LIMERICK FC’s near perfect season reached its highest point yet on Monday night when they reached the EA Sports Cup final courtesy of a memorable 1-0 win away to Derry City.
LIMERICK FC’s near perfect season reached its highest point yet on Monday night when they reached the EA Sports Cup final courtesy of a memorable 1-0 win away to Derry City.The Super Blues faced an 11-hour round trip to and from The Brandywell and were rank outsiders against the Premier Division side. But they pulled off a wonderful result to set up a final clash against either Shamrock Rovers or St Patrick’s Athletic, with reports suggesting that the Markets Field could host the decider on Saturday September 17.
After a strong start, Limerick took the lead in the 15th minute when Stephen Kenny finished to the net from close range. They survived sustained pressure from Derry throughout the second half to reach their first major cup final since 2002, when they last won this competition (they were also in the First Division that year).
Limerick captain Shane Duggan said afterwards: “It was a big goal for us at the start of the season. We wanted to be promoted in the league and to do really well in the cups. To get to a cup final is brilliant. All the effort the lads put in all season – they deserve it.
“It’s brilliant for the fans. They follow us all over the country, especially when things weren’t going so well and they continued to back us all the time. This is for them, something to be excited about in Limerick, which is great.”
That was the Super Blues’ second game of a busy bank holiday weekend which began with them defeating Shelbourne 2-0 at home to record an unprecedented 18th win out of 19 in the First Division.
Shels’ resistance lasted until the 41st minute, when Duggan cracked an exquisite long-range strike to the net, and Chris Mulhall doubled the lead with a diving header shortly after half-time to seal the points. Freddy Hall saved a penalty from James English in stoppage time to ensure a third consecutive clean sheet (now four after the win in Derry).
After the game, Limerick manager Martin Russell said: “The players have been great again. They’ve gone out trying to win the game playing in the right manner and they’ve achieved that. We created chances to score more but we’ll settle for the two.
“We always want to maximise it when we’re in the final third and get the rewards by scoring. We hit the post twice and you could say ‘is it going to come?’ and before half-time it did. It’s a good strike from Shane [Duggan] and that goes a long way.”
Also on Friday, Limerick were drawn against St Patrick’s Athletic in the third round of the FAI Cup. Russell’s side will travel to Richmond Park on the weekend of August 21/22, and this Friday they visit Drogheda United in the First Division (kick-off 7:45pm), where a win would put the Super Blues 23 points clear with eight games to play.
PATH TO THE FINAL
Round 1: Cobh Ramblers 2-4 Limerick FC
Round 2: Limerick FC 4-0 Wexford Youths
Quarter-finals: Limerick FC 2-0 Galway United
Semi-finals: Derry City 0-1 Limerick FC
