- Sam McKeever
- Sat, Apr 21 2018
From Sam McKeever at Tallaght Stadium
A late Danny Morrissey goal five minutes from time gave Limerick a fantastic point at Tallaght Stadium as Tommy Barrett’s side drew 1-1 with Shamrock Rovers who led for most of the game through Graham Burke.
Stephen Bradley was desperate for three points to lift some of the pressure off his team after a disappointing couple of weeks – losing three on the trot - while Barrett was looking for vital points in their battle at the bottom of the table.
It was important for Rovers to have a good start in the Tallaght sunshine and they certainly did that as good work by the Hoops midfield found Sean Kavanagh on the left who pulled it back to Graham Burke on the edge of the box. His finish was disappointing as he hit the side netting with a left footed effort.
Kavanagh was next to be involved in the goal mouth action as an Ethan Boyle cross had the Limerick defence ball watching. The former Fulham man arrived late at the back post but his finish also let him down putting it over the bar letting off the Limerick defence.
Burke got his eighth of the season with a fantastic strike with his left foot from 25 yards on the 15 minute mark with the ball hitting the post on its way but giving Brendan Clarke no chance in the Limerick goal.
Rovers then started to control the game after the goal moving the ball around with ease and Kavanagh was involved once again. He took down a cross field pass beautifully before cutting inside full back Killian Cantwell but Clarke giot down to make an easy save as the winger’s shot lacked any conviction to it.
Limerick were finding it difficult to withstand the pressure and after they cleared a Rovers corner Kavanagh played a fantastic cross from the left finding Lee Grace at the back stick.
The defender’s looping header looked like it had Clarke beaten before he got a vital hand to the ball pushing it around the post keeping Tommy Barrett’s side in the game.
As the sun was setting on Tallaght, Kavanagh seemed to play a part in all of Rovers positive attack play as a Ronan Finn layoff found the Ringsend man before his deflected effort almost found the back of the net.
Clarke was there once again as he made a good save with the ball swerving in the opposite direction.
Stephen Bradley’s side came out quick in the second half and should off made it two inside the first minute of the second half. Captain Ronan Finn played Shaw through with only good Limerick defending stopping him from pulling the trigger as Clarke smothered the ball into his hands.
Tommy Barrett’s men were still hanging in there and manged to carve out a rare opportunity as Killian Cantwell found Sean Kelly. He played in a fantastic cross to find the head of William Fitzgerald who headed into the hands of Kevin Horgan as the visitors failed to punish the slack defending by the home side.
The Limerick opportunity did not stop Rovers at all as they kept pressing forward to find a second goal with Graham Burke having a go from 25 yards out with his powerful effort just flashing past Clarke’s left hand post.
Finn and Shaw linked up once again and the striker did well to find a way into the box before cutting onto his right foot. His shot lacked power in the end and Clarke dived down to his right to make a simple save.
The home side were always vulnerable when they were a goal up and with five minutes to go Limerick grabbed a leveller. Eoin Wearen played the ball through to Danny Morrissey who fired a shot across Kevin Horgan with the ball flying into the bottom corner leaving the home crowd stunned - it was also the Super Blues first shot on target in the whole game.
Limerick had their backs to the wall for the final few minutes and were reduced to ten after a poor challenge on Aaron Bolger from Cian Coleman saw referee Neil Doyle produce a straight red card.
However, the Hoops couldn’t find a winner and Tommy Barrett’s side held on for the final few minutes with ten men to claim a valuable point on the road.
Shamrock Rovers:Kevin Horgan; Ethan Boyle, Roberto Lopes, Lee Grace, Ally Gilchrist; Greg Bolger, Aaron Bolger; Graham Burke (Dave McAllister 79), Ronan Finn (Sam Bone 79), Sean Kavanagh; Gary Shaw (Dean Dillon 76).
Bookings:None.
Subs not used: Tomer Chencinski, Joey O’Brien, Brandon Miele, Joel Coustrain.
Limerick:Brendan Clarke; Killan Cantwell, Cian Coleman, Shane Duggan, Danny Morrissey; Connor Ellis (Sean Kelly 37), Conor Clifford (Eoin Wearan 27), Killian Brouder, William Fitzgerald; Billy Dennehy, Darren Dennehy
Subs not used: Tommy Holland, Shane Tracy, Karl O’Sullivan, Adam Foley, Barry Maguire
Bookings: Eoin Wearen (88).
Sent off: Cian Coleman (89).
Referee:Neil Doyle
Attendance:1,964
Extratime.ie Man of the Match: Danny Morrissey (Limerick)
