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Match Preview: Longford Town FC v Galway United

Fri Jun 1st 2018

SSE Airtricity League First Division

Longford Town FC v Galway United
Friday 1st June 2018
City Calling Stadium, 7.45pm

by James Donnelly

The last time De Town and the Tribesmen met, both clubs played out an entertaining scoreless draw at Eamonn Deacy Park, in a game where local star Aodh Dervin shined, both managers, in particular Town’s Neale Fenn, felt that they could have nicked a winner. A good result away for Longford Town all the same.

Coming into tonight’s game off the back of a disappointing away draw against Athlone Town, Longford will be looking for all 3 points to put them back in the run of things for a play-off spot come the end of the season. Luckily enough with the way league results have gone, Longford have not fallen behind by much. Galway are only 4 points ahead of us going into the game, albeit 3 places ahead on the table, so a win for De Town is a must.

Galway come to the City Calling Stadium off the back of a frustrating 1-0 loss at home to Drogheda United last week. Shane Keegan’s men have been doing well however, currently sitting pretty in 3rd place, they’re only 5 points behind league leaders UCD.

Longford’s Shane Elworthy pictured in action against former Town player Ryan Connolly during the club’s last encounter at Eamonn Deacy Park in March.

Longford Town will be looking to the likes of Daniel O’Reilly, Aodh Dervin and Dean Byrne tonight, should Dean get his chance to go in, with Town striker Chris Mulhall suspended after receiving a straight red in last week’s draw with Athlone. The experience of O’Reilly along with the creativity of Dervin in midfield may prove crucial in tonight’s game.

Galway have former Longford Town player Ryan Connolly in the centre of the field. Connolly, who is club captain, is one of Galways top players, and the Westerners will be looking to his leadership to guide them to a win. Throw in the the possibility of the always threatening Danny Furlong and Town’s defence will have their hands full.

De Town will have to do without Peter Hopkins, Adam O’Connor, Shane O’Connor, Cian Byrne and Alan Kehoe who all remain on the injured list. Chris Mulhall misses out through suspension. Galway are still missing Alan Conway (injured) while prolific goal scorer Danny Furlong remains doubtful along with Tadgh Ryan.

Kick off tonight is 7.45pm

#cmondetown

Match Report: Wexford FC 0-2 Longford Town FC

Sat May 12th 2018

SSE Airtricity League First Division

Wexford FC 0-2 Longford Town FC
Friday 11th May 2018
Ferrycarrig Park •  Kick-off: 8.00pm

 

Match Report by James Donnelly

Longford Town continued their run of form with a comfortable 2-0 win over Wexford FC at Ferrycarring Park on Friday night. In front of a disappointing crowd of 70 or so, Neale Fenn’s men dispatched the challenge of the former Youths with a goal in each half from Jamie Hollywood and Chris Mulhall.

It was Wexford who had the opening chance of the game, Shane Barnes latching on to a cross from the right side and shooting inside the box but his effort was deflected by Town Captain Dean Zambra who had raced back to cover.

Longford looked to open their account on 11 minutes when forward Chris Mulhall held up the ball brilliantly even when it appeared he was fouled, to then turn on to his right foot and shoot but his attempt was wide of the mark.

De Town had the majority of possession throughout the entirety of the 90 minutes and it wasn’t long before they got the opener. A corner kick from Darren Meenan on 19 minutes was hit high across the box to the waiting Jamie Hollywood who took it down expertly on his right foot and blasted the ball into the top corner with his left foot from just inside the box.

Wexford never got going after that and Longford began to control the game. Dylan McGlade swung in a high ball that troubled Wexford Keeper Kealan Gaffney which forced him to punch clear even though there was no Town players around him at the time. This was followed up by another attack from McGlade, this time going by two men and feigning a shot before eventually turning on to his left but his powerful strike only stung the hands of Gaffney in goal.

Half time saw the introduction of Evan Galvin for Darren Meenan and his impact was immediate. Gaining possession on the left wing, Galvin beat one man before laying it off to Tristan Noack-Hofmann who’s shot was straight into the hands of Gaffney.

Jamie Hollywood scores the opener for Longford Town during their 2-0 victory over Wexford FC. Pic: Ken Keenan Photography

Longford got their second on 55 minutes when a corner was headed across goal by Town defender Michael McDonnell to Noack-Hofmann who in turned headed it towards goal and then it was just a simple header into the net for Chris Mulhall. Although Gaffney pushed it back out, the ref was in clear view and blew his whistle for the goal, much to the delight of Mulhall who made sure everyone knew the goal was his and not Sam Verdons who had tapped in the rebound.

Town had a chance to make it 3-0 on 78 minutes when a scoffed clearance from Wexford keeper Gaffney landed at Evan Galvins feet. The Cork man tried to lob the scrambling Gaffney but Owen McCormack had raced back to cover the line and consequently cleared the ball.

Dean Byrne went close in the closing moments when he cut inside on the right wing but his low shot was saved by the outstretched foot of Gaffney.

While the result was never in doubt, Longford never really stepped into 3rd gear and will be looking for an even bigger performance against Shelbourne at the City Calling Stadium next week.

TEAM LINE-UPS

Wexford FC: Kealan Gaffney, Sean Hurley, Ross Kenny (C), Owen McCormack, Mikey Byrne, Mark Slater (subbed: George), Thomas Croke, Liam McCartan (subbed: Doyle), Shane Barnes, Ryan Nolan (subbed: Kelly), AJ Lehane

Subs: Collum Feeney, Sean Kelly, John Morgan, Danny Doyle, Dean George, Dean Kelly, Aaron Dobbs.

Longford Town: Michael Kelly, Tristan Noack-Hofmann, Shane Elworthy, Michael McDonnell, Daniel O’Reilly, Dean Zambra (C), Dylan McGlade, Jamie Hollywood (subbed: Ryan), Darren Meenan (subbed: Galvin), Sam Verdon, Chris Mulhall (subbed: Byrne)

Subs: Jack Brady, Evan Galvin, Daniel Ridge, Jackson Ryan, Dean Byrne, Adam O’Connor, Karl Chambers

Match Preview: Shamrock Rovers v Longford Town

Sun Apr 1st 2018

Match Preview by James Donnelly

EA SPORTS CUP SECOND ROUND
Shamrock Rovers v Longford Town FC
Monday 2nd March 2018
Tallaght Stadium | 7.00pm

Longford Town head to Tallaght on Monday night to face Shamrock Rovers in the second round of games in the EA Sports Cup. It was Rovers who knocked De Town out at the quarter final stage of this competition last year after a 1-0 defeat in Tallaght saw Longford bow out. There is currently only 7 of that Town team currently with the squad while all other players & management have since moved on.

Rovers come into the game off the back of a 1-0 victory over Sligo Rovers in the league while Longford left Galway last Friday night with a hard earned draw. Longford will be feeling optimistic having had a decent run of results in the league (bar the 3-2 loss to Shels courtesy of a last minute peno winner), the opening encounter with Cobh ending 2-2 followed by a comfortable 3-0 win over Wexford, throw in the 5-1 thrashing of Athlone and the performance of the team in Galway last Friday, De Town should be feeling fairly confident they can go to Tallaght and get a result. Rovers have had a similar start to their league campaign, an opening day draw with Dundalk, was followed two 6 goal thrashings of Bray and Derry. Followed by a loss to Cork City, the south Dublin derby with Pats ended in a 1-0 victory for Rovers and they followed that up with an away win over Limerick before losing out to Waterford at the RSC.

While clubs sometimes use this competition to throw out a few of the “youngsters”, Longford fans can expect a strong side to be fielded by Neale Fenn with maybe 2 or 3 changes from the team that lined out against Galway. Alan Kehoe and former Rovers player Darren Meenan are still out injured, Peter Hopkins who was on the bench v Galway remains 50/50 while Dylan McGlade will see out his last remaining game under suspension tonight. Sean Boyd and Joey O’Brien are on the injured list for Rovers.

Pic from 2017’s EA Sports Cup Quarter Final between Shamrock Rovers & Longford Town. Pic: Sportsfile


Player Interview: Aodh Dervin

Thu Mar 29th 2018

INTERVIEW BY JAMES DONNELLY

Having made his first competitive start of the season against Athlone Town last weekend, LTFC Social Media Manager James Donnelly sat down with local star Aodh Dervin to chat about all things LTFC.

Having joined the Longford Town under-age system at 15 years old, the former Melview FC player lined out for the Red and Black for 3 matches in his first season while also still donning the Melview shirt. The lure of Dublin clubs and a higher possibility of being scouted came calling but the youngster ultimately decided to stay put in his home town.

“When I first played with Longford Town, it was a development squad. We only played 3 games and I still played with my local club Melview at the time too, but the league of Ireland was huge help. It gave you a reason to stay in Longford and not to go to Dublin teams, the under-age system is really good in Longford and it can only improve.”

Aodh is just one of a number of first team members who rose through the under-age ranks at Longford Town FC. Arvagh man Tristan Noack-Hofmann came through from the U17s along with Karl Chambers from the U19s in the last few years. A club Aodh has supported since he was a small child, he reminisced on memories of City Calling Stadium.

“As a kid it was obviously a dream to play for Longford. I used to go to the games and I always dreamt of walking out in front of the crowd. When I used to go to the games as a kid, I loved ‘Digger O’Brien’ the goal keeper and Sean Prunty. They’re the two I can remember the most.”

This interview remembers being a member of the Longford Town FC U16 team quite a few years ago and standing in City Calling Stadium after a game when a small, loud, 10 year old boy approached him. Carrying his football in one hand and wearing a Longford Town jersey that was down to his knees, he approached me and began to dissect my performance and proceeded to tell me where I struggled as a player and what I should do to improve. He then told me that one day he’d be on the senior team and show the league how to play football. That young kid is the player I’m now interviewing. When asked what advice he could give to the younger lads coming up through the ranks, Aodh revealed a more modest side than the one showed almost 10 years previous.

“To be honest James there’s not much advice I can give as I’m still young and learning. The big thing I have learned is always ask your coaches/ managers on how you can improve and become better because it goes a really long way…and maybe just enjoy your football. For a while I forgot to enjoy it but when you do enjoy it there’s no better feeling than it!”

Aodh is certainly enjoying his football, having got 90 minutes under his belt last week along with a few substitution appearances so far this season, I got his thoughts on being selected for the starting XI in the El Classico v Athlone.

“Starting against Athlone last week came as a bit of a shock but it was a great feeling being named in the team. I think my performance could have been better..I showed a lot of nerves early on and did some silly things but all the lads eased me into the game which made it easier as the game went on.”

While Aodh showed some nerves in the opening quarter, he soon settled and put in a sublime performance with numerous social media commentators naming him man of the match. Anyone who watches can see why he has been called up to the International team on a number of occasions. He is a great example of a home grown player who loves his club. There was Zak Hackett in the past, Sean Prunty, Michael Lee, to name but a few locals who’ve stood out…now we have Aodh Dervin. Longford’s own.



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