AN EARLY contender for goal of the season from Dundalk’s Patrick McEleney was the difference between the County Louth side and Limerick FC at Oriel Park on Friday night.
Despite the result, Martin Russell’s side can take many positives from the game as they battled well throughout but in the end, Stephen Kenny’s men did just enough to hold on for all three points.
As expected there was a lively start to the game and Dundalk nearly opened the scoring in the first minute but Robbie Benson could only watch on as his header went wide of Freddy Hall’s post after an excellent free-kick from Patrick McEleney.
A minute later, provider nearly turned into goalscorer as McEleney latched onto a loose ball but he could only drag his shot wide.
Limerick had their first notable chance of the game with nine minutes on the clock when Stephen Kenny hit a rasping shot narrowly over the bar.
Two minutes later, a superb Shaun Kelly cross was narrowly missed by Rodrigo Tosi to the delight of the Dundalk defence.
The opening half an hour was even with several half-chances for both teams, but from a Limerick perspective Lee-J Lynch came close with 15 minutes gone after Stephen Kenny cleverly squared the ball to the edge of the host’s penalty area but the shot was easily held by Gabriel Sava.
As the game progressed, Dundalk began to up their tempo and their foothold on the game was rewarded through a wondergoal from Lilywhites’ star Patrick McEleney.
McEleney punished Limerick after some sloppy play in midfield as he unleashed a sensational shot into the top corner, leaving Hall stranded in goal.
Both sides battled well for possession but Dundalk had the better of the chances in the remaining minutes of the first half despite the penalty claim turned away after Niclas Vemmelund appeared to push Rodrigo Tosi in the back.
The Super Blues had their fair share of possession again in the second half as Dundalk looked satisfied with their slender lead.
It was a nervy second half for Dundalk as Limerick battled hard to try to find an equaliser and to their credit, the visitors controlled many periods of the remaining minutes but Martin Russell’s side failed to break down a resilient and physically strong Dundalk side.
In the dying minutes, substitute Ian Turner crossed to Tosi, though his header was straight at Sava as the Brazilian watched on as his effort was saved by the Dundalk goalkeeper.
Martin Russell’s side will take pride from their effort against the champions as they now look forward to a home tie at the Markets Field against Bohemian FC with kick-off at 7:45 pm on Monday, March 13th.
Dundalk: Gabriel Sava; Sean Gannon, Brian Gartland, Paddy Barrett, Niclas Vemmelund; Michael Duffy (Chris Shields 81), Jamie McGrath (John Mountney 66), Patrick McEleney, Ciaran Kilduff (Thomas Stewart 74), Robbie Benson, Conor Clifford.
Subs not used: Ben Kelly, Dane Massey, Steven Kinsella, David McMillian.
Booked: Conor Clifford (80), Niclas Vemmelund (90).
Limerick FC: Freddy Hall; Shaun Kelly, Tony Whitehead, Robbie Williams, Tommy Robson; Paul O’Conor (Garbhan Coughlan 77), Shane Duggan; Stephen Kenny (Ian Turner 61), Lee-J Lynch, Dean Clarke (Chiedozie Ogbene 82); Rodrigo Tosi.
Subs not used: Brendan Clarke, Killian Brouder, Bastien Hery, Chris Mulhall.
Booked: Shaun Kelly (6), Stephen Kenny (58)
Referee: Robert Harvey (Dublin)
Attendance: 3,286
