- Philip Morrissey
- Sat, Oct 15 2022
Athlone Town kept up their excellent late season form to come from behind to win 3-2 against Cork City in an exciting clash at Lissywollen. Two down early in the game, they ultimately prevailed thanks to a late Aaron Connolly free kick.
Colin Healy was left frustrated at the end given his desire to finish the season in style. This defeat will not take away from the success the club has experienced during the season, and they are deserved champions. It was a disappointment for those hoping to set out their stall for next year though.
Athlone chose to make three alterations from the win in Galway. Enda Minogue, Andy Spain and Gary Armstrong all started in place of Vladislav Velkin, Aaron McBride and Daniel Dobbin.
City elected to give starts to a lot of their squad players. Dylan McGlade, Kevin O’Connor, Matt Srbely, Gordon Walker, Franco Umeh and Louis Britton all started. Ruairi Keating, Cian Bargary, Matt Healy, Darragh Crowley, Cian Murphy and Jonas Häkkinen were all rested.
Athlone gave the new champions a guard of honour and were generous enough to give them an early lead. Dylan McGlade has found minutes hard to come by after his early season injury but showed his ability here. He was allowed too much space and smashed a fantastic effort into the top right-hand corner.
Athlone were stunned by this and soon enough found themselves two down. McGlade was again involved in a meaningful way. He received the ball out wide after City had a period of possession. His cross into the area found the head of Barry Coffey who had managed to steal a yard of his marker in the box to net again.
The goalscoring in this early period of the game was not done however and Athlone found themselves back in the game. Gary Armstrong found room outside the area before unleashing an excellent shot past the despairing grasp of Jimmy Corcoran.
Both sides took a breath after all that action, and it slowed down for a while. Athlone did try and manufacture a couple of opportunities before the break for an equaliser. Thomas Oluwa and Adam Lennon did have half-chances that were off target. Yet again the industrious Aaron Bolger was neat and tidy in possession allowing the visitors a certain dominance in midfield.
It was generally a quiet start to the second half, but Matthew Srbely did have a pair of shots from range. The second of which was just past the post. Athlone almost got themselves level thanks to the in-form Oluwa. Gordon Walker was to the rescue with an excellent block to deny the forward.
It would not be long before they did draw level though. They won a corner down on the left-hand side. It was swung in, and Noah Van Geenan was on hand to bundle the ball home.
The champions made a number of changes during this period including a rare first-team appearance for goalkeeper Corey Chambers. They almost regained the lead with about ten minutes to go but Srbely’s shot was just deflected wide.
Instead, it was the home side who finally turned the game on its head. They won a free kick just outside the area. Aaron Connolly elected to take it and his effort went straight through the wall and past the unlucky Chambers. Try as they might, and despite five minutes injury time, City could not find a response.
Delight for the home supporters upon the final whistle in their last home game of the season. They finish up with a visit to second-placed Waterford next Friday. Cork have a trophy presentation to look forward to prior to their encounter with Bray on the same night.
Athlone Town: Enda Minogue; Jarlath Jones, Charles Mutawe, Andy Spain, Noah van Geenan; Aaron Connolly, Oisin Duffy, Patrick Hickey, Adam Lennon (DanielDobbin 88); Gary Armstrong (Jack Kavanagh 88), Thomas Oluwa (Matthew McCarrick 90).
Subs not used: Blake Ryan, Donal Curtin, Cian Kelly, Aaron McBride, Vladislav Velkin, Matthew Leal.
Booked: None.
Sent off: None.
Cork City: Jimmy Corcoran (Corey Chambers 74); Ally Gilchrist (Jonas Hakkinen 74), Kevin O'Connor, Gordon Walker; Aaron Bolger (Alec Byrne 61), Barry Coffey(James Doona 74), Cian Coleman, Dylan McGlade, Matt Srbely; Louis Britton (Mark O'Mahony 61), Franco Umeh Chibueze.
Subs not used: Matt Healy, Darragh Crowley, Ruairi Keating, Cian Murphy.
Booked: None.
Referee: Kevin O’ Sullivan
extratime.com Player of the Match: Aaron Bolger
