Ten men toppled by Athlone
Excellent opening undone by Furlong’s early dismissal
ATHLONE TOWN were the only team to finish below Wexford F.C. in the latter’s two SSE Airtricity League First Division campaigns thus far, but it looks like they might have finally turned the corner on the evidence of Friday’s fare in Lissywollen as the new season got under way with a disappointing 4-2 defeat for the visitors.
And while, on the face of it, a double scores loss to the weakest team in the country in 2017 and 2018 doesn’t bode well for the south-east side, this game hinged on one huge moment.
Wexford had made the ideal start under new manager Brian O’Sullivan, taking the lead with a well-worked goal inside five minutes.
New midfielder Nika Arevadze got in a vital tackle that turned over possession in a dangerous area for Athlone, and it gave another league debutant, Jack Doherty, the opportunity to roll the ball to his right for Emmet Nugent to slot it home from inside the box.
Alas, that bright start was undone just three minutes later when Danny Furlong’s return to the pink jersey he wore with such distinction with the old Wexford Youths ended prematurely.
There didn’t seem to be a lot involved in the incident when he tangled with Athlone centre-half Ciarán Grogan on the ground after the ball broke away from the duo following a battle for possession.
However, referee Adriano Reale didn’t like what he saw from Furlong and swiftly brandished a straight red card.
Significantly, there was no sign of a complaint from the striker as he accepted his fate and headed forlornly for the tunnel, leaving his colleagues with a tough 80-plus minutes on their hands despite that goal advantage.
And it only lasted until the twelfth minute, with a Wexford F.C. old boy kick-starting the move that led to a well-worked equaliser.
Shane Dunne, operating from the base of midfield directly in front of the defenders in a 3-5-2 formation, floated a lovely ball over full-back Lee Costello down the right flank.
It was won by Kaleem Simon who made ground into the box before squaring it for Athlone’s big recent signing Darren Meenan, the winner of three league titles with Dundalk.
His perfectly-weighted pass to his left was met on the run by lively wing-back Dean Casey who beat Joseph Walshe to draw the home side level and leave them with all of the momentum.
In truth, Wexford created little or nothing from then until half-time, whereas Athlone looked menacing at times when they broke from deep.
Nika Arevadze had a shot blocked and cleared in the 22nd minute after Jack Doherty initially directed a free-kick into the wall.
The former chipped a teasing ball into the box twelve minutes later with the latter as the target, but he was bottled up before he could get a shot away.
Wexford did force the sole firsthalf corner through Danny Doyle approaching the break, but a header by central defender Seán Callan – the most recent signing, on loan from Shamrock Rovers – from Jack Doherty’s delivery was straight at netminder Aaron Myles.
The visitors had lived dangerously, with Dean Casey twice firing low balls across goal from the left that just needed a touch to beat Joseph Walshe.
Kaleem Simon curled a left-footed effort over in the 25th minute, while Owen McCormack – captain for the night in the absence of the injured Chris Kenny – made a vital late interception as Darren Meenan attempted to play a through ball beyond the last defender.
There was a buzz among the Athlone crowd, with the attendance albeit still relatively small at 346, but a considerable improvement all the same on the handful at the corresponding games over the past two seasons.
Their optimism was based on a few factors, with the arrival of a big name like Meenan coupled with a surprise 1-0 Leinster Senior Cup win over his old club Dundalk’s second string four nights earlier.
They were also playing a league game on their new 3G astro pitch for the first time, and it didn’t take them long to regain the lead on the re-start.
Joseph Walshe had done well to deny Dean Casey after the latter played a one-two with Kaleem Simon, and he also saved comfortably from Kealan Dillon before being beaten for a second time in the 54th minute.
Meenan was the creator again, giving a sweet pass in the box to promising young striker Dean Williams who followed up his winning goal against Dundalk with another cool finish.
However, Athlone’s concentration levels dipped after that big boost, quite a common occurrence, and Wexford made the most of it to draw level just over two minutes later.
Nika Arevadze found Danny Doyle who was taken down in the box, and Jack Doherty scored his first goal for the club with a spot kick that squirmed under the body of Aaron Myles and flew up into the top right corner of the net.
Athlone appeared stung by this setback as they attacked the ten men in waves, with defenders Thomas Croke and Owen McCormack picking up yellow cards as the pressure mounted, to join Seán Callan and the home side’s Shane Dunne in the book.
Walshe got down low to save from the first free-kick, taken by Darren Meenan on the left, while the second led to a corner – the first of four unanswered for Athlone in the second-half – that he caught under his crossbar.
The pressure eventually told, though, with the midlanders moving 3-2 ahead in the 70th minute. Meenan’s corner from the right was met with a downward header by Kealan Dillon, and Kaleem Simon was on hand to force the ball to the net from close range.
Yellow cards followed for Gavin Kearney (Athlone) and Wexford’s Emmet Nugent before the visitors made their sole substitution with the introduction of another league debutant, Andrew Farrell.
Given the extra running involved after Furlong’s early dismissal, it was surprising that full use wasn’t made of the bench.
The clinching goal arrived in the 75th minute after Shane Dunne again set things in motion by lofting the ball long into the left channel.
Dean Williams cut it back for Kealan Dillon and, with Joseph Walshe after leaving his line and caught out of position, the Athlone man had a fairly straightforward task in finding the net.
Evan White collected the last booking of the night for the victors who had another ex-Wexford player, Dean George, as an unused substitute.
And they went close to adding a fifth in the second of three extra minutes when substitute Shane Stokes shaved the top of the crossbar with a shot from the right after a give-and-go corner.
Wexford will be hoping for much better on Friday when their first game in Ferrycarrig Park at 7.45 p.m. sees the visit of a Galway side which squandered a 2-0 lead at home in a 3-2 defeat to the pre-season league favourites, Shelbourne.
Of course, they will be without the suspended Furlong who had a short spell with the westerners during Shane Keegan’s time at the helm.
Wexford F.C.: Joseph Walshe; Thomas Croke, Owen McCormack (capt.), Seán Callan, Lee Costello; Emmet Nugent, Paddy Cahill, Nika Arevadze, Danny Doyle; Jack Doherty, Danny Furlong. Subs. - Andrew Farrell for Arevadze (72), also Corey Chambers, Emmanual Lawal, Ryan Nolan, Torik Adegoke, Seán Kelly, Liam McCartan.
Athlone Town: Aaron Myles; Evan White, Ciarán Grogan, Gavin Kearney; Aaron Brilly (capt.), Kealan Dillon, Shane Dunne, Kaleem Simon, Dean Casey; Darren Meenan, Dean Williams. Subs. - Josh Hogan for Brilly (59), Kyle Hogan for Williams (80), Shane Stokes for Dunne (85), also Dean George, Cian Byrne, Lloyd Buckley, Garmondeh Ta-Uway.
Referee: Adriano Reale (Kildare).