Limerick FC 2 Bray Wanderers 1
Markets Field, Premier Division, 29 June 2018
Wanderers made two changes to the starting team from the team that drew with Waterford FC a fortnight ago. Jake Kelly and Gary McCabe both started instead of Dan McKenna a Cory Galvin. Wanderers went into the game six points behind the Shannonsiders and needed to win to close the gap at the foot of the table.
All the goals came in the opening 20 minutes. Cian Coleman opened the scoring on ten minutes when a loose ball fell to him just inside the area and he fired low past Evan Moran.
Bray were level on 19 minutes. A long ball from Sean Harding on the right picked out Ronan Coughlan and he raced clear to lob the ball over the advancing Brendan Clarke. Wanderers joy was short lived as they were behind again a minute later. Connor Ellis broke down the left wing and his cross fell between Barry Maguire and Sean Heaney with Maguire’s shot taking a deflection off Heany to deceive Moran.
Bray had more possession after the break but never really tested Clarke. Wanderers had a few chances from a couple of goalmouth scrambles but the Limerick defence were able to clear,
Limerick held out to record their third league win of the season over Wanderers and stretche the gap at the bottom of the table to nine points with twelve league games remaining.
Limerick FC: 26 Brendan Clarke; 2 Shaun Kelly, 7 Eoin Wearen, 3 Killian Cantwell, 20 Billy Dennehy; 6 Cian Coleman, 77 Barry Maguire; 22 Karl O’Sullivan, 8 Shane Duggan, 16 William Fitzgerald; 10 Connor Ellis
Subs: 9 Danny Morrissey (for Ellis 66), 11 Shane Tracy (for Maguire 79), 15 Tony Whitehead (for O’Sullivan 56), 18 Colm Walsh O’Loghlen, 28 Adam Foley, 29 Ger Barry, 30 Tommy Holland (gk)
Bray Wanderers:
29 Evan Moran; 31 Sean Harding, 14 Rhys Gorman, 5 Sean Heaney, 3 Kevin Lynch, 6 Paul O’Conor; 17 Daniel Kelly, 32 Craig Walsh, 21 Gary McCabe; 17 Ronan Coughlan. Subs: 4 Conor Kenna (for McCabe 26), 9 Gerald Pender (for Kelly H/T), 18 Calvin Rogers, 24 Jake Ellis, 26 Byron O’Gorman, 28 Alex Rafferty, 40 Mark O’Connor (gk)
Referee: Ray Matthews
Match Report: Michael Duffy