TRALEE DYNAMOS 2 LIMERICK F.C. 1

Tralee Dynamos Media Officer Padraig Harnett writes:

 Three, Two, One – The New Season Has Begun: 

Three points in the A Championship Cup, in season 2 after one game – the new season has begun with a victory in the opening group game of the inaugural A Championship Cup.

Dynamos lined out without the still injured Maurice O’Rahilly, Eoin Cassidy and Jonathan Burrows. However on the plus side Brian Fitzgerald and James Sugrue were back while Derek O’Shea in goal, Kevin McCarthy and Joe Hurley made impressive debuts.

Limerick started the stronger and put the Dynamos defence under a lot of pressure which Derek O’Shea had to be strong in the air to deal with.

Gavin Roche was proving dangerous from crosses and set pieces and it was his ball in that saw David McGrath opening the scoring with a spectacular over-head kick after 12 minutes.

Dynamos upped the tempo and a Joe Hurley free almost found the head of Brian Fitzgerald. Hurley then combined with James Sugrue and Peter McCarthy but the latter’s shot was too high.

The pace of the game was very frantic and Roche and Inuki nearly found David McGrath but Brian Fitzgerald proved too strong.

Eddie Duggan was finding a lot of room on the wing and Dynamos were forcing Limerick back and were unlucky not to get an equaliser when Chris Kerins put good pressure on keeper Brian Collopy. Indeed Kerins blocked down the Limerick keepers clearance but Collopy recovered to grab the rebound.

Dynamos were growing in confidence and from their next corner, taken by Hurley Brian Fitzgerald flicked on and Eddie Duggan headed goalwards only for the Collopy to turn the ball over the bar.

When Limerick did press forward Theo Diggins, Kevin McCarthy and Damien Locke were doing were well in getting vital blocks in.

In the 40^th minute another good move involving Sugrue, Damien Locke and Eddie Duggan almost saw Duggan getting in but the attack was repelled.

However the equaliser was just around the corner. Dynamos won a free kick about 35 yards out. Limerick put up a strong five man wall but somehow Chris Kerins found a gap around the side and put the ball into the bottom corner of the net with a classic ‘daisy-cutter’.

This goal seemed stun Limerick and Dynamos were on top for much of the second half. As with most of the first half Limerick were restricted to set pieces and corners and never really troubled the Dynamos defence too much.

The winner came in the 60^th minute when Peter McCarthy, who shortly after withdrew injured, found space on the left wing, cut in and does what he does best, place the ball into the net past a despairing keeper.

The pace of the game and hot weather certainly made it a tough opening game and James Sugrue and Brian Fitzgerald didn’t finish the game but this can be put down to their long lay-off and both will have benefited greatly for this run-out.

With six minutes of injury time Dynamos did have a nervous wait for the final whistle but it finally did came and so the first game of season two ends with the best possible result and so it onto Cobh Ramblers next Saturday night with high hopes of getting another win and getting one step closer to the semi-finals of this Cup competition.

Tralee Dynamos: Derek O’Shea, Theo Diggins, Damien Locke, Brian Fitzgerald, Kevin McCarthy, Adrian Quirke, James Sugrue, Joe Hurley, Chris Kerins, Peter McCarthy, Eddie Duggan. Subs Used Peter T McCarthy, Jeffery Roche and Ivan Maher. Subs not used Robert Birdsall and Chris O’Sullivan.

Limerick FC: Brian Collopy, Gavin Roche, Daniel Clinton, Declan Cahill, Pat Purcell, Dean Finnan, Peter Balough, Cian Doyle, David McGrath, David Inuki, Derek Daly. Subs Used Michael Sheehan, Alex Scully, Cillian O’Connor. Subs not used Aaron Leahy and Darren Lynch.

Officials: Kevin O’Regan, Stuart Templeman and Brian Healy.

Goal scorers Chris Kerins & Peter McCarthy with head coach Jason Fitzgerald

Joe Hurley, James Sugrue, Derek O'Shea and manager Sean O'Sullivan

Impressive debutants: Damien Locke & Kevin McCarthy

Darragh McGraths age 5 first photograph.

On the losing side this time former Tralee Dynamos youth Daniel Clinton

Eddie Duggan & Damien Locke. Who dunnit!!!!

Uros Ivkovic with Limerick F.C. 1st team Manager Pat Scully

Billy Dennehy with the McCarthy family.

Tralee Dynamos next game is away to Cobh Ramblers in the A Championship Cup next Satruday night at 7.30p.m. in St. Colemans Park.