- Simon O'Gorman
- Fri, Jul 11 2014
A brace from Philip Gorman helped Athlone Town to a valuable win against Limerick on Friday night despite the visitors having plenty of the ball and looking the superior team for much of the opening half.
Limerick, under the caretaker management of former player Tommy Barrett, started the game reasonably well and immediately looked like the more fluent of the two teams but after just four minutes they conceded from a set-piece when Derek Prendergast headed Kealon Dillon’s corner in off striker Philly Gorman.
The visitors set about redressing the imbalance with diligence, passing the ball well and probing for openings with admirable intelligent. And they should have been level after 12 minutes when Robbie Williams, unmarked and just six yards out, headed Ian Turner’s free kick straight at Athlone keeper Paul Skinner.
They came closer still two minutes later when Derek Prendergast positioned himself perfectly to clear Rory Gaffney’s shot off the line with Skinner beaten. Imagine Limerick’s surprise, then, when they found themselves two down after 19 minutes.
Good play down the right led to a cross from Stephen Quigley but it was too deep and sailed through only to be collected by Mark Hughes. He laid the ball back to left back Sean Byrne who delivered an excellent cross that Dillon headed across goal and inside the far post.
Still Limerick played the better football and applied constant pressure in their efforts to get back into the game. But in the last five minutes of the half the home side lifted the siege and began to explore regions of the pitch they had seldom visited.
It was almost inevitable that this would produce another goal and so it proved when, two minutes before the break, Quigley’s cross from the right wasn’t dealt with and Gorman stole in to bundle the ball over the line from close range.
Athlone were forced to replace injured keeper Skinner at half-time, allowing Ryan Coulter to make his league debut for the Midlanders and he had little to deal with in a considerably less eventful half than the one that had preceded it.
Prince Agyemang came close to reducing Limerick’s arrears ten minutes after the restart but his well hit shot skittled wide of the Athlone goal and just before the hour mark Agyemang was gone, sacrificed for striker Tam McManus as Limerick shifted to a more direct 4-4-2 formation.
Few clear chances were created, however, and it wasn’t until the 70th minute that either goal was threatened. Shane Cusack was almost wrong-footed as his own defender, Folan, headed Sean Brennan’s cross towards the near post. Cusack just about persuaded the ball out for a corner.
This seemed to sharpen everyone’s intent as Limerick sub Mick Leahy saw Coulter pull out a reflex save to deny him from close in. As the game entered the final ten minutes a minute touch by James O’Brien foiled his teammate, Dillon, who saw the goal open up in front of him from Sweeney’s astute low pass from the left.
Cusack then performed an excellent stop to turn away Dillon’s effort before making a superb double save from O’Brien and then Mark Hughes, while centre back Prendergast also found time to flick a bicycle kick inches over the Limerick bar.
So Athlone add another three points to an escape bid that is increasing in drama with each episode, while Tommy Barrett will be left wondering how his men managed to come away, not only pointless but comprehensively beaten.
Athlone Town: Paul Skinner (Ryan Coulter 46); Stephen Quigley, Derek Prendergast, Alan Byrne, Sean Byrne; Sean Brennan, Kealon Dillon, Mark Hughes, James O’Brien; Graham Rusk (Ian Sweeney 67), Philip Gorman.
Subs not used: Declan Brennan, Barry Clancy, Neil Harney, Jason Marks, John Mulroy.
Booked: S Brennan (82).
Limerick FC: Shane Cusack; Patrick Nzuzi, Tony Whitehead (Michael Leahy 60), Stephen Folan, Robbie Williams; Prince Agyemang (Tam McManus 58); Ian Turner, Shane Duggan, Jason Hughes, Colm Murphy (Garbhan Coughlan 46); Rory Gaffney.
Subs not used: Ali Abass (gk),Shane Costelloe, Ross Mann, Darragh Rainsford.
Booked: Gaffney (78), Hughes (83), Duggan (89), McManus (89).
Referee: Sean Grant
Attendance: 356
Extratime Man of the Match: Philip Gorman (Athlone Town).
