Longford Town beat Athlone Town in rescheduled FAI Cup First Round tie

Match Report by James Donnelly

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Longford Town earned a spot in the second round of the Extra.ie FAI Cup thanks to a 3-1 victory over near neighbours Athlone Town.

A lacklustre first half performance from the home side saw Athlone go in 1-0 up at the break.

A great goal from Kealan Dillon had Terry Butler's side in front just before half time when he latched on to a loose ball in the box.

The second half was a different story as it took the home side just 45 seconds to get the equalizer through Aaron Dobbs.

Longford were the better of the teams in the second but Athlone had their chances through Ciaran Grogan who forced a save out of Lee Steacy from close range.

Longford took the lead on 72 minutes when Joe Manley tapped in from close range from a corner.

Athlone rallied late on and had Longford's backs against the wall but Aaron Dobbs sealed the win in the 93rd minute with a brilliant breakaway move before he rounded Myles to slot it home from a tight angle and send Longford on their way to a second round tie away to Bohemians.

Team Line-Up

Longford Town: Lee Steacy, Joseph Manley, Michael McDonnell, Tristan Noack-Hofmann, Dylan Grimes, Aodh Dervin, Carlton Ubaezuonu (Dean Byrne '80), Dean Zambra, Adam Evans (Sam Verdon '72), Aaron Dobbs, Karl Chambers
Subs: Daniel Ridge, Paul O'Conor, Jack Menton, Sean Byrne, Paddy O'Sullivan

Pictures by Tiernan Dolan