Limerick FC 4-4 Bray Wanderers
THE recent spate of glorious weather is bound to draw large numbers of Limerick people to Lahinch, Kilkee and the like, but 914 paying punters got value for their money at Thomond Park on Tuesday evening for this crazy 4-4 draw.
Bray took the lead three times but ultimately needed an 88th-minute Kevin O’Connor goal to leave with a share of the spoils, and there was still time for the midfielder to be sent off.
The goal glut started as early as the fifth minute when John Mulroy was left with time and space to set up Ismahil Akinade, who shrugged off the Limerick defenders’ challenges to finish into the corner of Barry Ryan’s net.
Three minutes later the Bray striker seemed destined to make it 2-0, only to be stopped in his tracks by the advancing Ryan. Referee Sean Grant booked Akinade for simulation, although on first viewing it appeared that he was impeded by the Limerick goalkeeper.
The home side, who were actually playing in their all-yellow away kit, had more of the ball in Bray’s half but were ripe for the picking at the back. On 12 minutes Kieran Marty Waters fed Mulroy, who was unmarked and one on one with Ryan, but somehow dragged the ball wide from close range.
Limerick continued to press for an equalising goal, but in the 36th minute their defence was unpicked again. A training ground free kick from Bray fell to Waters, who took the ball around Ryan and shot from a narrow angle, only to see the ball hit the post and roll wide.
On 39 minutes, not for the first time, a Shane Tracy free kick resulted in a goal. The set piece supremo didn’t score directly on this occasion; his shot was spilled by Bray goalkeeper Darren Quigley to the waiting Joe Gamble, who smashed it home.
The sides were level for a mere three minutes. The dangerous Akinade powered his way through the Limerick defence before slotting home to restore Bray’s lead just before the interval.
The goals kept flowing almost as soon as the second half began. Just two minutes after the interval, a Dave O’Leary corner was headed in from close range by Axel Bossekota.
The Belgian almost set up a third Limerick goal on 55 minutes, but his pass to the clean-through Darragh Rainsford didn’t meet its target and Bray cleared the danger.
This see-saw game hit a rare lull midway through the second half before exploding in the final 20 minutes.
Akinade was given the perfect opportunity to complete his hat-trick when a cross-field ball found him at the near post, but amazingly he headed wide.
From the resulting goal kick, Ryan played it short to Robbie Williams, who dallied in possession just outside his penalty area and was pickpocketed by Bray substitute Ryan Coombes. He had the easiest of finishes to give the visitors the lead for the third time on the night.
In the 77th minute the we score, you score pattern of the game continued as Craig Curran’s shot took a significant deflection, looping over Quigley and into the Bray net for 3-3.
Fast forward another two minutes and we were set to pencil in a fourth Bray goal, only for Ryan to produce a top-class save from Gary Dempsey. At the other end, Danny Galbraith broke through on goal but he was flagged offside.
The drama just kept going and in the 84th minute Limerick hit the front for the first time in the match. It was a carbon copy of their previous goal, a Curran shot aided by a deflection and finding its way into the net.
Bray manager Pat Devlin was then sent from the sideline as his team made a double substitution in a late bid to salvage something from this breathless game. It worked.
There were 88 minutes played when Waters curled a free kick into the Limerick penalty area and Kevin O’Connor’s glancing header found the net to make it 4-4.
He had barely finished celebrating his goal when, at the other end of the pitch, he tripped Rainsford and was shown a second yellow card. Four minutes of stoppage time were signalled and there was a sense that there could still be one more twist in this remarkable game, but a draw was probably the fairest result.
The draw enabled Limerick to consolidate sixth place, but they were only minutes away from pushing to within three points of Shamrock Rovers immediately above them. Then again, considering how this match turned out, maybe the point gained wasn’t so bad after all.
