Rovers move into eighth spot with victory over Limerick
LIMERICK SLIGO ROVERS 1 2
Sligo Rovers came out the right end of a relegation six-pointer at The Market’s Field in Limerick on Saturday evening.
A moment of magic from Rhys McCabe saw Rovers take the lead when he scored from his own half, before substitute Greg Moorhouse doubled the Bit o’Red’s lead.
Limerick pulled one back late on, but it wasn’t enough for the Blues to take anything from the game.
Rovers manager Ger Lyttle opted for the experience of Eduardo Pinceli and Raff Cretaro and the youth of Jack Keaney, with Caolan McAleer, Ally Roy and Greg Moorhouse missing out.
Mitchell Beeney came in for Micheál Schlingermann and Calum Waters missed out in place of Regan Donelon, who was playing his first game since pre-season.
Rovers travelled south to Limerick knowing that this was a must-win game against Tommy Barrett’s side.
Last week’s defeat against Derry City was the sixth game Rovers had lost with just nine games played.
In a quiet opening, Tommy Barrett’s side had the first shot at goal with 12 minutes played as Shane Duggan fired wide of the target.
Tony Whitehead then played a ball to the feet of Mark O’Sullivan, but his attempted shot was blocked by the Rovers rearguard.
Pinceli was the first Rovers player to threaten Brendan Clarke in goal, his low drive was easily gathered by the former Rovers man in goals.
Rovers were beginning to look the more dangerous side as half-time approached.
Adam Morgan’s cross went across the box to the feet of Gary Boylan, but the Mayo man’s shot from the edge of the area was just narrowly wide.
The hosts almost took the lead shortly after the re-start when Beeney missed Billy Dennehy’s dipping shot.
An excellent headed clearance from Kyle Callan-McFadden on the goal-line was required to avert the danger.
Rovers took the lead in extraordinary fashion just before the hour mark.
McCabe, in his own half, spotted Brendan Clarke off his line and struck the free-kick perfectly to stun the home fans and give Rovers the lead.
Limerick did protest at the ball appeared to still be rolling when McCabe struck the free-kick, but it stood.
The Blues were beginning to pepper the Rovers rearguard with ten minutes left to play, but they were unable to do anything to really threaten Rovers’ lead at that stage.
Gerard Lyttle’s side doubled their lead on 82 minutes. Rhys McCabe’s corner fell to Moorhouse, and his tame looking shot took a big deflection, beating Clarke in goal to give the Bit o’Red a 2-0 lead.
The hosts did pull one back late on through Daniel Kearns, who was on the books of Sligo Rovers last year, but Rovers held out for a crucial victory.
It’s worth noting that with that victory, Sligo Rovers have become the third best team on the road this season, behind both Dundalk and Cork City, at the time of writing.
Ger Lyttle’s side travel south again today (Tuesday) to take on champions Cork City, before they play host to St. Patrick’s Athletic on Saturday evening.
LIMERICK: Brendan Clarke; Kilian Cantwell, Tony Whitehead, (Daniel Kearns, 63), Darren Dennehy; Shaun Kelly, Cian Coleman (Will Fitzgerald, 63), Conor Clif- ford, Billy Dennehy; Shane Duggan; Danny Morrissey (Connor Ellis, 81), Mark O’Sullivan.
SLIGO ROVERS: Mitchell Beeney; Gary Boylan, Kyle Callan-McFadden, Patrick McClean, Regan Donelon (Calum Waters, 86); David Cawley, Eduardo Pinceli (Caolan McAleer, 63), Jack Keaney; Rhys McCabe, Adam Morgan, Raffaele Cretaro (Greg Moorhouse 76).
REFEREE: Ben Connolly.