| Rovers for Fourth with Longford win |
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| Monday, 04 September 2006 | |
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Two goals from Harpal Singh gave Rovers an excellent victory over Longford Town at Flancare Park on Sunday evening. The win moves Sligo Rovers into fourth position in the league and moves them further ahead of bottom half of the table.
TWO stunning goals from former Leeds United winger, Harpal Singh, gave Sligo Rovers victory over Longford Town at Flancare Park on Sunday evening and elevated Sean Connor’s side to fourth place in the eircom Premier Division-their highest standing for almost a decade. By Michael Moran, courtesy The Sligo Champion In a game which again underlined Longford’s lack of potency in attack, Singh struck once in each half to end Town’s eight match unbeaten run. His first came from a wonderful free-kick, curled home from twenty yards in the 17th minute and the second was a magnificent dipping volley on 59 minutes. Longford had no response and were left to rue a number of wasted chances as Rovers finished comfortably and might well have increased their advantage, but for the intervention of ‘keeper Mick Dempsey. Lively opening In many respects it was a strange sort of match, Longford starting brightly in a lively opening and playing the better football from the off. Indeed, Town should have been ahead before Rovers scored. Rovers, however, battled away and inspired by Singh’s eye catching strikes they frustrated the home team to earn all three points. The victory was enough to put Rovers behind Shelbourne, Derry City and Drogheda in the table and ahead of Cork City-temporarily at least-prior to the Leesiders fixture with St. Pat’s on Monday night. Having watched his side book their place in the last eight of the Carlsberg F.A.I. Cup with a win over Bray Wanderers last week, manager Connor made two changes to that line-up. With Gavin Peers serving a one match suspension, Gary Curran slotted in at right back and the cup tied Brian Cash returned, as Keith Foy was named on the bench. Early pressure Chris Turner filled Foy’s normal position, with Michael McNamara and Liam Burns in the centre and John O’Hara in goal. Match winner Harpal Singh began on the left side of midfield, Adam Hughes and Conor O’Grady in the middle and Fahrudin Kuduzovic on the other flank. Up front, Darren Mansaram was partnered initially by Brian Cash. O’Hara did all that was asked of him over the ninety minutes as the Rovers defence came under early pressure and were somewhat fortunate to escape unscathed. Curran picked up a knock in a tackle with Stephen Paisley and was replaced by Foy a minute from half-time, Turner switching to right back, where he had a solid second half. If Singh stole the headlines with his two goals, fellow midfielders, Hughes, O’Grady and Kuduzovic lacked nothing in effort throughout. Rovers frontmen, meanwhile, also worked hard but remained on the fringes and Cash looked happier in a more withdrawn role when Choice Aisien came on for Kuduzovic with fifteen minutes remaining. Aisien went close to grabbing his first goal for Rovers in the closing stages, while Paul McTiernan was also a threat in the eight minutes he was on the pitch at the end. Quick to settle It was Longford who were quick to settle and there were just 26 seconds gone when Alan Kirby shot wide from distance. Two minutes later, Longford won possession on their right, John Martin finding Alan Murphy and when his cross arrived in the area, David Freeman looped a header over O’Hara’s crossbar. Liam Burns got a vital clearance away ahead of Freeman as he chased a long ball over the top in the 4th minute and perhaps Singh gave an indication of things to come when he went close after Mansaram had headed down a Chris Turner throw-in. On six minutes, Turner floated a free-kick into the area and when the ball deflected off a Longford defender under a challenge from Mansaram, Michael McNamara headed wide at the back post. Conor O’Grady was then forced to take the ball off the line when Kevin Doherty was left unmarked from an Alan Gough corner and headed on for Freeman to direct his effort goalwards. Brian Cash fired over the top on ten minutes, before Rovers had a lucky escape a minute later when Mooney and Kirby played a neat one-two and with Mooney beating the offside trap on the return, he hit a low shot off the butt of an upright with O’Hara well beaten. Four minutes later, Mooney squandered a glorious opportunity to put Longford ahead, shooting wide from a good position having been set up by Stephen Paisley. Lead goal Rovers hit the front on 17 minutes when Fitzgerald fouled Conor O’Grady as he surged forward towards the Longford penalty area. Fitzgerald was shown a yellow card by referee Dave McKeown and from the resultant free-kick, Singh dispatched the ball to the back of the net for a superb opener. Longford responded with a Gough corner on 26 minutes which resulted in O’Hara saving a downward header from Paisley. Six minutes from the break, Alan Murphy nipped in ahead of Hughes as he prepared to pounce from a Singh corner on the right and Hughes almost made it two-nil on half-time, again meeting a Singh corner to force Dempsey into a somewhat sloppy save at his near post. Longford were again first out of the blocks on the resumption and Kuduzovic made a timely interception in the 46th minute to deny Kirby a chance in the Rovers area. Three minutes later, David Mooney’s dummy caught out Liam Burns and put Kirby in, but the midfielder shot well wide. Mooney brought a save from O’Hara in the 9th minute as Longford stepped up the search for an equaliser and a minute later, the Rovers ‘keeper held a long range free-kick from Alan Gough. Stunning volley Rovers made it two-nil in the 59th minute when the ball dropped invitingly for Singh more than twenty yards out and with a stunning left foot volley he found the roof of the net with Dempsey off his line. Six minutes later, Singh did well on the wing and crossed for Darren Mansaram, but he miscued in front of goal and Dempsey gathered safely. Adam Hughes ran from deep to shoot wide in the 65th minute, before Singh cleared off the line from a Danny O’Connor header following a Gough corner. Aisien was introduced for Kuduzovic with fifteen minutes remaining and the Nigerian striker forced Dempsey to palm away a shot in the 78th minute, the Longford ‘keeper also saving Conor O’Grady’s follow up. A minute later, Aisien’s header from a Singh cross was stopped by Dempsey and McTiernan brought another save from the Longford netminder with his first touch. Longford had some long-range shots in the dying minutes but they clearly lacked punch up front and paid a heavy price for it with Singh showing the way for a delighted Rovers. Longford Town-Dempsey, Gough, Murphy, Martin, O’Connor, Paisley, Kirby, Fitzgerald, Mooney, Doherty, Freeman. Subs-Baker, Byrne and Cronin for Martin, Fitzgerald and Mooney (65 mins). Sligo Rovers-O’Hara, Curran, Burns, McNamara, Turner, Kuduzovic, Hughes, O’Connor, Singh, Mansaram, Cash. Subs-Foy for Curran (44 mins), Aisien for Kuduzovic (75 mins), McTiernan for Mansaram (86 mins). Referee-Dave McKeown (Dublin). |
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