IT’S A HAPPY TAYL!
Limerick chief pleased after rescuing away point at Pat’s
ST PAT’S ATH…. 1
Fagan 50
LIMERICK……….. 1
McGrath 77
by DAIRE WALSH
LIMERICK supremo Stuart Taylor was delighted with the application of his side at Richmond Park on Saturday, as they shared the spoils with champions St Patrick’s Athletic.
James McGrath’s 77th minute finish helped the Blues to take a point from this tie that last year’s league leaders would have been confident of winning.
“I thought it was a well-earned point to be honest with you,” Taylor said afterwards.
“I thought we moved the ball well in the first half, and we showed that we are a team that can go and pass the ball on a good surface.
“Second half, obviously we got off to a bad start where we lost a goal. Like most teams, we kind of felt sorry for ourselves for 10 or 15 minutes, but I thought it was a great finish by young James McGrath. I’m really proud of the players and I thought it was a fantastic performance.”
With 19 minutes gone the clock, Saints right-back Conor McCormack appeared to be upended in the area by the retreating McGrath, but the penalty claims were waved away by referee Thomas Connolly.
Deadlock
Although Limerick midfielder Shane Duggan and Conan Byrne went close for their respective teams in a lively first-half, the deadlock ultimately remained unbroken at the mid-way point.
A greater degree of urgency paid dividends for Pat’s, though, and after the ball was hooked back into the area by Forrester five minutes after the restart, the in-form Christy Fagan was on hand to send a low volley past the reach of the Limerick keeper.
This kick-started a dominant spell for the title holders, and after Ryan produced a magnificent finger-tip stop from Forrester, Mark Quigley’s 75th minute glancing header came crashing off the woodwork.
Limerick, though, cancelled out Pat’s lead when the pacey McGrath slotted a perfectly-measured left-footed shot past Brendan Clarke via an excellent Duggan through-ball.
Pat’s threw everything at Limerick towards the end but they had to settle for a second league draw of the season.
Pat’s boss Buckley was certainly disappointed to have missed out on three points against their Thomond Park counterparts, and feels that the new additions to his squad will need more time to adapt to life in Richmond Park.
Bedding
“When you look at the group, there was five new players to that team today from last year. There’s a bit of bedding in, getting used to the way we’re trying to play. I’ve no doubt we’ll be working hard to get it better,” said Buckley.
ST PATRICK’S ATHLETIC: Clarke 7; McCormack 7, Foran 7, Oman 7, Bermingham 8; Byrne 7, Bolger 7, Chambers 7 (Brennan 86, 6); Fagan 7 (Kavanagh 84, 6), Quigley 7 (Lynch 82, 6), Forrester 7.
LIMERICK FC: Ryan 8; Kelly 7, Oji 8, Folan 7, Costelloe 6 (Rainsford 38, 7); Duggan 7, Tracy 7, Hughes 7, McGrath 8; Nzuzi 6; Gaffney 7.