It may only have been a pre-season friendly but Nicky Forster left rain-lashed Lissyowen. complaining about a couple of dodgy refereeing decisions which cost Albion victory and the captain an early return to the scoresheet.
Forster, leading marksman last season with 19 goals, was denied a blatant penalty and had an effort disallowed in the opening quarter of the contest.
Local referee John McLoughlin showed rather too much charity to the hosts when Forster was brought down by Kevin Dunne.
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Forster's frustration at that abberation was fuelled when McLoughlin penalised him for a push on a defender as he forced in a Jake Robinson cross.
"I couldn't believe it," Forster said. "The scoreline isn't important but I can't deny that I want to score every time I play. I think it was a blatant penalty and I definitely would have been the one there to take it.
"I think it was a goal as well. I don't think there was anything wrong with that. It was a bit soft.
"He said it was a push but I was disappointed not to score what would have been the winner. Goals breed confidence in strikers."
It was still a useful opening exercise for the Seagulls as Micky Adams gets to know his squad. He used all 19 players available to him, with Glenn Murray (foot), Kevin McLeod (hamstring) and Doug Loft (foot) not risked.
AFC Wimbledon leftback Michael Haswell, who, like Andrew Whing and Jake Robinson, played the whole 90 minutes, did his bid to earn a contract no harm.
Robinson, partnering Forster in the first half in Murray's absence, could, perhaps should, have got his name on the scoresheet once if not twice.
Keeper Ciaran Kelly blocked his angled shot on the run after Athlone defender Jim Sheridan failed to cut out a long ball by Haswell.
Robinson also nodded against the bar from a couple of yards out when Steve Thomson's inviting cross was headed towards the far post by Forster.
Albion continued to dominate an opening 45 minutes punctuated by torrential downpours, which created surface spray on a saturated pitch every time the players made contact with the ball or each other.
They could not without make their superiority count, Kelly excelling again with a smothering stop to deny Tommy Elphick at close quarters from a Dean Cox free-kick helped on by David Livermore.
Adams made eight substitutions for the second half, Adam Virgo taking Elphick's place at centre half and also taking over the captaincy from Forster.
Michel Kuipers had been untroubled but John Sullivan could have been picking the ball out of the net 11 minutes into the restart.
A change of shirts, from black to white, produced a change in attacking fortunes for Athlone, two of their interval replacements combining to produce their first real chance.
It was a good one too, Padraig Moran firing over the bar from a cross by Robbie Hamm which found him in plenty of space.
That was the only real scare, although Anthony Hayes, another of the home substitutes shot narrowly wide from 25 yards.
The Seagulls were nowhere near as commanding after the break but Scott Chamberlain went close with a low drive from outside the box after a one-two with Jonny Dixon.
The young midfielder also skewed wide of the target following a run into the area by Dixon.
Forster said: "It was a good fitness workout for us. We moved the ball around at times but there is plenty to work on. We have not done anything shape wise or on set plays, so everything is a little bit off the cuff at the moment, but there were some good signs."
Albion first half (4-4-2): Kuipers; Whing, Elphick, Hawkins, Haswell; Fogden, Thomson, Livermore, Cox; Robinson, Forster.
Second half: Sullivan; Whing, Virgo, Lynch, Haswell; Robinson, Chamberlain, Fraser, Wills; Dixon, Gargan.
Forster, leading marksman last season with 19 goals, was denied a blatant penalty and had an effort disallowed in the opening quarter of the contest.
Local referee John McLoughlin showed rather too much charity to the hosts when Forster was brought down by Kevin Dunne.
advertisement
Forster's frustration at that abberation was fuelled when McLoughlin penalised him for a push on a defender as he forced in a Jake Robinson cross.
"I couldn't believe it," Forster said. "The scoreline isn't important but I can't deny that I want to score every time I play. I think it was a blatant penalty and I definitely would have been the one there to take it.
"I think it was a goal as well. I don't think there was anything wrong with that. It was a bit soft.
"He said it was a push but I was disappointed not to score what would have been the winner. Goals breed confidence in strikers."
It was still a useful opening exercise for the Seagulls as Micky Adams gets to know his squad. He used all 19 players available to him, with Glenn Murray (foot), Kevin McLeod (hamstring) and Doug Loft (foot) not risked.
AFC Wimbledon leftback Michael Haswell, who, like Andrew Whing and Jake Robinson, played the whole 90 minutes, did his bid to earn a contract no harm.
Robinson, partnering Forster in the first half in Murray's absence, could, perhaps should, have got his name on the scoresheet once if not twice.
Keeper Ciaran Kelly blocked his angled shot on the run after Athlone defender Jim Sheridan failed to cut out a long ball by Haswell.
Robinson also nodded against the bar from a couple of yards out when Steve Thomson's inviting cross was headed towards the far post by Forster.
Albion continued to dominate an opening 45 minutes punctuated by torrential downpours, which created surface spray on a saturated pitch every time the players made contact with the ball or each other.
They could not without make their superiority count, Kelly excelling again with a smothering stop to deny Tommy Elphick at close quarters from a Dean Cox free-kick helped on by David Livermore.
Adams made eight substitutions for the second half, Adam Virgo taking Elphick's place at centre half and also taking over the captaincy from Forster.
Michel Kuipers had been untroubled but John Sullivan could have been picking the ball out of the net 11 minutes into the restart.
A change of shirts, from black to white, produced a change in attacking fortunes for Athlone, two of their interval replacements combining to produce their first real chance.
It was a good one too, Padraig Moran firing over the bar from a cross by Robbie Hamm which found him in plenty of space.
That was the only real scare, although Anthony Hayes, another of the home substitutes shot narrowly wide from 25 yards.
The Seagulls were nowhere near as commanding after the break but Scott Chamberlain went close with a low drive from outside the box after a one-two with Jonny Dixon.
The young midfielder also skewed wide of the target following a run into the area by Dixon.
Forster said: "It was a good fitness workout for us. We moved the ball around at times but there is plenty to work on. We have not done anything shape wise or on set plays, so everything is a little bit off the cuff at the moment, but there were some good signs."
Albion first half (4-4-2): Kuipers; Whing, Elphick, Hawkins, Haswell; Fogden, Thomson, Livermore, Cox; Robinson, Forster.
Second half: Sullivan; Whing, Virgo, Lynch, Haswell; Robinson, Chamberlain, Fraser, Wills; Dixon, Gargan.
