A second-half Daniel O’Reilly header was enough to capture a draw for Longford Town in the Midlands Clasico versus Athlone Town. In what was a dull opening period, neither team really created any chances. Longford had the lion’s share of possession
A second-half Daniel O’Reilly header was enough to capture a draw for Longford Town in the Midlands Clasico versus Athlone Town.
In what was a dull opening period, neither team really created any chances. Longford had the lion’s share of possession, but with the majority of the game being played in midfield they created no clear-cut opportunities.
The first real opening came in the 21st minute. A clever pass from a free kick by Stephen Grogan caught the Longford defence napping, with Aaron Brilly latching on to the ball just inside the area and steering it past the opposition ‘keeper to give Athlone the lead.
The closest the visitors came to equalising in the opening half was after Evan Galvin was played through on goal but forced a good save for Athlone’s Darcy Lawless. From the rebound, the ball fell to Dean Byrne, who’s looping effort beat Lawless all ends up but rebounded off the post.
The home side very nearly doubled their lead just after the restart when Shane Stokes was played in behind the Longford defence, but after a poor first touch his tame effort was stopped by net-minder Jack Brady.
Longford would grab their equaliser in the 61st minute. A corner delivery from Dylan McGlade was headed on by Sam Verdon, before being nodded home by captain Daniel O’Reilly from close range.
They nearly took the lead a few minutes later, when an acrobatic bicycle kick from Galvin went just wide of the post. The closing stages produced relatively few chances, with Longford continuing to dominate possession. Longford striker Chris Mulhall received a straight red card three minutes from time after he appeared to lash out at Ryan Gaffey after fouling the Athlone man, with the game finishing 1-1.
Next up for Athlone is a trip to Finn Harps, while Longford will host Galway United.
