League Report: Limerick 2 - 0 Cobh Ramblers

Limerick made it 16 wins from 17 SSE Airtricity First Division games with a facile 2-0 victory over Munster rivals Cobh Ramblers at Market's Field. Goals from captain Lee-J Lynch and industrious attacker Chris Mulhall were enough to see off a well organised Ramblers outfit. 
 
Aaron Greene had gone close in the opening exchanges, while Cobh looked to set pieces to threaten Freddy Hall in the Limerick goal. The home side settled into their stride and hit the front with an individual piece of class.
 
Lee Lynch played the ball through the legs of his opponent before settling himself and unleashing a drive which whistled past Paul Hunt in the Cobh goal. The Blues were good in possession throughout the game but they struggled to break down the Cork side. 
 
The lead was nearly doubled when Shaun Kelly, making his 100th competitive start in Blue, brought a good save from Hunt with a deflected shot.
 
The resultant corner was recycled and Kelly swung the ball onto the head of Chris Mulhall who made no mistake to leave Limerick two goals to the good and comfortable on 32 minutes. 
 
The change of ends witnessed a drop in intensity, where Limerick struggled to dominate Cobh like they had on three previous occasions this season. Midway through the second half Gustavsson brought a fine stop from Hall after sloppy passing from the home side. 
 
Limerick were wasteful as chances from Greene, Mulhall and Shane Duggan were passed up, with the third goal proving elusive. The return of Duggan, however, was to the delight of the home support. Jonathan Creamer fired wide late on as the visitors fought to the last whistle. 
 
The win leaves Martin Russell’s side 19 points clear of second placed UCD, while Stephen Henderson’s outfit are now three points off the play-off spots with 11 games to play. 
 
 
Limerick: Freddy Hall; Shaun Kelly, Paudie O’Connor, Tony Whitehead, Sean Russell (Shane Tracy 85);  Lee Lynch, Paul O’Conor, Sean McSweeney (Shane Duggan 60); Stephen Kenny (Ross Mann 79), Aaron Greene, Chris Mulhall.
Subs not used: Tommy Holland (gk), Robbie Williams, Shane Costelloe, Garbhan Coughlan.
 
Cobh Ramblers: Paul Hunt; Charlie Fleming, Ben O’Riordan, Kevin Mulcahy, Cian Kingston; Anthony O’Donnell (Graham McCarthy 78),  Shane O’Connor, Garry Commerford, Darren Murphy, Eoin McGreevy (Jonathan Creamer 65); Marcus Gustavsson (Rob Lehane 65).
Subs not used: Stephen Christopher, David Browne.
Booked: Kingston (58), Comerford (68), Murphy (72).
 
 
Referee: Eoghan O’Shea (Tipperary).
Attendance: 1,191.
Extratime.ie Man of the Match: Lee Lynch (Limerick).

    About Tom Clancy

    Introduced to the League of Ireland in 2005, Tom has seen Limerick play at four different grounds down the years. He began writing for Extratime in late 2013 and was delighted to report on the … View Full Profile