Details

Date Time League Season
2 July 2021 8:00 pm LOI Men's First Division 2021

Match Report

Wexford and Athlone tied after 8-goal thriller

An eight-goal thriller in Ferrycarrig Park saw Wexford and Athlone share the spoils, each taking part in a 4-4 draw.

The last 15 minutes of this game had it all. They were nearly worthy of their own match report, as a mild game that was going to be detrimental to Athlone’s promotion hopes all of a sudden became a contender for first division game of the season.

Goals in this game for Wexford came courtesy of a Kyle Robinson hat-trick and a Jack Doherty penalty. For Athlone, it was a Shane Barnes deuce, Dylan Hand and Adam Wixted.

Wexford started threatening early on. New loan signing from Bohemians Jack Moylan was the cause of this, with his close control and blistering pace causing the Athlone defence fits, who couldn’t deal with his surges into their box all game long.

Athlone however missed three golden chances between the tenth and twentieth minute. First, Shane Barnes blasted wide after Kurtis Byrne played him through well. Then Byrne became the culprit, first heading a free header from inside the six yard box right into the hands of Corcoran. Then five minutes later in the exact same spot he put one over. This proved costly.

On the half hour mark Moylan again surged into the Athlone box. His effort hit the post, before landing to Kyle Robinson who stuck it in. It remained this way until the break. Little did we know what the second half had in store.

Three minutes into the second half and Moylan yet again burst into the Athlone area. Numerous defenders went to challenge him and he went down. Jack Doherty scored the ensuing penalty. It looked all over right here.

It wasn’t until with just under thirty to go that Athlone scored their first goal since the loss to Galway three weeks ago. Derek Daly, who caused Wexford issues down the left flank for this period, hit in a low, hard cross. Shane Barnes made contact with it to give Athlone life.

However with just over 15 minutes to go Wexford seemed to end it. Kyle Robinson scored yet another rebounder after Schlingermann saved his first. At this stage Athlone’s season looked bleak.

Incredibly, literally two minutes after, Dylan Hand of all players gave them life again. A failed cross found it’s way to him on the edge of the area and he tried his luck. The shot the young centre back who never finds himself doing this was hardly convincing, as it rolled into the Slaneysiders net. In fact, a Wexford defender attempted to clear it but missed the ball completely. Somehow, someway, this wasn’t over.

Then again, two minutes later it seemed done. Crowley on the left hand side put in an excellent cross and Robinson met it with a tidy finish to secure the match ball. Yet again, I was prepared to write Athlone’s obituary.

Then the last five minutes produced an unmitigated frenzy. Shane Barnes scored a header at the back post to give Wexford the nerves, but it seemed they would see it out. Then, on the 89th minute, after a lofted cross from the left, Adam Wixted rose highest to equalise.

Incredible. After the amazing comebacks in the Euros on Monday, Athlone Town have somehow pulled off the craziest comeback I’ve seen all week.

Pros and cons for both sides. Wexford have a nice new weapon in man of the match Jack Moylan. He will definitely cause problems for defences in this league. He was basically the reason they led 2-0, causing both goals. On the other hand, Ian Ryan will be bitterly disappointed to not get a second win this season, which would’ve boosted morale.

For Athlone, it’s honestly hard to feel optimistic. They conceded four to the worst team in the league and had to pull off numerous miracles to scrape a point. Although they showed spirit in the last few, they should’ve never been in that hole to begin with. Carberry will surely be desperate for a new striker this month. Promotion sadly looks like a long shot now.

Wexford FC

1Jimmy Corcoran Goalkeeper
3Cian Kelly (Pats) 5 Defender
4Paul Cleary Defender
7Conor Crowley Midfielder
8Karl Manahan Forward
9Karl Fitzsimons Defender
10Jack Doherty Midfielder
11Paul Fox Midfielder
16Jack Moylan Midfielder
17Kyle Robinson Forward
29Lorcan Fitzgerald Defender
22Sean Martin Goalkeeper
5James Carroll 3 Defender
6Jack Connolly Midfielder
13Success Edogun Forward
15Kevin McEvoy Defender
19Evan Farrell Forward
20Daniel Dobbin Defender
21Harry Groome Midfielder
24Anthony Dolan Midfielder

Athlone Town

16Micheál Schlingermann Goalkeeper
2Aidan Friel Defender
3Derek Daly Defender
4Daniel McKenna Midfielder
7Adam Wixted Midfielder
8Jamie Hollywood Midfielder
10Kurtis Byrne Forward
14James Doona Midfielder
21Dylan Hand Defender
24Tristan Noack Hofmann Defender
28Shane Barnes Forward
1Kayleum Rice Goalkeeper
9Lee Duffy Forward
12Jack Reynolds Forward
13David Brookes Defender
18Oisin Duffy Midfielder
19Brandon McCann Midfielder
20Tumelo Tlou Defender
17Garry Comerford
22Ray O’Sullivan
  • 49'

    Doherty tucks it away, slotting it into the bottom left, sending Schlingermann the wrong way. Comfortable lead for the hosts now.

  • 48'

    Penalty to Wexford. Moylan again causing trouble by bursting into the Athlone area and was hacked down.

  • 45'

    Wexford get us underway for the next 45.

  • 45'

    Half time and it's Wexford leading at the break. Kyle Robinson is the one to thank after rebounding Moylan's effort. The new signing has been causing problems for Athlone all evening. Athlone have missed three very good chances on the other hand. That finishing issue for Athlone continues to rear it's ugly head.

  • 44'

    Now Jack Moylan goes into the book for Wexford.

  • 40'

    Shane Barnes gets the first card of the game.

  • 30'

    Robinson scores after superb work by Moylan, running into the Athlone box and causing the chance. His effort was rebounded by Robinson and the hosts lead.

  • 21'

    James Carroll replaces him.

  • 21'

    New signing Cian Kelly is forced off with an injury.

  • 17'

    Byrne misses another free header, this time putting it over the bar. If this comes back to bite Athlone Carberry will be fuming.

  • 10'

    Now Byrne misses a great chance after heading a free one right into the hands of Corcoran. Athlone starting to threaten now.

  • 10'

    Barnes misses a great chance after blasting his shot to the right of the Wexford goal. Had been played through well by Kurtis Byrne.

  • 4'

    Nearly a hero's introduction for Jack Moylan as he cuts in from the left and beats two and surges into the Athlone box, before hitting his shot wide. Very encouraging early sign however.

  • And we're off. Athlone get us underway.

  • Teams are now out. Kickoff is imminent.

  • Lee Duffy back from injury for Athlone. Two aforementioned new signings are on the bench.

  • Athlone lineups are in.

  • Athlone also have two new signings, Garry Comerford and Ray O'Sullivan. Comerford can play in defense or midfield and has previously played for Cork City, Cobh Ramblers and Waterford. O'Sullivan on the other hand is a defender, previosuly of the Wolves academy. What roles the pair will play tonight remains to be seen.

  • Two new signings for Wexford, Jack Moylan and Cian Kelly start. A chance for manager Ian Ryan to experiment with some new pieces.

  • Wexford team news is just in.

  • Wexford on the other hand are destined to finish bottom, likely regardless of tonight's result. The one win in thirteen games speaks for itself. Morale cannot be high in this squad.

  • Athlone come into this one with a great chance to get their first win in five games, their last one being a 2-1 win over Cobh on the 21st of May. The hosts have only one win so far this season and are on course for a historically bad league campaign. If Athlone want to show they're still capable of challenging for promotion, tonight is the night to show it.

  • Hello and welcome to finalwhistle.ie for tonight's coverage of Wexford FC vs Athlone Town, I'm Seán Comber and I'll be taking you through tonight's events.

Past Meetings

(Series 5)
3 - 0
LOI Men's First Division
Athlone Town Stadium

Athlone Town v Wexford FC

3 - 6
eLOI-Group B
Online Event

Athlone Town v Wexford FC

(Series 13)
0 - 1
LOI Men's First Division
Ferrycarrig Park

Wexford FC v Athlone Town

(2nd Round)
5 - 3
FAI Cup
Athlone Town Stadium

Athlone Town v Wexford FC

(Series 4)
1 - 3
LOI Men's First Division
Athlone Town Stadium

Athlone Town v Wexford FC

Ground

Ferrycarrig Park
Ferrycarrig Park, Kilpatrick, The Borough District of Wexford, County Wexford, Leinster, Y35 E296, Ireland

Formerly DCU Journalism, covering mainly Athlone teams for finalwhistle.ie