Shane Tracy relishing career purple patch

It's been quite a week for Shane Tracy. Scoring three free kicks and assisting goals for both David O'Leary and Axel Bossekota in the process ensured that it has been one of the finest spells in his career so far. While the Limerick faithful were always aware of Shane's talent, Tracy has now grabbed the attention of the nation with his set piece accuracy.

As a Limerick native, Shane loves playing for his local side. Converting all of his last nine penalties and scoring three free kicks in six days would suggest that Tracy is naturally gifted when it comes to dead ball situations, but the twenty-four year old insists otherwise. “I wouldn't say it's natural. I've been taking them all my life, from a young age. There would be a few times where I'd stay back after training to practice them alright, but I've even surprised myself scoring three like that.”

Shane was drafted into left back last season by Pat Scully, despite having never played there previously. While Shane proved to be the top scorer and earned a place in the First Division Team of the Year, given his displays this year in the middle of the park, a lot of his ability would have been wasted by his switch back to defence. “I'm enjoying it in centre midfield to be honest. Last year I was kind of worried at the start – I'd never really played left back but I enjoyed it. But the main thing for me now is just getting games. I'm just happy to be playing.”

Having seen Limerick change around him, Tracy acknowledged the work that has been done at the club and he paid tribute to his team mates for their displays. “This team is definitely the best team I've ever played in. You can even see that lads coming in from England have a different approach to their football. It's a job to them – it's what pays their mortgage. It's a real difference to here, where most of it is a part-time set up. You can see that it means more to them and they just work on their football because it's their job. They have families to look after.”

Limerick currently sit in sixth position with thirteen points and Tracy admitted that he was pleased with the return. “If you had offered it to us at the start, we would have taken it. I think there's been a few times where we've been unlucky – games where we should have gotten more. Dundalk for example. Even though we didn't play well, we took a two-nil lead and to concede two goals from set pieces was disappointing. Things like conceding late in Sligo are tough to take, but that all comes with experience. We could have had a few more points, but coming from the First Division, it's been a good return.”

 

Limerick and Shelbourne have played out some epic encounters over the last few years and it's a fixture that is always anticipated on Shannonside. There have been ten goals in the final five minutes of games between the sides in the five seasons they competed in the First Division. The most famous of those was a Colin Scanlan strike in the last kick of the 2008 season to deny Shels promotion; much to the joy of Dundalk. Tracy admits that there has been bad blood between both fans and players in the past, but he sees it as just another game now. “It's great for the fans. I didn't play in that game when we cost them promotion but maybe if I did, it would mean a bit more. I know the lads got awful abuse that night but we really enjoy playing them. The atmosphere is always great. I haven't seen it get over the top personally, maybe it has, but it's a great game to play in. There's been so many late goals in the games over the years. We just have to look at it as another game for now.”

 

Before departing, Shane Tracy confirmed he will be partaking in the Shave Or Dye initiative that his fellow team mates have established.