Limerick FC 3 - 0 SD Galway

Limerick secured a first clean sheet of the season as they eased past a poor SD Galway side at Jackman Park on Friday night. Rory Gaffney, Shane Tracy and Dominic Foley secured the points for Limerick with their individual strikes.

Lining out in a 4-4-2 formation for the first time this season, Limerick began with Denis Behan partnering Dominic Foley up front, while Shane Tracy was drafted in on the left side of midfield. Salthill lined up in a 4-5-1 with Mike Tierney being the lone striker.

With little more than eight minutes gone, the shift in formation seemed to pay dividends for Limerick as Rory Gaffney was on hand to tap home from all of three yards. Shane Tracy swung a corner in to the far post which captain Pat Purcell met with a well driven header. Liam Grant stopped that effort, but was powerless to prevent Gaffney from stabbing it home.

In truth, Tony Mannion’s men looked to be chasing shadows from the off. Limerick appeared far superior on the ball and should have doubled their lead just shy of the half hour mark but Joe Gamble fluffed his effort just wide of the right hand post following a poor clearance by Galway.

Limerick did manage to double their advantage just before half time however. Shane Tracy was judged to have been fouled inside the area. Though referee Sean Grant didn’t award the spot kick, his assistant on the far side flagged for the penalty. Shane Tracy stood up himself to take it, and duly converted. Grant dived to his left, looking over his shoulder at the ball rippling the net in the heart of the goal.

Within five minutes of the restart, Limerick should have put the game to bed. A well delivered Rory Gaffney cross found Joe Gamble on his own at the near post, completely unmarked. Gamble, however, failed to direct it into the net and Grant easily collected the attempt.

Just before the hour mark, Limerick ended any hope of an unlikely Salthill comeback. After some great possession in the middle of the park, Denis Behan played a cheeky through ball inside the full back toward Foley. The ex-Cercle Brugges star poked his effort past the outrushing Grant to secure all three points for Pat Scully’s men.

Over the next ten minutes, Limerick should have added two more to their tally for the night as both Denis Behan and Dominic Foley spurned guilt edge chances to extend Limerick’s lead.

With twenty minutes remaining, Garry Sheahan made his long awaited return to Jackman Park having not played at the venue since 2009. This was perhaps the highlight of the night for the seven hundred in attendance.

Limerick played out the last period of the game in a professional manner without either threatening or being threatened. A fine display by the home side may well encourage the big crowd to return to Jackman Park in the future after seeing their side put in their best performance of the season, while positives for the away side were few and far between.

Limerick FC: Barry Ryan; Corie Treacy, Paddy Purcell, Shane Guthrie (Shaun Kelly ‘76), Andrew Bhandarkar; Shane Tracy, Steven McGann (David O’Leary ‘62), Joe Gamble, Rory Gaffney (Garry Sheahan ‘70); Denis Behan, Dominic Foley.
Subs not Used: Dave Ryan, Paudie Quinn, Garbhan Coughlan, Brian O’Callaghan.

Booked: C Treacy (45+1), Guthrie (75), O'Leary (82).

SD Galway: Liam Grant; Eric Browne, Nicky Curran, Cian Fadden (Colm Horgan ‘46), Paddy Quinlan; Enda Curran (Charlie Burke ‘76), Eugene Greaney, Michael Harty, Timmy Molloy; Mike Tierney (Ronan Conlon ‘84), Mikey Gilmore.
Subs not Used: Tommy Bradshaw, Ronan Burke, Eduardo Dusi, Brian Geraghty.

Booked: N Curran (51), E Curran (51), Greaney (74), Gilmore (80), C Burke (82).

Referee: Sean Grant (Wexford).
Attendance: 681.
Extratime.ie Man of the Match: Dominic Foley (Limerick FC).