Longford Town back on track with a vital win against Wexford FC

Longford Town . . . 2    Wexford FC . . . 1 

The best chance of a tepid opening fifteen minutes fell to Longford, but Viktor Serdeniuk fired well over from distance.

The home side had another opportunity five minutes later but Joshu Giurgi’s header from an O’Brien Whitmarsh cross was straight at Wexford keeper Noel Heffernan.

The visitors dominated the rest of the first half and missed several chances to rattle the Town net. In the twenty-fourth minute, a mistake from Town centre-half Cian Byrne allowed Brandon McCann to run onto a super ball from Darragh Levingston, but McCann’s lob over the advancing home Keeper Jack Brady sailed wide.

The Slaneysiders missed another great opportunity to take the lead just after the half-hour mark. Another great ball from Levingston put Aaron Dobbs clean through on goal, but his rushed shot was straight at Brady and the ball rebounded wide off the Wexford striker.

The visitors missed another gilt-edged chance just two minutes later. McCann’s perfectly weighted pass down the left wing released Dobbs and his pin-point low cross picked out Levingston at the back post, but his close-range strike was brilliantly saved by Brady.

Completely against the run of play, the Town took the lead on thirty-eight minutes. Giurgi found O’Brien Whitmarsh thirty yards out from goal, he cut inside from the right to a central position and played a cleverly disguised pass with the outside of his right boot to the overlapping Gavin O’Brien and his low cross was tapped home from close range by Magerusan.

Wexford deservedly equalised just three minutes later courtesy of Furlong. Reece Webb’s right-wing cross was flicked on by the head of Dobbs to the Wexford striker and he converted from six yards out.

The last opportunity of the first half came the way of the home side deep into stoppage time and should have been converted. Doona’s corner was knocked on by Aaron Walsh to fellow Town defender Cian Byrne, but he blazed over the Wexford bar when he should have scored.

Stephen Henderson’s charges were the better team in the second half and James Doona was just over with a shot from the edge of the box. Longford came close again on fifty-seven minutes, but Magerusan’s shot from a tight angle on the left was pushed around the post by Wexford stopper Heffernan.

Longford deservedly went ahead again on sixty-one minutes when a Magerusan ball across the Wexford box was fired home by O’Brien Whitmarsh.

Both sides failed to create anything of note after that, but Wexford were reduced to ten men on eighty-seven minutes when McCann was shown a straight red card for a tussle with Town defender Byrne.

Longford Town (4-4-2): Brady, O’Brien, Walsh, Byrne, O’Connor, Giurgi, Armstrong, Serdeniuk, Doona, O’Brien Whitmarsh, Magerusan. 

Subs:- Boudiaf for O’Brien & Ibrahim for Doona (both 81 mins). 

Wexford FC (4-4-2): Heffernan, Webb, Douglas, Lynch, Crawford, Levingston, Piper, McCann, Corbally, Dobbs, Furlong.

Subs:- Hanratty for Corbally (21 mins); Doran for Hanratty (72 mins), Fitzpatrick for Douglas (81 mins).

Referee: Jason Moore.