Shannon Town 1

Lifford 0

Shannon Town started there Premier League campaign with a hard earned win against a gallant Lifford team. Shannon Town started the brighter creating a couple of half chances through TJ o Dwyer and Gary o Connell. The first real chance of the game came after 20 minutes when a Kieran Hackett shot was saved and the follow up effort from Colin Scanlan was expertly saved by the Lifford keeper.  5 minutes later Darren Whelan was forced into a double save from a free kick and his quick reactions denied the Lifford Center forward from taking the lead. Both team continued to push for a goal but were denied by some good defensive play from both sides.

The 2nd Half started with some very poor play with both sides guilty of giving possession away too easily. Shannon Town kept pushing for the opening goal but the Lifford defense held firm. With 15 minutes remaining Shannon Town management made some chances bringing on Rob Wall and Ben O Neill. These had an instant effect with Rob dictating the midfield area and putting  Lifford on the back foot. As the 90th minute approached you’d have thought that a draw was the only result that was going to happen. In the 93rd minute Darren Griffin delivered a delightful Cross into the box for Gary O Connell to rise high and put a glancing header past the Lifford keeper. Lifford will be disappointed not to have taken a point but the Town lads won’t care with this vital win at such an early stage.

Man of the Match

Gary O Connell