Athlone Town 0-5 Shamrock Rovers
Shamrock Rovers eased their way into the quarter-final of the FAI cup with little or no difficulty in Athlone tonight, though 48 minutes had expired before the difference in class between the Premier Division title chasers and the beleaguered home side finally showed on the scoreboard.
All five of the goals at Lissywoollen came in the second half but in truth Rovers could have had as many in the first half as well, had they been a bit more clinical and were it not for some stout defensive work from Joe Moloney and Cormac Raftery at the heart of the Athlone defence.
Rovers moved the ball around with real fluidity right from the start of this contest and they sent a series of excellent deliveries into the Athlone penalty area, testing the rearguard from both flanks.
They had chances too, most notably Killian Brennan and Trevor Clarke, though Athlone had their own opportunities and will look back with regret at Jason Lyons’ inability to get a touch to Conor Barry’s excellent cross after two minutes, or the low shot from Colm Coss that was parried out for a corner by Crag Hyland.
Despite conceding eight corners and the vast majority of the possession, Athlone got to half time level, but just three minutes after the restart they conceded a penalty and once Gary McCabe neatly slotted the spot kick into the corner, the floodgates opened.
Within five minutes the visitors had two more goals to their name, a close range piledriver from Seán Boyd and an accurate low strike from Brandon Miele just moments before he was withdrawn by caretaker manager Stephen Bradley.
Athlone enjoyed a brief respite for ten minutes but it won’t have felt like a break for the beleaguered club executive, as there was a short stoppage while stewards dealt with a protester bearing a placard seeking the resignation of club chairman John Hayden.
The management of the club has been a hot topic in Athlone since the club failed to field a team in a league fixture against Waterford United and yet again there was a protest outside the ground from a supporters group.
A total attendance of 355 supporters, most of which were Rovers’ fans, further illustrates the off field problems of the club.
On the field Athlone kept battling but there was little they could do as Rovers continued to pile on the pressure and it was no surprise when man of the match Simon Madden crowned an excellent performance with the game’s fourth goal after 73 minutes, a low drive to the bottom left corner after he jinked his way into the box from the right wing.
Athlone kept on trying in the face of incessant pressure but their lack of quality continued to tell and their ignominy was completed when they were dispossessed in their own area and James Doona was able to fire home a fifth goal with twelve minutes remaining.
ATHLONE TOWN: Jamie Quinn; Daniel Molloy, Cormac Raftery, Joe Moloney, Ian Fletcher; Conor Barry (Ioris Oyenini 69), Michael Monaghan (Chris Reid 79), Colm Coss, Seán McGrane; Jason Lyons; Ronan Hanaphy (Liam Gaffey 82).
SHAMROCK ROVERS: Craig Hyland; Simon Madden, David Webster, Rob Cornwall, David O’Connor; Gary McCabe, Killian Brennan, Trevor Clarke (Gavin Brennan 58); Brandon Miele (James Doona 62); Seán Boyd (Aaron Dobbs 63), Dean Clarke.
Referee: Rob Harvey
