Athlone Town 0
Limerick 2
LIMERICK INCHED CLOSER to a return to the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division without ever truly getting out of second gear — as they beat Athlone 2-0.
Goals in either half from Aaron Greene and Robbie Williams sealed the win and maintained the Blues’ 100% away record for the year.
Despite an early spirited showing from the hosts, Limerick hit the front after 12 minutes. Lee-J Lynch picked up possession while Aaron Greene simultaneously peeled off his marker in behind the Athlone defence. Lynch’s ball was precise and Greene had all the time in the world to fire home. He made no mistake.
This wasn’t the usual free-flowing style Limerick fans have become accustomed to — things seemed forced and in truth, there wasn’t too many clear cut chances created in the opening 45 by the runaway leaders.
Despite their best efforts, Athlone were undone by a set piece. In similar fashion to their previous meeting at this venue, Williams benefited from an excellent delivery from a corner kick to nod powerfully past Jamie Quinn in the Midlanders’ goal.
The game stalled briefly with 20 minutes to go as Conor Barry went down with a seemingly painful injury. After lengthy treatment, Barry was stretchered off to a round of applause.
Athlone: Jamie Quinn; Daniel Molly, Jack Quinn, Ian Fletcher, David Brookes; Daragh Concannon, Michael Monaghan; Roy King, Colm Coss, Conor Barry (Sean McGrane, 70); Ronan Hanaphy.
Limerick: Freddy Hall; Shaun Kelly, Tony Whitehead, Robbie Williams, Shane Tracy; Shane Duggan (Sean Russell, 67) Paul O’Conor; Lee-J Lynch, Aaron Greene, Ross Mann (Stephen Kenny, 61); Chris Mulhall (Garbhan Coughlan, 80).
Referee: Michael O’Connor
SSE Airtricity League First Division – Friday’s results
- Shelbourne 0-2 Drogheda United
- Cabinteely 2-0 Waterford United
- Athlone Town 0-2 Limerick
– An earlier version of this report misidentified manager Colin Fortune as the Athlone goalkeeper; Jamie Quinn was in goal.
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