Limerick 0
Derry City 3
Andrew Cunneen reports from Markets Field
DERRY CITY KEPT up the pressure on the sides above them with a three-goal victory on Shannonside tonight.
Rory Patterson opened the scoring with the last kick of the opening half before two Aaron McEneff goals sealed the points late on.
The FAI have recently come under fire from managers regarding the scheduling of fixtures and Kenny Shiels will have likely been frustrated when he saw the 620km round trip pencilled in for a Monday after hosting Shamrock Rovers on Friday.
Shiels made just one change to the side who were left frustrated by Rovers as they were held to a stalemate. Darren Cole came in for Conor McDermott, while Tommy Barrett was forced into three changes.
Shaun Kelly picked up a knock in Bray that forced him off at half-time, while Billy Dennehy was suspended and Shane Tracy reported in sick before the game. Karl O’Sullivan, Tony Whitehead and Alan Murphy came in to replace the absentees.
The issue with fixture congestion is that small squads are tested and usually the second legs of the double headers lack intensity. With the chance of poorly-attended games, there’s a chance that league games become non-events. That’s exactly what this was.
Shane Duggan spurned the best chance of the opening half inside the opening forty seconds, but Derry would lead against the run of play with the last action of the first half.
Rory Hale found a lot of space in behind Wearen and Clifford before playing a clever reverse ball into Patterson who beat the offside trap. The veteran striker made no mistake, sliding the ball into the far corner from 10 yards, past Clarke.
Limerick pressed in the second half and would eventually introduce target man Mark O’Sullivan, who was returning after an injury. He would go on to miss a sitter with the goal at his mercy, condemning Limerick to their fifth straight defeat at home.
Moments later, Aaron McEneff sealed the points for Kenny Shiels’ men with a quickfire brace, making the long journey home worthwhile.
LIMERICK: Brendan Clarke; Kilian Cantwell, Killian Brouder, Tony Whitehead, Alan Murphy (Mark O’Sullivan, 71); Conor Clifford, Eoin Wearen (Barry Maguire, 83); Karl O’Sullivan, Shane Duggan, William Fitzgerald; Danny Morrissey.
DERRY CITY: Ger Doherty; Darren Cole (Conor McDermott, 64), Gavin Peers, Eoin Toal, Jack Doyle; Nicky Low, Aaron McEneff; Jamie McDonagh, Rory Hale (Ben Doherty, 86), Ronan Curtis (Ronan Hale 76); Rory Patterson.
Referee: Graham Kelly
