SOCCER: SSE Airtricity League Premier Division
UCD……………………………………………………… 2
ATHLONE TOWN…………………………………… 1
Daire Walsh
Athlone Town are still searching for their first league points of 2014, after UCD held off a late surge from Mick Cooke’s side to secure a narrow victory at the UCD Bowl last Friday evening.
Having fallen 2-0 behind four minutes into the second period, striker Philly Gorman’s 70th minute goal breathed fresh life into Town’s challenge, and only for the heroics of Students netminder Conor O’Donnell, the visitors may very well have emerged with a share of the spoils.
The step-up to the Premier Division has proven to be a tricky transition for last season’s second-tier champions, but while the odds were stacked against them in earlier losses to Sligo Rovers and Shamrock Rovers, Athlone travelled to UCD in an optimistic mood, as Aaron Callaghan’s men have also had a difficult start to the campaign.
For their first trip to the capital this year, Athlone showed a total of three changes from their 4-1 reversal to Shamrock Rovers. Conor McMahon replaced the benched Aidan Collins at the heart of the defence alongside the experienced Derek Prendergast. Collins made the bench having suffered a shoulder injury the previous weekend. Kildare native Barry Clancy was an indirect swap for winger Mark Hughes, and Graham Rusk (a star in the recent past for UCD) stepped-in for James O’Brien, who was also carrying an injury into the game.
In an attempt to curb the attacking threat offered by the hosts, former Drogheda supremo Cooke opted for a 4-1-4-1 formation, with Sean Byrne providing protection to the back-four. This meant that Clancy lined-up at left-back behind the tricky Jason Marks, and this proved to be a useful outlet for Athlone during the early exchanges.
Indeed, Town appeared set to receive an early boost with just three minutes gone on the clock when Wexford whistler Sean Grant pointed to the spot after lone front man Gorman was nudged in the back by UCD right-back Michael Barker. However, a penalty never materialised from this incident, as the assistant referee had signalled for offside before the ball arrived at Gorman’s feet.
This was an early let-off for the Students, but despite going close through Robbie Creevy three minutes later, Athlone continued to take the game to their Metropolitan opponents as the half progressed. UCD were getting some joy from set-pieces, but Town custodian Paul Skinner survived some nervy moments to keep the Sky Blue outfit at bay.
A powerful strike by Dean Clarke did keep Skinner on his toes 24 minutes in, though, and he was somewhat fortunate that Cillian Morrison was honest enough to stay on his defeat in attempting to take the ball around the Athlone shotstopper just shy of the half-hour mark. UCD were beginning to create inroads through Athlone’s defence and after McMahon was booked for a foul on the left-wing on 34 minutes, midfielder Creevy was on hand to head Robert Benson’s pin-point delivery past the helpless Skinner.
This was a major blow to Athlone’s chances of success, and though Sean Byrne forced O’Donnell into action via a neat through-ball by Clancy, they found themselves staring into a one-goal deficit at the mid-way point in the contest. Upon the resumption, UCD spotted an opportunity to enhance their superiority, and it was an excellent individual strike in the 49th minute that ultimately left their newly-promoted rivals with a mountain to climb.
The Tunisian-qualified Ayman Ben Mohamad had provided a spark for UCD in the final-third throughout the tie, and after cutting inside from the left-wing (evading a host of Athlone tackles in the process), he unleashed a firm drive into the bottom left-hand corner of the net.
This ensured that Athlone were staring a third consecutive top-flight defeat in the face, but despite lacking a cutting edge for much of the third-quarter, they received a lifeline with 20 minutes remaining, when a fine delivery by Alan Byrne was finished off by Gorman’s looping header from close-range.
This, as well as the introductions of James O’Brien and Ian Sweeney, provided fresh impetus for Athlone, and UCD suddenly seemed less assured in possession. Indeed, an equalising goal looked imminent for parts of the final-quarter, and a frantic series of events in the 82nd minute had College hanging on by a thread. Initially, Gorman forced a fine save from O’Donnell after being found in space on the right, and from the subsequent corner, centre-half Prendergast also forced a finger-tip stop from UCD’s last line of defence, before Gorman’s final attempt cleared the crossbar, much to the relief of the home faithful.
There was a sense that this was Athlone’s final chance to salvage a point on the night, but Gorman was once again denied by the exceptional O’Donnell four minutes into stoppage-time, when the former Shelbourne star rose to meet a hanging cross.
In the end, a second goal eluded them, but although this was another disappointing outcome for Athlone, there are nevertheless plenty of positives that they can bring into their crunch home game with Cork City this Friday evening (7.45pm).
UCD: Conor O’Donnell; Michael Barker, Ian Ryan, Tomas Boyle, Mark Langtry; Ayman Ben Mohamad, Robert Benson, Robbie Creevy, Chris Mulhall; Cillian Morrison (James Kavanagh 76); Dean Clarke (Hugh Douglas 89). Subs not used: Gareth Matthews, Thomas O’Halloran, Gary Burke, Dwayne Wilson, Mark McGinley.
ATHLONE TOWN: Paul Skinner; Kealon Dillon, Conor McMahon (Declan Brennan 88), Derek Prendergast, Barry Clancy; Sean Byrne; Sean Brennan, Alan Byrne, Graham Rusk (Ian Sweeney 76), Jason Marks (James O’Brien 59); Philly Gorman. Subs not used: Craig Sexton, Mark Hughes, Aidan Collins.
Referee: Sean Grant (Wexford).
In a nutshell
Man of the match
Philly Gorman (Athlone Town). Though UCD ultimately claimed the three points on offer, Athlone had some strong performances on the night. Sean Brennan and Alan Byrne kept the Town challenge alive following the Students’ second goal of the contest, while Philly Gorman led the front line effectively and provided a constant threat to the UCD back-four. The vastly-experienced striker was thwarted by Collidge netminder Conor O’Donnell on several occasions, but he was powerless in his efforts to prevent Gorman from finding the net 70 minutes in.
Turning point
In light of their 4-1 reversal to Shamrock Rovers a week beforehand, Athlone Town were hoping to hit the ground running in Belfield. A dream start to the proceedings appeared on the cards for Mick Cooke’s men when Michael Barker was adjudged to have impeded Philly Gorman inside the area just three minutes in, but the offside flag of the assistant referee came to the rescue of UCD. Had Town taken the lead at this early juncture, the game may well have developed in an entirely different manner.