- Aisling Hannon
- Sun, Apr 16 2023
Wexford climbed into sixth place in the table on Saturday evening after snatching a late winner against Longford Town to claim a 2-1 victory at Bishopsgate.
Two goals from Aaron Dobbs gifted the visitors all three points, despite Francis Campbell giving Longford the lead early in the second-half.
Wexford manager James Keddy welcomed back Reece Webb and Kian Corbally to the starting XI following injury, and the side were visibly the more energetic in the opening ten minutes, with captain Ethan Boyle playing out of his usual defensive position in a more attacking role.
His link-up play with Webb on the wing looked dangerous but Longford did well to close down any early chances.
A sparkling bit of play came for the home side on the 15-minute-mark when Derek Daly delivered a long, low pass to Josh Giugi who was running through the middle. Wexford’s Corban Piper interjected near the penalty area and made sure it got no further.
Boyle was consistently strong in his attacking role, winning a free kick 30 minutes in when Victor Serdeniuk fouled him near the box.
Both clashed again minutes later on the wing, but this time the Ukrainian’s timing was superb and stopped the Wexford captain in his tracks.
Between slow pace and loose touches, there were few chances from either side for the remainder of the half as heavy rain pelted down over Bishopsgate.
Stephen Henderson’s men came out fighting in the second-half and took just three minutes to take the lead.
Campbell took advantage of the time and space he was given after Aodh Dervin played in a brilliant pass to his left to meet his team-mate.
Campbell’s high curling shot met the palms of Wexford goalkeeper Charlie Heffernan, but the latter let the ball slip from his grasp and into the net.
An unfortunate incident for the young keeper, but Longford’s build-up play was fantastic, and Campbell’s composure and control must be commended.
Both teams slipped back into the slow pace on show throughout the first-half as the rain began to ease off, until Dobbs sparked a bit of life back into the travelling team, grabbing them a goal to draw level on the 65th minute.
Former Longford midfielder Mark Hanratty claimed the assist after his header towards the right of the goal fell to the feet of Dobbs who slotted it cooly past Jack Brady.
The defence looked almost frozen to the spot as they watched the ball hit the net, followed by an array of protests for offside, but the referee waved away the appeals.
Longford’s longest serving player, Karl Chambers, made his way onto the pitch for Wexford alongside Aaron Doran in the build-up, and both made a huge impact in terms of dictating play and pumping up the pace.
At the other end, the home side applied pressure with Serdeniuk in particular being a standout threat in attack, forcing Heffernan into a save with ten minutes to go as Wexford struggled to clear their lines.
But it was Dobbs again who found the net on the 85th minute to give Wexford the lead and an ultimate win.
Substitute Doran whipped in a stunning cross to the box and it seemed Dobbs knew little about it as the ball bounced off him into the net.
Again, protests from the home side rang around the ground as substitute Gary Armstrong went down injured in the build-up.
Referee Marc Lynch beckoned for assistance as the Wexford players celebrated, much to the frustration of the Longford faithful.
Henderson’s men were forced to play the closing minutes with ten men as no substitutions remained, another reason for the home side to be vexed.
Wexford held on, and began the long journey back to the South East with a sigh of relief as they climbed up to one point ahead of Finn Harps who they play next Friday in Ferrycarrig.
Longford remain in eighth, with six points from nine games as they host third-place Bray Wanderers next week.
Longford Town: Jack Brady; Cian Byrne, Shane Elworthy, Oisin Hand (Mohamed Boudiaf 83), Kyle O'Connor; Derek Daly (Jamal Ibrahim 77), Aodh Dervin, Ross Fay (Gary Armstrong 67), Victor Serdeniuk; Francis Campbell, Josh Giurgi.
Subs not used: Jack Harrington, Aaron Walsh, Evan Farrell, Adam Verdon, Stephen Meaney, Darragh Lynch.
Booked: Shane Elworthy (60).
Wexford: Charlie Heffernan; James Crawford, Hugh Douglas (Jordan Adeyemo 82), Ben Lynch; Ethan Boyle, Kian Corbally (Aaron Doran 58), Mark Hanratty, Darragh Levingston (Karl Chambers 58), Corban Piper, Reece Webb; Aaron Dobbs.
Subs not used: Shay O'Leary, Jordan Tallon, Sean Fitzpatrick, Conor Levingston, Kaylem Harnett, Brandon McCann.
Booked: Corban Piper (3), Kian Corbally (37), Hugh Douglas (72), Aaron Dobbs (90).
Referee: Marc Lynch
Attendance: 404
extratime.com Player of the Match: Reece Webb (Wexford FC)
