns amongst his crew for the fixture, with the sole injury absentee from last week’s 4-1 win, striker Robbie Doyle, fully recovered from a knee problem.
Despite the emphatic winning margin in last Friday’s Cup win, the Fingal boss is expecting a tougher task when the sides meet again in County Westmeath.
“Athlone had been on a good run coming into the Cup game, drawing at UCD the previous week, but clearly felt the loss of three key cup-tied players,” said Buckley.
“They’re the home team this week and need the points as badly as we do, so I think we’re in for a cracking game.
“From our side of things, I’m happy with our form of late and confidence is beginning to show in the displays and results. Four wins in a row is bound to breed that sort of confidence and it’s vital we continue concentrating on picking up points.”
Extratime.ie Prediction: Narrower winning margin for Fingal this time. 2-1.
About Gareth Penrose
Gareth Penrose founded extratime.com in 2008 and has worked as a reporter / editor / developer on the site since.
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