LIMERICK FC welcome Shamrock Rovers to Markets Field on Friday night in the knowledge that defeat could seal their relegation from the Premier Division.
The match, which kicks off at 7:45pm and will be shown live on RTE, is set to have a ‘last chance saloon’ feel for the homeside, who remain two points adrift at the bottom of the table and will be desperate to climb ahead of Sligo Rovers ahead of their trip to The Showgrounds on the final day of the season.
Limerick go into Friday’s crunch clash with the Hoops on the back of a demoralising 0-2 home defeat to Derry City last Saturday, with second half goals from Mark Timlin and Barry McNamee ending any lingering relegation fears for the Candystripes.
Sadly, the Super Blues did not live up to that nickname last week, with manager Martin Russell admitting that his team fell below the required standard on the night.
He said: “We had an opportunity that we haven’t managed to take and there’s disappointment with that, but we’ve got to do what we’ve done before and regroup, push on to the next game and try to get a performance that gives us a chance of getting a result.
“We didn’t cause enough problems for them and, to be fair to them, they played well on the night, so you’ve got to give them credit.
“We missed a few chances and half-chances in the first half and, as we always say, the first goal is important. They get it from a second phase of set play, but all in all the levels of play have to be better.”
Russell will no doubt hope that Limerick can conjure a similar response to the one which followed their previous defeat, putting the Dundalk loss behind them to win in Galway, and he does not lack faith in his players.
“The one thing they are is honest and we’ll do the best we can in training to make sure that we have them prepared for Friday night and put a performance in that can get us a result.”
