Gaffney happy with goals return after lucky 13

Limerick’s top scorer Rory Gaffney says he “would have laughed” if anyone had predicted his recent form in front of goal, with the striker taking his tally to ten in 11 appearances in Derry on Friday night.

The Tuam man, who soon turns 25, has been in sensational form since August, with his performances recently earning him the Soccer Writers’ Association of Ireland Player of the Month award.

Among the opposition to fall victim to his talents were Shamrock Rovers and Saint Patrick’s Athletic, and his latest strike against the Candystripes saw Limerick record their very first success at The Brandywell.

This time it was a late intervention from the former Mervue United forward, and he put his recent exploits down to his teammates, as he took his Premier Division tally to 13 and his overall goals for the year to 15.

“I’m happy with that return,” Gaffney told LimerickFC.ie. “I only had three league goals up until Martin came in, so if you told me I was going to get ten goals in 11 appearances, I would have laughed at you.

“Since he brought in a couple of players, we’re creating more as a team. And as a striker, I have to be thankful to the lads who are creating the chances for me.

“We came up here last year and we got beaten out the gate 6-0. Then we met them again earlier on in Thomond Park and they beat us 4-0. We knew we owed them one.

“To be fair, they rested a few players. They had two tough games in the last few days, but a win is a win, it’s three points and it moves us up the table.

“In the first half, we started off poor. We were probably lucky to go in scoreless at half-time but at the same time, we defended well and Derry never really threatened us.

“Martin gave us a bit of a rollicking at the break and we came out and we were much better in the second half. We held the ball up more, we brought players into it and we created chances.

“I had two good chances before we scored. We should have taken them but we didn’t. We managed to get the goal – fair play to Duggy (Shane Duggan), it was a good finish, he followed in the rebound.

“Then we were sloppy, they got back to 1-1, but thankfully we got a bit of a break at the end, which we hadn’t got all season.

“Shane O’Connor was up and down the wing all game, he got a ball into the box in the 90th minute, it went over my head and by the time I turned it was there in front of me – it was six-yards out so I couldn’t miss.”

Gaffney’s late booking at The Brandywell means he is suspended for the final-day outing at Shamrock Rovers, meaning his season comes to a close against Sligo Rovers at Thomond Park on Friday night.

“You want to win every game,” the Galway native stated. “As a striker, you want to keep scoring because I suppose it’s what you’re there for.

“Sligo haven’t had the greatest of seasons so hopefully they’ll be there for the taking. Hopefully, we can finish off the season on a high.

“When they beat us 3-0 in Thomond Park, they deserved it. We were poor on the night. When they beat us 2-0 up there, they got two late goals. We had chances too in the game, so we owe them one as well.”