Wexford Youths 2 - 0 Limerick FC

• Conor Meagher
• Sat, Oct 03 2009


Wexford Youths look to have finally gotten over their home-day blues tonight at Ferrycarrig Park against grudge-side Limerick, as second-half goals from Garry Sheahan and David Breen won them the game. Sheahan’s lob over the keeper and headed tap-in came with 68 minutes on the clock and, despite feeling that the home side would perform their usual home capitulation, centre half Breen secured all three points with a driven penalty with ten minutes to go.

A stop-start first opening half brought little in the way of excitement for long periods, although both teams had enough play and chances to take the lead. Gary Sheahan for the home side showed his eagerness to add to his goal tally this season with a snap shot in the opening minute that skimmed clear of Collopy in the Limerick goal. The untried Chris Kenny got in on the act from distance after eight minutes, hitting a rising shot that Collopy scrambled to arrange himself only to see it drift over the top corner. The away side came into the game after 11 minutes when the impressive, in both defence and attack, Bobby Tier played a one-two with Shane Tracey and freed up Stephen O’Flynn. The striker muscled his way in on goal but Breen was quick in his recovery and cleared the danger.

The aforementioned Tier then turned defender six minutes later as Breen flicked a free from Shane Dempsey on and the Limerick number six got in front of Jimmy Keohane at the back post to tip the ball off his toe. Tier then had a curling free around the wall saved easily by Packie Holden following Gareth McCurtain’s clumsily foul on O’Flynn.

Tier’s good play was almost undone when he lost the tenacious Keohane for a carbon copy chance of the earlier Dempsey/Breen free combo – the Youth’s forward clipping his shot wide of Collopy when positioned to do better. Dave Ryan and McCurtain traded cynical fouls for yellow cards as the half petered out. Gary Sheahan finished the half, as he had began it, by missing the target when well placed, Vickers finding him wide on the left and despite the 'keeper leaving his line prematurely, Sheahan fluffed his chip high and over.

Limerick started the better of the two sides in the second half. Brian O’Callaghan went close with a header early on from a Martin Deady free from the left, his effort creeping wide of Holden’s left hand post with the keeper floundering. Half-time sub Lee Aust was looking a decent outlet for the home side and between him, Sheahan, and Keohane, Mick Wallace saw his side manage to hold onto the ball more despite an eagerness to lump it when under pressure at the back.

O’Flynn for Limerick was probably the cause for this tactic as he and John Tierney dove-tailed excellently and came close to releasing each other a few times but for timely interventions by the Youths' rearguard. Keohane had almost grabbed the opener when he ran onto Aust’s through ball on 62 minutes, his cross shot gathered at the second attempt by Collopy.

After 68 minutes the deadlock was broken and the lifting of pressure from the home side as a collective was more than tangible. Keohane nodded on a long ball from the back and Sheahan was suddenly in one-on-one with the keeper. He got to the ball first, chipped it over Collopy and ran in to head it over the line. The expected implosion from the home side failed to happen and it was Limerick who lost their composure.

Passes they had sprayed from side to side and chips to team-mates were now not coming off and Breen and Peter White cleaned up, with Dempsey knowing exactly where to be to help out with the follow on distribution – Dempsey has slowly grown into a first choice centre midfielder at the club despite competition from the suspended duo of Conor Sinnott and Patsy Malone.

The killer goal came on 80 minutes as Sheahan returned the favour for Keohane who controlled the pass and went down under the bulk of Brian O’Callaghan to win a penalty. David Breen did his thing to dispatch the ball straight down the middle and into the roof of the net. This result should cement the home side's fifth place, as Monaghan in sixth were beaten by Sporting Fingal and the Youths sit six points clear at the moment.

Wexford Youths: Packie Holden; Anto Russell, Peter White, David Breen, Gareth McCurtain; Ritchie Fitzgerald (Warren Broaders, 76), Chris Kenny (Tiernan Rossiter, 87), Shane Dempsey, Robert Vickers (Lee Aust, 46); Jimmy Keohane, Garry Sheahan.
Subs not used: Paul Rossiter, Shane Sinnott.

Limerick FC: Brian Collopy; John Boyle, Martin Deady, Gavin Roche, Brian O’Callaghan; Bobby Tier (Robbie Kelleher, 73), Dave Ryan (Shane Waters, 63), Shane Treacy, John Tierney; Thomas Lyons, Stephen O’Flynn.
Subs not Used: Michael Sheehan, Ian Storan, Aaron Gilmartin.

Attendance: 368.

Referee: Darren Coombes.

Extratime.ie Man of the Match: Peter White, snatched it from goal scorers Breen and Sheahan for his timely interventions, distribution and surges up-field to relive pressure on his young team-mates in midfield.