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Date Time League Season
21 April 2023 7:45 pm LOI Men's First Division 2023

Match Report

Coughlan Quartet Edges Seven Goal Thriller At The RSC

Waterford managed to avoid an almighty collapse with a 4-3 win over Athlone Town in the RSC tonight.
Ronan Coughlan ran the show in the first half, scoring four.

Athlone nearly pulled off the impossible with goals from Patrick Hickey, Franz Pierrot and Valeri Dolia in the second half but it was not to be.

Waterford started brightly and took the lead just nine minutes in. Coughlan stretched to reach a cross from the left that forced Enda Minogue to adjust and palm it away. The ball went for a throw-in that was taken quickly to Shane Griffin, who found Coughlan at the back stick who headed downwards into the net. This would be the start of a dream first half.

Waterford continued to dominate and killed the tempo a bit, but found themselves two ahead in the 27th minute. Athlone were going to play it out from the back in routine fashion and under absolutely no pressure, Noah Van Geenan played it right to Coughlan, who duly punished him.

It went from bad to worse for Van Geenan and Athlone in the 38th minute. The Dutchman attempted to shepherd a through ball intended for Griffin out of play but made contact with the ball, knocking it right to Coughlan. Coughlan was once again ruthless, picking up his hat-trick. The half time whistle couldn’t come soon enough for the visitors.

The dream first half reached its apex for Coughlan just two minutes later. A cross field ball from Ryan Burke was controlled by the Limerick man who worked it onto his left, finding the net. He joins a very prestigious group after that one.

One could be forgiven for expecting a flat second half but Athlone had other ideas. Patrick Hickey put Athlone on the scoresheet in the 53rd minute when a Jamar Campion Hinds corner was met by Van Geenan, whose header looped up into the air. Hickey met the ball as it was falling and found the net to give his side much needed life.

They were given further life just three minutes later. Campion Hinds burst down the left and pulled it back for Franz Pierrot, who was taken down by Darragh Power in the box. Pierrot stepped up and sent Martin the wrong way, really putting nerves amongst the home crowd.

In the 68th minute Pierrot caused alarm bells to really ring. He got the ball from a throw-in and was dragged down on the edge of the area by Niall O’Keeffe. Valeri Dolia, who scored a superb free last week, stepped up and slotted the ball around the wall.

It looked to be game on from here but Athlone failed to press on and never looked like equalising. They can take heart from the second half but will be kicking themselves over the first. For Waterford, it’s the other way around, although they have three points to take from this.

Waterford

1Paul Martin Goalkeeper
2Darragh Power 12 Defender
3Ryan Burke Defender 87'
4Niall O’Keeffe 34 Midfielder 28'
7Shane Griffin Midfielder
8Barry Baggley Midfielder
10Connor Parsons Forward
19Ronan Coughlan 11 Forward 9', 27', 38', 40'
20Roland Idowu 9 Midfielder
22Giles Phillips Defender
24Killian Cantwell Defender
31Tom Donaghy Goalkeeper
6Eddie Nolan Defender
9Thomas Oluwa 20 Forward
11Christopher Conn-Clarke 19 Midfielder 84'
12Tunmise Sobowale 2 Defender
23Romeo Akachukwu Midfielder
27Dean McMenamy Midfielder
34Dean Larkin 4 Midfielder
37Anthony Adenopo Forward

Athlone Town

1Enda Minogue Goalkeeper
2German Fuentes Rodriguez Defender 73'
3Jack Kavanagh Midfielder
4Noah van Geenen Defender 94'
6Patrick Hickey Defender 53'
8Aaron Connolly Midfielder 92'
9Frantz Pierrot Forward 56'
10Valerii Dolia Forward 69'
15Haji Abdikadir Midfielder
20Jamar Campion-Hinds Midfielder
23Isaie Louis 17 Forward
30Vladislav Velikin Goalkeeper
5Charles Mutawe Midfielder
12Blake Ryan Defender
17Matthew McCarrick 23 Forward
18Oisin Duffy Midfielder
19Aaron McBride Defender
22Nazar Zubkov Defender
25Matthew Leal Defender
26Donal Curtin Defender
  • 95'

    Full time. The near comeback was not meant to be.

  • 90'

    Four minutes added on.

  • 86'

    Burke drills it into Parsons whose flick is touched over by Minogue. That would've sealed it.

  • 78'

    Waterford have a free close in. Fuentes Rodriguez, who's already booked, committed the foul. He gets away with this one but is on very thin ice now.

  • 69'

    Goal! Dolia sneaks it past the wall and scores his second free in as many weeks! Athlone could be on the verge of something big here!

  • 68'

    Athlone win a free close in...

  • 64'

    Pierrot gets it from a McCarrick cross, is dealt with then goes down looking for a penalty. Was never going to get that one.

  • 59'

    Burke has a ball flash across the face of goal and no one makes contact. Well worked chance from the Blues.

  • 56'

    Goal! Pierrot sends Martin the wrong way. Game on?

  • 55'

    Penalty Athlone! Power brings down Pierrot who was awaiting a pullback. This might be getting interesting...

  • 53'

    Goal! Athlone have one back. Campion Hinds' corner is met by Van Geenan, whose header goes right up. Hickey meets it and heads it in. Still a long way for Athlone to go...

  • 51'

    Idowu beats a few Athlone players but drags his eventual shot wide. Decent play.

  • 46'

    Back underway.

  • 45'

    Half time.

  • 44'

    Coughlan gets in behind again and doesn't score because he opts for the pullback rather than going himself for a fifth. It should be five.

  • 40'

    Goal! A long ball finds Coughlan, who works it onto his left and gets his fourth! This is an absolute demolition!

  • 38'

    Goal! Coughlan has his hat-trick and it's another horror moment for Van Geenan. Griffin chases a through ball and Van Geenan tries to shepherd it out but makes contact with the ball and gives it straight to Coughlan for a first time finish. It's game over.

  • 34'

    Isaie Louis drives down the right and pulls it back to Jamar Campion Hinds, whose first time effort isn't far off. Best passage of play for Athlone by a long stretch.

  • 27'

    Goal! Noah Van Geenan plays it right to Ronan Coughlan who makes it 2-0! An absolute howler from Van Geenan, who got away with one earlier.

  • 26'

    Minogue drops a cross but scoops it up. Waterford still on top but tempo has died a bit.

  • 20'

    Waterford hit Athlone quick on the counter and Coughlan eventually squares it to Griffin, but Minogue denies him at point blank range. It should be 2-0.

  • 18'

    Nearly ten minutes since the goal. Waterford are still on top and just had a penalty shout waved away.

  • 9'

    Goal! Griffin swings it into Ronan Coughlan who puts the hosts ahead with a downward header at the back stick. That had been coming from the off.

  • 6'

    Now Athlone win a couple of corners. Doesn't lead to much.

  • 5'

    This one is right into the mixer and it drops but Minogue swallows it. Very nearly bundled in.

  • 5'

    The corner leads to... another corner. Pressure already feels relentless from the hosts.

  • 4'

    Waterford win a corner. They look tidy going forward already.

  • 1'

    We're off.

  • Teams are out, kickoff is nigh.

  • Waterford find themselves in second going into tonight whilst Athlone find themselves in fifth, both in the promotion playoff places. There's a long way to go this season but it's not beyond the realms of possibility that these two meet in November.

  • Waterford are looking to add to a three game winning streak whilst Athlone are looking to build off a win last week against Cobh Ramblers, which was their first in a few weeks.

  • The lineups for both sides are in.

  • Hello and welcome to finalwhistle.ie for live coverage of tonight's LOIFD encounter between Waterford FC and Athlone Town. I'm Seán Comber and I'll be updating you throughout.

Past Meetings

(Round 4)
0 - 1
LOI Men's First Division
Athlone Town Stadium

Athlone Town AFC 0-1 Waterford FC

(Round 36)
4 - 2
LOI Men's First Division
Regional Sports Centre

Waterford 4-2 Athlone Town

(Round 22)
2 - 5
LOI Men's First Division
Athlone Town Stadium

Athlone Town v Waterford

(Round 14)
1 - 0
LOI Men's First Division
Regional Sports Centre

Waterford v Athlone Town

(Round 1)
2 - 5
LOI Men's First Division
Athlone Town Stadium

Athlone Town v Waterford

(1st Round)
4 - 4
FAI Cup
Athlone Town Stadium

Athlone Town v Waterford

Ground

Regional Sports Centre
Waterford Regional Sports Centre, Inner Ring Road, Kilbarry, Waterford, County Waterford, Munster, X91 KT29, Ireland

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