IT WAS an eventful bank holiday weekend for Limerick FC, who had mixed fortunes in their two games at either end of the country in the Premier Division.
On Friday 3 they were on the cusp of a magnificent victory away to Derry City, only to lose 2-1 after conceding two late goals, but they atoned for that setback on Monday 6 with a 3-2 victory at Cork City, a win which lifted the Super Blues up to fifth in the table.
There was a strong suspicion of offside to Derry’s winning goal and, not for the first time this season, Limerick manager Stuart Taylor was left frustrated with decisions from officials.
He said: “The second goal is offside. I saw it again on MNS and I still say it’s offside but the linesman has made his decision for whatever reason.
“He’s given it and we have to deal with it, but once again the frustration after the game is that all their players commented to my players and said it was well offside. Again we’ve got to take it on the chin and move on.”
After that long, anti-climactic trip north, the Super Blues travelled to the other extreme of the country to face Munster rivals Cork City at Turner’s Cross on bank holiday Monday 6.
Former Limerick striker Denis Behan put Cork in front but Taylor’s men turned it around before the Leesiders equalised.
This see-saw game had one final twist on 73 minutes, Cork native David O’Leary scoring what proved to be the winning goal for Limerick on an eventful afternoon.
Taylor was thrilled with his players for grinding out a hard-fought win against their Munster rivals.
“I wouldn’t say we played ugly but we dug out a massive result at a very difficult place to go and everybody wants to win derby games, no matter how you win them.
“It shows that there’s good character in the boys to come from behind away from home in a derby game after a difficult game a couple of nights before and after a long journey.
“We’ve won games in terms of passing the ball and showing what we can do technically. We’ve now shown how we can grind out a result and show that mental strength and character.”
Following a hectic schedule on the road, the Super Blues now face into a home game against Drogheda United on Tuesday 14 at 7:45pm.
