Longford Town snatch draw in dramatic late comeback
Goals from Fiachra McArdle and Derek Glynn in the space of three minutes in a dramatic finish saw Longford Town snatch a draw against Monaghan United at Gortakeegan on Friday night last.
Before the game many Town fans would have taken a point against a good Monaghan side. The Town were poor but in fairness they deserve credit for getting back into a game that they were never actually in contention to get a result.
Throughout the game they rarely threatened and never put a decent passage of play together. Monaghan dominated the majority of the game, created chances but their finishing let them down on a few occasions.
It could have been all different too for the home side if Town goalkeeper Aaron Shanahan had not have pulled off a fantastic save in the 80th minute to deny Philip Hughes his hat-trick.
Minutes later the Town were awarded a free-kick after Derek Glynn was fouled. Up stepped substitute Fiachra McArdle and he curled his shot past Monaghan keeper Darren Kelly from about 25 yards out.
Three minutes later and the game was all square; Peter Hynes flicked the ball back across goal and Derek Glynn made no mistake in heading past Kelly to give the Town a share of the spoils. It certainly atoned for his miss near the end of the first half that should have brought the Town back into the game when Monaghan were 1-0 up.
Manager Tony Cousins made a few changes to the side that defeated Finn Harps in their first game. Captain Philip Byrne missed out through injury while Chris Deans and John Lester were suspended.
Victor Ekanem came into the heart of defence for his first start for the Town while Ryan McEvoy, who came on against Harps, started in midfield alongside another debutant Mark Salmon. Regular goalkeeper Aaron Shanahan, who missed the Harps game with a muscle injury, returned to the side with Stephen Conlon dropping to the bench.
The opening 20 minutes of this game were the most entertaining; there was a goal, several other chances and two substitutions and they were all for the home side. The Town rarely threatened, such was the home sides dominance.
Was it that Monaghan were so good or the Town were so bad? In the first quarter of the game it was all Monaghan as they completely tore open their opponents. And when they sat back they were still in control.
The Town in truth were absolutely shocking in the first half. They started slow against Finn Harps but carved out chances in that opening half but against Monaghan they created nothing.
The game had just entered the second minute when Monaghan broke the deadlock; Sean Brennan found Philip Hughes with a throw-in from the left and the striker hit a superb half-volley that lobbed over the head of the helpless Shanahan. It appeared to get a slight deflection off Kevin Cronin's head.
It was all Monaghan in the early exchanges. They had a chance to double their advantage in the 6th minute; Cathal O'Connor played the ball into Hughes but his shot was deflected out for a corner.
O'Connor was involved in yet another move in the 13th minute that should have yielded a goal. The nifty winger found Hughes who in turn played the ball into Darragh Hannaphy but his finishing left a lot to be desired as he fired over from about 8 yards out.
The first save Monaghan keeper Darren Kelly had to make wasn’t until the 42nd minute and even then he didn’t have to exert himself too much. Derek Glynn beat defender Brian Gartland to the ball, found himself through on goal but instead of lifting his shot over the onrushing Kelly he decided to hit it low and the netminder was able to get down and gather. That miss was to prove costly because a minute later the home side went 2-0 up.
Referee Rob Rogers awarded a spot-kick for something that only he appeared to have seen. To everyone else in the ground it looked as if Monaghan striker Philip Donnelly had handled the ball and the whistle had been blown for a free out. Up stepped Hughes and he made no mistake in beating Shanahan for the second time.
It could have been worse for the Town three minutes after the restart; Town defender Derek Tyrell nearly beat his own keeper with a header from a backpass.
Even though the Town saw more of the ball in the second half they failed to create many decent scoring opportunities. Peter Hynes had a half-chance in the 51st minute but his header lacked power and it was cleared away by the Monaghan defence.
Monaghan though, always looked dangerous on the break and in the 68th minute Sean Brennan had a great opportunity to put the game beyond the Town but he blasted his shot over with the goal at his mercy.
Hughes had a chance to claim a hat-trick in the 80th minute but Town keeper Shanahan pulled off an excellent save to tip the striker’s effort over the bar.
Monaghan were made to rue those chances because in the space of three minutes the Town were back in the game thanks to those vital late goals from Fiachra McArdle and Derek Glynn.
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Weather for Longford, Ireland
Sunday 05 February 2012
Today
Light rain
Temperature: 5 C to 8 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: South west
Tomorrow
Light rain
Temperature: 5 C to 11 C
Wind Speed: 5 mph
Wind direction: North west
