SOCCER: SSE AIRTRICITY WOMEN’S PREMIER DIVISION
Athlone go clear at the summit despite Singleton injury blow
Shelbourne 1
Athlone Town 2
DAIRE WALSH
In the aftermath of his side’s potentially crucial victory over Shelbourne in the SSE Airtricity Women’s Premier Division at Tolka Park last Saturday, the wellbeing of Chloe Singleton was at the forefront of Ciaran Kilduff’s mind.
Despite falling behind to a 32nd-minute Jemma Quinn goal in the Drumcondra venue, Brenda Ebika Tabe and Kerryanne Brown subsequently found the net in either half to move Athlone three points clear of Shels at the summit of the Premier Division table.
The Midlanders showed considerable character in overcoming the challenge of the north Dubliners as they had also lost Chloe Singleton to a serious injury just before Quinn broke the deadlock.
This left Kilduff with a somewhat bittersweet feeling when the dust settled on an often fiery encounter, but the Athlone manager was glad his troops were able to get the job done in the absence of Singleton.
“We knew it was a massive game, it’s a top of the table clash. The good feeling probably gets spoiled with Chloe’s injury in the first half. We were kind of doing it for her and I’m glad we did,” Kilduff remarked afterwards.
Kilduff felt it was an attritional contest, describing as “one of those games where you need a Chloe Singleton on the pitch.
“To do it without her I think speaks volumes for what the girls feel about her and for what we feel about her. She’s going to have a big role this season, even though it mightn’t be on the pitch. She’s such a character, such a leader. I’m gutted for her to be honest, but I’m obviously delighted for the girls that they were able to get a positive result for her.”
Athlone had already been minus the services of Casey Howe coming into this contest, after she was withdrawn early on in their 5-1 win at home to Sligo Rovers on the previous weekend. Yet Ebika Tabe (a recent recruit who has represented Cameroon at a number of age grades) bagged her maiden goal for the club upon replacing Howe in the Sligo game and she offered a potent threat up front on her first start for the Town.
Singleton was also causing problems for the host side with some intelligent runs into the box and she was desperately unfortunate not to open the scoring on 23 minutes when her flicked effort from a long Kayleigh Shine rebounded off the crossbar. The woodwork also came to Shelbourne’s rescue from a goal-bound header by Athlone left-black Shauna Brennan, before a lively game was delayed for several minutes to allow treatment for Singleton.
The Athlone native was eventually taken off the pitch on a stretcher with Emily Burke stepping forward to take her spot in the team. Still trying to settle in the wake of a devastating blow, the visitors fell behind when Quinn unleashed a powerful right-footed strike that shook the underside of the bar before drifting over the line.
This presented Shels with the upper hand heading towards the interval, but Athlone dug deep to get themselves back on level terms. In the first of five additional minutes that were announced – six ended up being played following another brief stoppage – Ebika Tabe capitalised on a defensive error from Reds defender Pearl Slattery and proceeded to nip in ahead of opposition netminder Amanda McQuillan before ultimately firing into the net.
It seemed fitting for a top-of-the-table clash that there was so little to separate the teams and it remained a close-run affair when the action resumed. Although Shels were launching a lot of balls into the area from out wide, Athlone custodian Katie Keane was coping admirably with everything that was thrown at her.
Nevertheless, Shels kept their opponents on the back-foot for large stretches and the travelling Town faithful breathed a sigh of relief when Quinn headed against the upright just shy of the third-quarter mark. While Ebika Tabe had a number of opportunities to add to her tally in the second period, Keane produced an excellent double save from wing-back Leah Doyle on the stroke of 80 minutes – albeit an offside flag was raised prior to her second effort.
It looked at this point like both sides were going to settle for a share of the spoils, which would have kept Athlone just behind Shels on score difference at the top of the table. However, there was to be a final twist when referee Claire Purcell awarded a penalty to Athlone after she adjudged McQuillan to have fouled Shauna Brennan inside the box.
This wasn’t a popular decision with the home team or their supporters, but Brown (who combined to telling effect with skipper Laurie Ryan in the Athlone midfield) displayed impressive composure in dispatching the 87th minute spot kick into the bottom right-hand corner.
Even though Athlone had to negotiate another extended spell of injury-time, they held firm to emerge with the three points on offer. There were some heated exchanges upon the final whistle in the capital, but this just served to highlight the growing rivalry between these sides and how tense their respective title bids are becoming with just six games left for both teams in 2024.
SHELBOURNE: Amanda McQuillan; Jessica Gargan, Pearl Slattery, Keeva Keenan; Christie Gray, Maggie Pierce, Alex Kavanagh, Leah Doyle; Roma McLaughlin, Hannah Healy; Jemma Quinn. Subs: Megan Smyth-Lynch for Healy (half-time), Eabha O’Mahony for Quinn, Kate Mooney for Gray (both 68), Noelle Murray for Doyle (82).
ATHLONE TOWN: Katie Keane; Kellie Brennan, Kayleigh Shine, Jesi Lynne Rossman, Shauna Brennan; Laurie Ryan, Kerryanne Brown; Roisin Molloy, Chloe Singleton, Madison Gibson; Brenda Ebika Tabe. Subs: Emily Burke for Singleton (31), Hazel Donegan for Ebika Tabe (91), Isabel Ryan for Molloy (94).
Referee: Claire Purcell (Waterford).
In A Nutshell
Player of the Match
Laurie Ryan (Athlone Town). There were a number of strong performers on the day for Athlone, with Brenda Ebika Tabe, Jesi Lynne Rossman and Kerryanne Brown all producing fine shifts throughout. Yet Laurie Ryan once again had a major impact in the away side’s engine room as she cut out a number of Shels attacks while also distributing the ball to good effect in the middle third.
Key Moment
Had Athlone come away with a 1-1 draw, then Ebika Tabe’s equaliser in first-half stoppage-time would have likely emerged as the major moment in the game. Instead, the awarding of a penalty to Ciaran Kilduff’s side in the closing minutes of normal time offered Kerryanne Brown an opportunity to put her name up in lights and the dynamic midfielder duly obliged.