Limerick FC 2 - 0 Wexford Youths

• David Byrne
• Sat, Jul 11 2009


A rain soaked Jackman Park didn’t dampen sprits as Limerick FC took all three points at the expense of a battling Wexford Youths side.

First half goals from Brian O’ Callaghan and Shane Treacy gave Limerick a deserved win and lifted them to sixth place in the First Division.

Pat Scully’s side had a point to prove after three defeats in a row and they set their stalls early on with chances from Shane Clarke and Shane Treacy coming close in the opening minutes.

After ten minutes, Brian O’ Callaghan built on Limerick’s encouraging start when he headed home a superb Martin Deady corner. Uncharacteristic poor marking from Wexford’s defence gave O’ Callaghan the opportunity to test Pa Doyle, but the Wexford goalkeeper could only watch on as O’ Callaghan’s powerful header hit the back of the net.

Limerick’s confidence grew and new signing Niall Donnelly was solid at the back with stand-in captain Brian O’ Callaghan. Wexford resorted to long ball tactics which frustrated the pacey front two of Gary Sheahan and Gavin Doyle.

Wexford’s frustration grew in the 24th minute when the referee awarded the home side a penalty when Shane Clarke was brought down in the penalty area. Shane Treacy stepped up to coolly slot home the penalty to make to 2-0 to the hosts.

In the second half, both sides continued to play attractive football despite the poor weather which began to affect conditions on the pitch.

As the second half progressed, Limerick looked the more likely to add to the score board. In the 58th minute, John Tierney should have extended Limerick’s lead after a superb through ball from Shane Clarke but he failed to lift the ball over the advancing goalkeeper.

From the resulting corner, Donnelly came close with a header but his chance was cut out by the resilient Wexford defence.

Towards the end of the game, Limerick decided to defend their lead as manager Pat Scully brought on midfielder Derek Daly for striker John Tierney.

This gave Mick Wallace’s side an opportunity to push forward in search of an all important goal. This task proved too difficult for Wexford as a combination of brilliant defending and little creativity for Wexford meant that Limerick would keep a clean sheet and take all three points at Jackman Park.

Limerick FC: David Ryan, Conor Molan, Martin Deady, Brian O’ Callaghan, Niall Donnelly, Wayne Colbert, Colin Scanlan, Shane Treacy, Dave Ryan, John Tierney, Shane Clarke. Substitutes used: Gavin Roche for Dave Ryan, Derek Daly for John Tierney. Substitutes not used: Brian Collopy, David McGrath, Michael Sheehan.

Wexford Youths: Pa Doyle, Anto Russell, David Breen, Paul Rossiter, Peter White, Keith Kearney, Shane Dempsey, Robert Vickers, Patsy Malone, Gavin Doyle, Gary Sheahan. Substitutes used: Martin Kehoe, Richie Fitzgerald. Substitutes not used: Jimmy Keohane, Garret McCurtin, Michael Mullen.

Referee: K. Callahan

Attendance: 395

Extratime.ie Man of the Match: Limerick’s Brian O’ Callaghan. He was at the heart of a solid Limerick defence and also chipped in with the opening goal.