The LCRFC footballers made the trip to Strabane to take on Sion Swifts for the first time in 4 seasons on Saturday.
A number of absentees forced manager Colly Hartin into a reshuffle of formation and of personnel with Stevie McCluskey debutising in goal and Conor Guy making his debut in midfield.
On a soggy pitch at Camus Park both sides cancelled each other out for the first half hour with a few half chances being created by both sides but both teams proving wasteful.
Limavady took the lead on the half hour mark with a fantastic half volley by Ricky McMullan looping up over the Sion goalkeeper from a tight angle. The goal getting him off the mark for the season. It was a great strike and an early contender for Goal of the Season.
Limavady took their eye of the ball and conceded an equaliser 5 minutes later after a well worked piece of play by Sion on the counter attack but the Limavady defence could have done better with runners failing to be tracked from midfield.
The soggy pitch helped Sion go into the break with a 2-1 lead when right on the stroke of half time the ball took an awkward bounce of the turf and was stuck under Limavady left back Bobby Gordon’s feet. A Sion player stole possession and squared for their number 9 to tuck past McCluskey who was caught slightly out of position.
Colly Hartin reshuffled the formation at half time to a flat 4-4-2 and it worked superbly with makeshift right winger Oisin Fleming combining with right full back James Smyth to square for Gerdy O’Kane to slide in his first of the day.
It was no more than the Roesiders deserved and with the clock ticking down neither side would be happy to go home with a share of the spoils.
LRFC got their match winner in the 88th minute with success down the right flank again. Fleming again put in a great cross to the back post where James Smyth saw his first time shot cleared on the line and a welcomed piece of luck saw the ball land to Gerdy O’Kane to dispatch his second of the day into the far right corner of the net.
A vital win at a ground where the Limavady men have had mixed results over the years. Credit to Sion for a hard fought game in difficult conditions.
Starting XI:
GK – Stevie McCluskey
RB – James Smyth
CB – Fergal Hartin
CB – Blane McIlmoyle
LB – Bobby Gordon
CDM – Shane Allen
CM – Oisin Fleming
CM – Steven Young
CM – Conor Guy
CF – Ricky McMullan
CF – Gerdy O’Kane
Substitutes
Simon Irwin (replaced G. O’Kane 89 mins)
Dylan O’Brien (replaced C. Guy 65 mins)
Gareth Douglas
Andy Irwin
Man of the Match: Ricky McMullan
