Raff sees red as Rovers draw
The Bit O’Red now sit second bottom of the table
LIMERICK SLIGO ROVERS
THE ten men of Sligo Rovers battled hard to earn a crucial victory on the road against Limerick at Markets Field on Saturday evening.
The Bit O’Red were reduced to ten men following the dismissal of Raffaele Cretaro late in the second-half, but Gerard Lyttle’s men were well deserving of their point.
Rovers fielded the same team that drew 1-1 with Drogheda United at The Showgrounds the week previous, with Kyle Callan McFadden returning to the bench.
Rodrigo Tosi netted a hat-trick for the Blues on the opening day of the season in a 5-1 humiliation for Rovers, and he had the game’s first opportunity with five minutes on the clock.
The Brazilian got on the end of a Lee-J Lynch free-kick, but his effort was forced wide.
Striker Benny Igiehon, who deservedly received all the plaudits after his excellent performance against Drogs, was causing problems for Neil McDonald’s men early on. A dangerous cross from Daniel Kearns came to Cretaro whose wayward shot fell into the path of the Leeds man, but he couldn’t connect properly.
The busy Kearns cleverly skipped his way past former Rovers man Brendan Clarke, but he could only hit the side-netting, but signs were good for the visitors.
An excellent move involving Kearns and John Russell was finished with Cretaro driving over the bar, as close as the Bit O’Red came to scoring in the early stages of the game.
The Blues came agonisingly close to taking the lead just before the interval, but an excellent stop from Schlingermann blocked a Tosi shot.
The Kiltimagh man was busy once again in the second-half, but he performed well under pressure. He clawed away a cross from Stephen Kenny, before Henry Cameron’s shot drifted wide.
The travelling support were celebrating on 63 minutes when Igiehon had the goal in the back of the net - but the linesman’s flag had been raised.
A cross from Kearns came to Cretaro whose effort was saved by Clarke, before Igiehon pounced to slip it into the back of the net.
It was an all action second-half, with Limerick then going down the other end of the field to force an opportunity of their own.
Kenny’s free-kick smacked the crossbar, before Chiedozie Ogbene’s follow up was deflected wide.
Ogbene and John O’Flynn both threatened the Sligo Rovers goalmouth as the game came towards an end, and again Schlingermann could not be beaten.
The visitors were then reduced to ten on 89 minutes, when Cretaro was given a straight red for what appeared to be a rugby tackle on Ogbene, although he may have taken one for the team.
That point with the weekend’s results, leaves Rovers in a dangerous position in 11th spot with ten games to go.
Up next for the Bit O’Red is the daunting task of facing champions Dundalk at The Showgrounds on Saturday evening.
Limerick: Brendan Clarke; Dean Clarke, Tony Whitehead, Joe Crowe, David O’Connor; Henry Cameron (Bastien Hery, 77), Lee-J Lynch, Shane Duggan, Chiedozie Ogbene; Rodrigo Tosi (Stephen Kenny, 55), Garbhan Coughlan (John O’Flynn, 55).
Sligo Rovers: Micheal Schlingermann; Tobi Adebayo-Rowling, Seamus Sharkey, Michael Leahy, Regan Donelon; Gary Boylan, Rhys McCabe, John Russell (Jonah Ayunga, 77); Daniel Kearns (Craig Roddan, 90), Benny Igiehon (Mikey Place, 90), Raffaele Cretaro.
Referee: Paul McLaughlin (Monaghan)