2021 Season Preview: Athlone Town

Manager: Tommy Hewitt

Stadium: Athlone Town Stadium

Players in: Abbiegayle Royanne, Ria McPhilbin, Ciara Glackin, Catherine Hyndman, Kelsey Munroe, Karley Leavy, Ava Dolan, Muireann Devaney, Laurie Ryan, Roisin Molloy, Melissa O'Kane, Mo Nerney, Emily Corbet.

Players out: Niamh Coombes, Amanda Ryan, Paula Doran, Jessica Turner, Zara Lawless, Chloe McNamee, Angelina de Rosa, Orlaith White, Sinead Farrell, Robyn Heatherington, Allie Heatherington, Ava Gowran.

Extratime.com Key Player: Kayla Brady

Brady is still just a teenager but she’s already been made captain of Athlone Town such is her impact since making her WNL senior debut last season.

The midfielder had an impressive CV when signing for the Midlands club last season, having been part of Galway’s impressive League and Cup double winning Under 17 side in 2019.

Manager Tommy Hewitt will be hoping Brady can help lead the side to new heights in just their second season at senior level in the WNL.

Extratime.com One to Watch: Muireann Devaney

The Republic of Ireland Under 16 international is a new addition to a squad stacked with some of the most exciting young talent in Ireland.

Devaney arrives at the Midlanders from Sligo Rovers Under 17 side where she was named Player of the Year last season.

The midfielder is another major prospect in Tommy Hewitt’s side and had received a number of offers from WNL clubs before deciding on Athlone Town.

How they did last season:

League:

The Town impressed during their inaugural WNL season, they were immediately recognised as a tough and well organised side when they managed to hold Wexford Youths to just one goal in their first game of the season.

Scoring goals was a huge issue for the side however, and across the 11 League games in 2020 they scored just 9 goals.

Their first goals heralded their first win, which happened to be their fifth game of the season when they defeated Treaty United 3-2 last September.

A seventh place finish, level on points with the established DLR Waves was a very respectable start for Athlone Town in 2020.

Women’s FAI Cup:

Athlone were drawn against Bohemians in the preliminary round of the Women’s FAI Cup last September.

The game finished 1-1 at Athlone Town Stadium but Tommy Hewitt’s involvement in the competition for last year ended after a penalty shootout which saw Bohemians progress.

What to expect this season:

It’s likely that Athlone will again have to focus on the likes of Bohemians and Treaty United as their main rivals during the 2021 season.

They definitely have the ability to keep DLR Waves in their sights throughout the season and if they can find a way to score more goals they might just be able to get above them in the table.

Athlone scored the least amount of goals in 2020 and if they can remedy that part of their game they could be the most exciting side to watch in the WNL this coming season.

Title Odds: 100/1

First game: Shelbourne (home)