Sligo 1
Limerick 1
PAUL O’CONOR WAS the Limerick hero on Saturday night as his 94th minute header at the Showgrounds on Saturday evening gave his side a 1-1 draw.
Dinny Corcoran gave the Bit o’Red the lead in the first half, before O’Conor struck against his former side in the dying seconds.
Both sides knew at the start of this fixture that three points were essential, and it was evident why they both hold their respective positions in the league.
Plenty of sloppy play and misplaced passes made for a dour enough opening half, but the hosts were first to make the most of their chances, as few as there were.
Local boy Kevin Devaney surged forward and trickled his way past numerous Limerick players, and despite being brought down on the edge of the box, he managed to picked himself up and play a pass to Sander Puri on his left. The Estonian international crossed into the box where Dinny Corcoran was on hand to send an effort past O’Donnell, giving Heary’s men the lead just before the half hour mark.
Paul O’Conor then came close to netting an own goal for his former side, when a Rovers ball smacked off him and just went over O’Donnell’s crossbar. Ian Turner then came close, but he could only send his effort wide of Richard Brush’s post – the closest Limerick would come in the first half.
Rovers had a great opportunity to extend their lead during the second-half, when Sander Puri found Corcoran in front of goal. The former Bohs man got his toe to it, but that wasn’t enough and O’Donnell collected comfortably.
The game looked to be over but O’Conor then popped up with that late goal.
He was left unmarked for a Limerick free in the 94th minute, and he sent a header past Brush, to sent a deafening silence around the Showgrounds,
Sligo Rovers: Richard Brush, Alan Keane, Gary Boylan, Stephen Folan, Jake Dykes, Steven Beattie (Morten Nielsen, 93), David Cawley, John Russell, Sander Puri, Kevin Devaney (Raffaele Cretaro, 69), Dinny Corcoran.
Subs: Ryan Coulter, Danny Ledwith, Eoin Wearen, Gary Armstrong, Ryan McManus.
Limerick: Conor O’Donnell, Sean Harding, Paudie O’Connor (Tony Whitehead, 65), Robbie Williams, Paul O’Conor, Ian Turner, Shane Duggan, Dean Clarke, Vinny Faherty (Darragh Rainsford, 53), Shane Tracy, Sean Russell.
Subs: Tommy Holland, Val Feeney, Jason Hughes, Sean McSweeney, Aidan Price.
Referee: Paul McLaughlin
Man of the match: Sander Puri – the Estonian international has been struggling for form since joining Sligo Rovers but was busy this evening as he created a host of chances for his team-mates, and made life very difficult for the visitors.