It was only four years ago that Athlone Town made their Women’s National League debut, so it’s some measure of the progress they’ve made since then that they’re on the cusp of winning the SSE Airtricity Premier Division title.
A victory over Bohemians on their home patch on Saturday evening (live on TG4, 7.35pm) would wrap up the title.
With two games left to play, they are three points clear of Shelbourne, but Athlone have a superior head-to-head record over the Dublin side, meaning they would be crowned champions should the teams finish level on points.
Shelbourne, then, need a sizeable, if unlikely, favour from Bohs if the title race is to go to the final week. First, though, they must beat the soon-to-be deposed champions Peamount United at Tolka Park on Saturday afternoon (2pm), and then hope that Bohs can end a three-match losing streak, during which they conceded 13 goals, by taking at least a point from their game against the leaders.
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If that were to happen, then it would all go down to the final round of matches in a week’s time, Athlone finishing up with a tricky test away to Galway United, who are six points off the lead in third and who beat them in their opening game of the season. Mind you, Shels hardly have a gimme in their final outing – they’re away to Shamrock Rovers.
But to avoid the mother of all squeaky-bum conclusions to the race, Athlone would very much like to see off Bohs and get their title celebrations under way – before turning their double-seeking attention to the FAI Cup final on October 20th when they will meet Shelbourne for the third year running.
It’s been an outstanding season for Ciarán Kilduff’s side, himself a title winner with Rovers and Dundalk during his playing days and who took over at the club in June of last year. That campaign ended with their first ever FAI Cup triumph; now the league is in their sights.
They had only dropped points in one of their previous 14 games before their 3-3 draw with Rovers last weekend, despite the loss of some key players along the way – not least Northern Ireland international Casey Howe, who left for Nottingham Forest during the summer, and Chloe Singleton who picked up a season-ending injury in August.
But others have stepped up, notably Madie Gibson, the SSE Airtricity player of the month for September, the American helping herself to four goals in her last four league outings.
And since her arrival in July, Cameroon striker Brenda Ebika Tabe has had a major impact, scoring six in as many games.
If they can hold their nerve on Saturday evening, they will become just the fourth side to win the title since the inaugural season 13 years ago, Peamount United, Raheny United/Shelbourne and Wexford Youths the only victors in that time. That would cap a rise of the meteoric kind.
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