Promotion play-off hopes rattled as Longford Town crash to disappointing defeat away to Wexford FC

Wexford FC . . . 2    Longford Town . . . 0 

Goals from Luca Lovic and former Town player Aaron Dobbs sealed a crucial win for the home side to move them up to fourth in the table, while Longford have now only taken one point from their last three games which leaves them eight points behind Athlone in the final play-off place with just four games remaining.

The Town only had two efforts on goal in the entire match and the second attempt did not come until the last minute of normal time. Longford’s passing, focus, and general all-round play was very poor throughout the match.

Dylan Hand came to the visitors’ rescue in the third minute as he brilliantly blocked Darragh Levingston’s goal bound shot.

The next close call for the Town came in the twenty-second minute as Dobbs headed narrowly wide from a James Crawford corner.

Wexford deservedly took the lead just after the half-hour mark when they won a corner after a mix-up between Longford keeper Jack Brady and defender Lewis Temple who got in each other’s way trying to deal with a Reese Webb cross. 

Temple put the ball out for a corner when Brady was about to catch the cross, and Lovic rose highest to head home from Crawford’s subsequent corner.

Wexford dominated the game but the Town almost snatched an undeserved equaliser in the 44th  minute. A Dylan Hand throw-in came back to him inside the Wexford box but he blazed his effort over the bar.

The home side almost doubled their advantage just three minutes into the second half  when striker Thomas Oluwa received the ball twenty-five yards out from goal. He brushed off the challenge of Temple, charged into the box where he completely wrong footed Hand with sublime footwork, weaving one way then the opposite way, only to strike the post with his 12-yard shot.

Two minutes later a confident Oluwa tried his luck from distance but his shot was easily saved by Town keeper Brady.

The killer second goal arrived on fifty-three minutes and it was a brilliant strike for James Keddy’s charges. A throw-in down the right found Oluwa inside the Longford box and he turned his marker before playing a superb ball into the path of Dobbs.

Dobbs exquisitely dribbled past Temple and Hand, and then evaded the attempted challenge of Joshua Giurgi before drilling the ball to the back of the Town net for a superb goal.

Late on, another former Town player Mark Hanratty almost made it three-nil but after beating two Town players he was off target with his shot.

Despite ringing the changes with the introduction of several substitutes including the strike duo of Cristian Magerusan and Beineon O’Brien Whitmarsh, the Town’s performance failed to ignite and their inept display was thoroughly punished by the home side who romped to a comfortable victory.

Longford’s second attempt on goal in the final minute of normal time resulted in Wexford keeper Owen Massey producing a smart save from O’Brien Whitmarsh after he had been set-up by Magerusan.

WEXFORD FC: Mason, Crawford, Browne, O’Malley, Webb, Corbally, Lovic, Boyle, Levingston, Oluwa, Dobbs.

Subs:- Hanratty for Oluwa (69 mins), Furlong for Levingston (72 mins), Robinson for Boyle, Kenny for Dobbs (both 84 mins).

LONGFORD TOWN:  Brady, O’Brien, Temple, Hand, O’Connor, Giurgi, Armstrong, Wixted, Boudiaf, Jordan Adeyemo, Ola Adeyemo.

Subs:- Fay for Armstrong (half-time), Magerusan for Jordan Adeyemo, Doona for Wixted, O’Brien-Whitmarsh for Giurgi (all in the 63rd minute), Daly for Ola Adeyemo (65 mins).

Referee: Paul Norton.