- Aisling Hannon
- Fri, Apr 28 2023
Athlone Town climbed to third in the First Division table on Friday thanks to a Frantz Pierrot hat-trick in their 3-0 win over Wexford in Lissywollen.
The three points were well deserved and allowed them to overtake Bray Wanderers following their 2-1 defeat to Waterford, and Cobh Ramblers who suffered a 1-0 defeat to Galway.
The home side were hit with injury in the warm-up as midfielder Haji Abdikadir was forced out of the starting XI, Matthew Leal taking his place, as Wexford welcomed both Conor Levingston and Matthew Dunne back into their starting line-up after a spell on the side-lines.
It was Athlone who started on the front foot and had the ball in the net within two minutes, but a push on goal-scorer Pierrot from Ethan Boyle in the build-up forced the referee to rule it out.
Pierrot was dangerous throughout and had a chance to give his side the lead ten minutes in when Wexford’s Corban Piper gave the ball away, with skipper Boyle unable to dispossess Pierrot in time.
The follow-up shot was saved by goalkeeper Charlie Heffernan, who was kept on his toes all night.
The visitors then had their own attempts to make their mark and looked strong on the attack, playing a high line throughout the game.
Kian Corbally and Mark Hanratty took long-range shots but both chances were whipped over the bar.
Despite the few moments of Wexford domination, it was Athlone who broke the deadlock on the 25-minute-mark.
Valerij Dolia, who was in acres of space, ran towards goal with the ball before finding Pierrot who was waiting up front. Once in possession, he held off the defence - twisting and turning before taking a shot and finding the net.
It took just 15 minutes for Athlone to grab their second and it was Pierrot again who hit the net.
Wexford’s Dunne had initially grabbed hold of Pierrot to stop him running forward, resulting in a free kick to the home side which was whipped in seamlessly by Jack Kavanagh.
Patrick Hickey got his head to it, tipping it across to Pierrot who was waiting at the corner of the goal to flick it in and double the lead.
Despite trailing, Wexford didn’t panic and looked calm in possession, especially coming into the second-half after they made a couple of defensive changes.
The play was mostly around the midfield without too many chances to put the ball in the net, and a bit of pushing and shoving made it a tricky half for referee Jason Moore who was busy dishing out warnings and yellow cards.
With just 13 minutes remaining, Pierrot snatched his hat-trick when substitute Jamar Campion-Hinds pulled back a long cross from the wing, squaring it to Pierrot who tapped it in past a static Wexford defence.
The win will give Athlone the confidence to keep fighting in the promotion push, with two wins in three games under new boss Gordon Brett. They make the long trip to Ballybofey to face Finn Harps this coming Monday.
James Keddy’s Wexford remain in seventh with a South East derby to contend with on Monday afternoon when they meet Waterford at the RSC.
Athlone Town: Enda Minogue; Patrick Hickey, Jack Kavanagh (Matthew Baker 85), German Rodriguez, Noah van Geenan; Aaron Connolly (Nazar Zubkov 85), Valerij Dolia, Matthew Leal, Adam Lennon (Matthew McCarrick 61); Oisin Duffy (Jamar Campion-Hinds 61), Frantz Pierrot (Josh McGlone 88).
Subs not used: Vladislav Velikin, Aaron McBride, Blake Ryan, Charles Mutawe.
Booked: Valerij Dolia (45), Noah van Geenan (56), Matthew Leal (73).
Wexford: Noel Heffernan; Ethan Boyle, Matthew Dunne (Jordan Tallon 46), Ben Lynch, Reece Webb; Kian Corbally (Karl Chambers 79), Conor Levingston (Brandon McCann 59), Corban Piper; Aaron Dobbs, Aaron Doran (Darragh Levingston 46), Mark Hanratty (Sean Fitzpatrick 69).
Subs not used: Colm Cox, Hugh Douglas, Kaylem Harnett, Jordan Adeyemo.
Booked: Matthew Dunne (37), Conor Levingston (43), Darragh Levingston (76).
Referee: Jason Moore.
Attendance: 922.
extratime.com Player of the Match: Frantz Pierrot (Athlone Town).
