Longford Town take on Treaty United at Bishopsgate

Longford Town play their final game of the third series of First Division fixtures when they entertain Tommy Barrett’s play-off chasing Treaty United at Bishopsgate this Saturday night, kick-off 7.30pm.

Treaty are sitting in fifth spot in the table at the moment and that will guarantee them a place in the play-offs at the end of the season if things stay that way.

In Tommy Barrett the Limerick club Treaty have an excellent manager who is one of the best and most respected in the League of Ireland. 

Last season Treaty were surprisingly 7th at the end of year after being in the play-offs in 2021 and 2022 and these qualifications are a tribute to Barrett. 

Over the weekend Treaty picked up one point from the two games played, losing 3-2 to Bray on Friday and drawing 1-1 with Kerry at the Markets Field on the Bank Holiday Monday.

 In the game against Bray they had Stephen Healy sent off after only 28 minutes. Mark Byrne and Joe Hanson were the scorers against Bray. 

On Monday last Treaty played Kerry. Patrick Ferry gave Treaty the  lead on 65 mins but Kerry equalised in the 85th minute with a goal from new signing Lee.

 The Town and Treaty have already met twice this season and its honours even after the two games. 

The Town were at home at the end of March and they won the game 2-0. 

Aaron Doran 72 (penalty) and Emmanuel James (90 + 6) were the Longford goalscorers.

The second meeting between the clubs was in Limerick and on that occasion the home side had a resounding victory. 

A hat-trick from Molloy and goals from Vrljicak and Mahdy gave the home side a 5-1 victory. The Town consolation goal came from Eric Yoro. 

This Treaty team are a very hard working unit and they will fight to the final whistle in every game. 

Keeper Corey Chambers is one of the best in the league and he is one of the reasons that Treaty are chasing at the top end of the table. 

Ben Lynch and Lee Devitt are top class players while Mark Byrne is a quality midfielder who can conjure up some great goalscoring chances. 

Molloy and Wilson are players to watch as they run themselves into the ground for the club.

 The Town have lost the last 3 games this season against the top 3 in the league. On Monday last at Oriel Park the local side ran out convincing winners with four well taken goals.

Eoin Kenny, son of former Town and Republic of Ireland manager Stephen Kenny, gave Dundalk the lead and two goals from former Longford player Dean Ebbe kept the table toppers flying high with ten matches to go. 

The Town team that started in Oriel Park had a lot of new faces from that which played recently for the club.

Midfielder Sean Moore started the game in midfield while Mohammed Boudiaf also started. 

Andy Spain replaced Eric Yoro after only 6 minutes while recent signing from Athlone Town Kyle Robinson replaced Pharrell Manuel. 

The big surprise on the team was the absence of Aaron Doran in the midfield sector. He has been a revelation in midfield for most of the season and he was the main threat in recent games.

 With ten games remaining the pressure on teams to get results is really mounting for all different reasons.

 With the transfer window closed it will be the fittest of the teams chasing the vital results in the coming months.

The game on Saturday is very important for the Town, first of all we need the points and secondly we need to start moving up the table again. 

We hope that there will be a big turnout for this vital game and that the supporters will have something to cheer about.

After this week’s home game the Town take on  Shamrock Rovers in Round 3 of the FAI Cup at Tallaght Stadium on Sunday August 17. 

SSE Airtricity League First Division

Longford Town v Treaty United

 At Bishopsgate: Saturday 9 August

Kick-off 7.30pm