Limerick FC’s relegation fears eased after they beat Bohemians 1-0 at the Markets Field thanks to Rodrigo Tosi’s 10th minute penalty. The home side missed several guilt-edged chances throughout the game and had to rely on a save from stand in captai
Limerick FC’s relegation fears eased after they beat Bohemians 1-0 at the Markets Field thanks to Rodrigo Tosi’s 10th minute penalty.
The home side missed several guilt-edged chances throughout the game and had to rely on a save from stand in captain Brendan Clarke to seal the vital victory.
Fellow strugglers St Patrick’s Athletic and Sligo Rovers had big wins before Limerick took the field and Clarke admitted that the win was badly needed.
“It’s a big win obviously looking at the results on Friday,” Clarke said. “I think everyone in the squad was keeping an eye on the scores.
“We knew that coming into the game we could only look after ourselves and we did that really well. To be honest, I think 1-0 flattered them.
Clarke kept Limerick in front with a penalty save from Georgie Poynton eight minutes before the half time break.
“I got into his head a little bit. As I spoke to him he moved his planting foot and it kind of changed direction. I went with my gut on that and thankfully it worked.
"It’s just one of those things. Another night he sticks it down the middle or into the other side and it’s 1-1 and we have to look for a winner. At least we had a goal to hold onto.
Limerick have struggled to keep clean sheets so far this season, but Clarke said that three points were all that mattered from the Bohs game.
“I said before the game that I didn’t care if we won 7-6 and all six goals were my fault. The three points were massive.
“We didn’t really speak before the game about tactics. It was all about just finding a way to win and doing it. The gaffer gave us shape defensively, but when we had the ball going forward we could do what we wanted really.”
Limerick lost to Shamrock Rovers last Tuesday and hadn’t won since early June in the league before the Bohs game, but Clarke said that that things have stayed upbeat within the squad despite the poor run.
“We didn’t get carried away after we lost the three games in a row and we are not going to get carried away with a win now. We know that we have a lot of work to do still.
“The last few weeks have been tough, mentally for everyone. We got in on the training ground and worked our socks off. That’s the only thing that will get us out of this trouble and we really have a group that will do that.
“The fans don’t see a lot of stuff that goes on in the training ground. They only see what happens on a Saturday evening and sometimes it might not click.
“What we would ask is that everyone sticks together. Fans, players and coaches. Everyone. That’s the only way that this club is going to go forward,” concluded Clarke.
