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MATCH REPORT: Drogheda United 1-1 Longford Town

Sat Apr 14th 2018

Match Report by Tony Ghee

Longford Town were on the cusp of a brilliant away victory over then league leaders Drogheda United when they agonisingly conceded a ninety-fifth minute equaliser with the second-last kick off the game, as they failed to clear a Brennan free-kick and centre-half Ciaran Kelly pounced to rifle home to the bottom corner to secure a draw.

Longford Town have now dropped three points in stoppage time this season, as they also conceded a ninety-third minute goal in the 3-2 away defeat to Shelbourne in Tolka Park.

Drogheda remained unchanged from the side that defeated UCD 2-0 last week, while Neale Fenn made two changes to the Longford team that beat Cabinteely 3-0 last week, as Adam O’Connor came in for the ill McDonnell and Dean Byrne started instead of Sam Verdon.

The action in the first half was mainly contained to the opening fifteen minutes with both sides creating chances. In the fifth minute, Town winger Galvin raced down the left and played the ball inside to Dervin whose twenty-five yard rising strike went just over the Drogheda bar.

Two minutes later, a curling right-wing free-kick from Drogheda midfielder Brennan picked out the unmarked Gallagher fifteen yards out from goal but he headed over the Town bar.

On nine minutes, the visitors attacked down the right and an Elworthy cross resulted in home defender Kelly’s headed clearance falling to Town striker Mulhall but his goalbound shot was brilliantly blocked out for a corner.

Drogheda’s second chance of the contest came in the twelfth minute when an excellent slide-rule pass from Brennan put in McCaffrey and his weak shot was spilled by Town keeper Kelly with the ball being put out for a corner that was easily dealt with by the Town defence.

The game quietened down for the rest of the half although some promising moves especially from the Town broke down with the final ball either slightly undercooked or slightly over cooked.

Longford almost broke the deadlock in the opening minute of the second-half when impressive striker Byrne’s low diagonal shot from the left-edge of the Drogheda box whistled inches wide of the far post with home keeper Skinner well beaten.

The ‘Red & Black’ took the lead on fifty-eight minutes with a sumptuous twenty-five yard thunderbolt from Byrne that rocketed to the bottom left-corner of the net after superb set-up play from substitute Chambers (another of the club’s players who has come through from the underage ranks).

Dean Byrne, who put Town ahead on 58 minutes

Drogheda nearly levelled matters on sixty-two minutes when Chambers was dispossessed by Doyle on the edge of the Longford box and McCaffrey’s goalbound shot was magnificently blocked by Town centre-half O’Reilly.

Two minutes later, Drogheda came close again. A superb ball from Brennan found Duffy on the right and his cross evaded the Town defence to locate Doyle on the right near the end-line inside the box, but his effort from a very tight angle saved by Kelly.

Drogheda piled on the pressure in the final twenty minutes and on eighty-six minutes, substitute striker Lyons headed a Kane cross straight at Town keeper Kelly.

A minute later, Town keeper Kelly produced a world class save as he somehow tipped a close range Ciaran Kelly header over the bar.

It looked like the visitors were going to come away with all three points but Drogheda were given one last chance to snatch a draw in the fifth and final minute of stoppage time. A Farragher ball into the danger area was misjudged by the otherwise excellent centre-half O’Connor with his attempted headed clearance and although O’Reilly headed the ball away, the ball landed at the feet of the impressive Drogheda centre-half Ciaran Kelly and he drilled a low sixteen yard strike to the bottom right corner of the Town net for a dramatic equaliser with the second last kick of the match.

The equalising hero Ciaran Kelly was Drogheda’s best player while young Aodh Dervin was the Town’s man-of-the-match, but there were several other excellent Town displays.

The result means that UCD are the new league leaders on 16 points after their 3-2 victory over Finn Harps, Drogheda drop to second with 14 points, Shels who lost to Cabinteely are third on 13 points, Longford Town and Galway United are next on 12 points to complete the top five.

Next up for Neale Fenn’s charges is next Saturday’s home match against new leaders UCD at the City Calling Stadium. The Town may be without Shane Elworthy who left the stadium on crutches after going over on his ankle, but hopefully, Peter Hopkins will recover from his knock in time for next weekend.

Drogheda United: Skinner, Gallagher, Farragher, Ciaran Kelly, Kane, Brennan, Purdy, Hyland, Doyle, McCaffrey, Duffy.
Substitutes: Deasy for Gallagher (69 minutes), Lyons for McCaffrey (67 minutes), Meaney for Purdy (80 minutes).

Longford Town: Mick Kelly, Elworthy, O’Reilly, O’Connor, Noack-Hofmann, Hopkins, Zambra, Dervin, Galvin, Byrne, Mulhall.
Substitutes: Chambers for Elworthy (55 minutes), McGlade for Hopkins (68 minutes), Verdon for Byrne (83 minutes).

MATCH REPORT: Longford Town 3-0 Cabinteely

Sun Apr 8th 2018

Report by Tony Ghee

Longford Town moved to within two points of the triple joint leaders Drogheda, Shelbourne and UCD with a 3-0 victory at home to Cabinteely at the City Calling Stadium last night as late, late goals from substitutes Hopkins and Byrne sealed a rather flattering triumph for Neale Fenn’s charges.

The Town took the lead after just seven minutes when Chambers sharp pass set Elworthy free down the right wing and his low cross deflected off Cabinteely defender Butler into the net just inside the post.

Four minutes later, a surging run from Galvin created an opening only for his shot to go just over the Cabinteely bar.

Longford suffered a big blow on sixteen minutes as star centre-half Danny O’Reilly had to be taken off with a head wound that required seven stitches, but he should be fit for next week’s trip to leaders Drogheda United.

The visitors produced a promising attack just after the half-hour mark but Watson’s twenty-two yard strike was straight at Town keeper Kelly.

The second-half produced far more chances for both sides and Cabinteely will be wondering how they failed to score as they missed several excellent chances, but a combination of good saves from Kelly, resolute defending including a crucial goal-line block from Noack-Hofmann, and poor finishing, all contributed to the Town recording their second successive clean sheet.

Twice during the second-half, Hofmann and Verdon combined to almost increase the home side’s lead. Two minutes after the resumption, Hofmann’s first cross from the left was just missed by the inrushing Verdon when any touch at all would have diverted the ball to the net. The second Hofmann cross on fifty-four minutes hit off Verdon’s back and ended up in the Cabinteely keeper’s arms.

Cabinteely should have found the Town net on 49 minutes but the Visitors missed two superb chances to draw level. The unmarked Ball found space inside the Longford box but his effort was well saved by Kelly, the rebound came out to Marty-Waters and his low ball across the box picked out Fox who somehow blazed over the Town bar from just eight yards out.

On 63 minutes, Cabinteely again came close to an equaliser when Andy O’Reilly’s cross found the unmarked Fox fourteen yards out but he headed over the Town bar.

At the other end, a Verdon long range shot whistled narrowly wide of the Cabinteely post but that was followed by two good opportunities for the visitors. On eighty-one minutes, a Ball corner to the back post was headed back towards the opposite post by Butler to the unmarked Knight who nodded wide. Three minutes later, former Longford winger Simon pounced on a mistake by Dervin to race in on goal, however, Town keeper Kelly magnificently saved Simon’s effort.

The Town sealed victory with two late goals from substitutes Hopkins and Byrne in the dying embers of the contest. A brilliant pass from Byrne in the eighty-sixth minute found Hopkins on the right, Hopkins controlled the ball with a deft touch before unleashing a powerful low diagonal shot that rocketed to the bottom left corner of the net. Then in injury time, Byrne waltzed his way past three defenders to fire home the Town’s third and final goal of the night.

Longford Town: Kelly, McDonnell, O’Reilly, Noack-Hofmann, Elworthy, Dervin, Zambra, Verdon, Galvin, Chambers, Mulhall.
Substitutes: O’Connor for O’Reilly (16 minutes), Hopkins for Chambers (59 minutes), Byrne for Verdon (85 minutes).

Cabinteely FC: McGowan, Tuite, Butler, Knight, Stokes, Ball, Lotefa, Watson, O’Reilly, Fox, Marty-Waters.
Substitutes: Casey for Lotefa (67 minutes), Simon for Fox (77 minutes).

Referee: Adriano Reale.

MATCH REPORT: Longford Town 5-1 Athlone Town

Sun Mar 25th 2018

Match Report by Tony Ghee

Longford Town cruised past Athlone Town at the City Calling Stadium winning by five goals to one in the first El Classico of the season with Chris Mulhall and Dean Byrne both scoring a brace while Evan Galvin completed the scoring for the home side.

The contest marked the first senior league start for local youngster Aodh Dervan who recovered from a nervous start to put in a tremendous display that caught the eye, while Evan Galvin also impressed as he also stepped up to the plate in the absence of five regular starters who were out due to a combination of suspensions and injuries.

Chris Mulhall continued his explosive start to the season as he not only scored twice but he also assisted two of the other three goals and he will certainly be a key player in Longford’s promotion push this season.

Despite the one-sided contest, it was Athlone who struck first, as a poor header from McDonnell after a mix up in the Longford defence presented an opportunity to Athlone striker McCullough who despatched a glorious twenty-two yard strike over Town keeper Kelly to the Longford net.

The home side dominated after that with a third minute Galvin shot producing a fine save from Athlone keeper O’Donnell and after constant pressure, Longford eventually equalised on twenty minutes.

Elworthy rampaged down the right wing and delivered a sumptuous curling cross that picked out Mulhall and although his initial shot was superbly saved by O’Donnell, Mulhall pounced to drill home the rebound.

Four minutes later, a thirty yard strike from Galvin whistled narrowly past the Athlone post and in the thirty-third minute, a perfectly weighted pass from Zambra set-up Byrne as he beat the Athlone offside trap, he raced towards the visitors goal and rounded keeper O’Donnell only to shoot into the side netting from a very tight angle.

Byrne made amends for that miss just sixty seconds later as he latched onto a delicious Mulhall pass to fire a low diagonal shot beyond the despairing dive of O’Donnell into the bottom right corner of the Athlone net to put the home side two one up.

Mulhall was at the heart of the action again on forty-one minutes as he floated a ball from the right with the outside of his right boot towards Byrne. Athlone centre-half Jake O’Connor tried to clear the danger only to slice his attempted clearance over his own keeper and Byrne who was making his first start of the campaign, gleefully accepted the gift to slot home his second of the contest and Longford’s third.

Longford launched wave after wave of attacks and missed numerous chances to increase their lead. On fifty-six minutes, Chambers left-wing cross found Mulhall at the back post and although he did not connect properly with his effort, the ball trickled past Athlone stopper O’Donnell towards the net, however, Rafferty cleared the ball off the line.

Longford did rattle the Athlone net for a fourth time in the fifty-eighth minute as a Chambers cross came back off the post straight into the path of Mulhall who nodded home his second goal of the game from close range.

Four minutes later, Longford should have gone five-one up as a pin-point Noack-Hofmann cross picked out the unmarked Byrne just five yards out from goal, but instead of completing his hat-trick, he inexplicably fired wide.

On sixty-eight minutes, the visitors survived a major scare as a Mulhall shot was brilliantly saved by O’Donnell and the rebound from Chambers was cleared off the line by Athlone substitute Williams.

Byrne then found himself with just Athlone stopper O’Donnell to beat only for the keeper to make a magnificent save and two minutes later Chambers struck the Athlone side-netting when he should have scored.

The scoring was completed on seventy-four minutes as Noack-Hofmann passed to Mulhall who set-up Galvin to fire home from sixteen yards to give Longford a five-one victory.

LINE-UPS

Longford Town: Kelly, Elworthy, McDonnell, O’Reilly, Adam O’Connor (Noack-Hofmann 45′), Chambers, Dervan, Zambra (Hollywood 72′), Byrne, Mulhall (Ryan 84′), Galvin.

Athlone Town: O’Donnell, Short, Rafferty, O’Connor, Fletcher, Boyle (Williams 51′), Grogan, Hamzat, Brilly, Nkololo (Davies 45′), McCullough (Walsh 80′).

Referee: Mark Lynch.

MATCH REPORT: Longford Town 3-0 Wexford FC

Sun Mar 11th 2018

Match Report by Tony Ghee

Longford Town moved into second place in the First Division after a 3-0 victory over Wexford FC at the City Calling Stadium as Chris Mulhall’s brace and a goal from Dylan McGlade sealed all three points for the Midlanders. Galway, Longford Town, UCD and Cobh all have four points at the top of the table after the first two rounds of matches.

The Town unlocked the Wexford defence on six minutes when brilliant play from Mulhall and Meenan created an opportunity for O’Connor who shot just wide from just inside the box.

The Town’s passing let them down as several promising moves petered out and then Wexford almost equalised on the twenty minute mark. An excellent pull-back from near the end-line by Kenny picked out Hurley who whipped in a cross but Dobb’s glancing header was straight at Town keeper Kelly.

Four minutes later, Wexford had another chance to rattle the Town net when Slater ran onto a long diagonal ball over the top of the Town defence and turned inside his marker to create the space for a shot, however, Town stopper Kelly dived bravely at his feet to push the ball away to safety.

In the twenty-seventh minute the Town had the visitors under severe pressure as they earned four successive corners, the last of which resulted in O’Reilly heading O’Connor’s corner just over the Wexford bar.

Longford took the lead on thirty-seven minutes when Elworthy’s fine cross was side-footed to the Wexford net by striker Mulhall for his second goal in two games for the ‘Red & Black’.

Neale Fenn’s charges were unlucky not to be two-up at the interval as a thirty-yard thunderbolt from Town midfielder Verdon struck the butt of the Wexford post.

Five minutes into the second-half, Dobbs beat the Town offside trap but Town Keeper Kelly raced out of his box to superbly clear the danger ahead of Dobbs.

Two minutes later, a Mulhall effort was smothered brilliantly by Wexford keeper Bolger.

The home side had a very lucky escape on fifty-five minutes when a stunning twenty-five yard shot from Dean Kelly sailed over the stranded Town keeper Michael Kelly only to comeback off the woodwork.

In the sixty-fourth minute, Bolger produced an outstanding save from Hopkin’s fifteen yard shot to keep his side in the game, and ten minutes later Hopkins again came close to doubling the Town’s lead only for his rasping twenty-two yard strike to crash against the Wexford post after a poor clearance from Wexford keeper Bolger.

The Town deservedly went two-nil up on eighty minutes when Mulhall slotted home his second goal of the contest after superb play from substitute McGlade.

Longford Town sealed the victory on eighty-five minutes with their third goal. Wexford defender Kenny headed a cross against his own post and McGlade pounced to hammer home the rebound.

It was nearly four-nil in stoppage time as a Hopkins cross was fired towards the roof of the net by substitute Byrne only for Bolger to tip the shot over the bar.

Next up for Longford Town is a trip to Tolka Park next Friday to take on Shelbourne who include Longford Town’s all time highest goalscorer Davy O’Sullivan in their squad.