ATHLONE TOWN 3 GALWAY UNITED 1
It proved to be a demanding evening in the midlands for Galway United.
A vibrant Athlone outfit, prompted by the splendid wing play of Adam Wixted and James Doona, enjoyed a hugely encouraging victory.
Adrian Carberry's charges were primed for a battle netting three first half goals to set the tone.
There was a tempo and tenacity to Athlone's football which the visitors couldn't match.
Athlone's enterprise was rewarded in the 12th minute when Wixted put the smashing Aidan Friel clear on the right.
Friel's cross was headed into his own net by United defender Gary Boylan. Suddenly Athlone were armed with confidence and they continued to pose questions.
Goal number two arrived in the 18th minute when Wixted crafted an opportunity for Stephen Meaney to score.
Buoyed up Athlone added a third as Doona supplied the assist for Meaney with the midlanders controlling the contest.
After the restart Wixted slammed an effort off the crossbar before United trimmed the deficit in the 77th minute.
Substitute Wilson Waweru pounced to narrow the gap, but Athlone managed the game admirably late on. This is going to be a particularly interesting race for promotion.
ATHLONE TOWN: Schlingermann; Friel, Cantwell, Hand, Daly; McKenna, Hollywood (Watson, 86 ); Byrne; Wixted, Meaney (Barnes, 71 ), Doona.
GALWAY UNITED: Kearns; Nugent, Boylan, Walsh (Ubaezuounu, 46 ); O'Keeffe, McCormack, Duggan, Hurley (Place, 31 ); Doherty (Rowe, 82 ); Keating, Cunningham (Waweru, 46 ).
REFEREE: M Connolly.
