Longford town two pats one!

[Martinho II]

De Town are back to last seasons form tbtg! this game was definitely the best of the season so far! it was a joy to see both teams attacking each other at will in a good encounter! Pats hit the crossbar! alan kirby missed two sitters! even shane barrett had a good game!

very hard to give a MAN OF THE MATCH but personally speaking i would give to Shane Barrett! barrett was back to his best attacking players at will! the town movement on and off the ball was a revelation and there were some class passing movements from our midfield!

my ratings from last nite!

digger 7 very dominant in the air made some class saves
murphy 7 very good support role from el murph worked hard
garto 8 class header for second goal! him and barry are a very promising defensive partnership
fergie 7 very aggresive defending but dominant and it worked
prunts 7 showed some class touches and class flicks
barrett 9 excellent game he is back and he will crucify shamrock rovers
perth 6 sound game still makes stupid errors
deano 8 ever since he has cum back into the 1st team ,he is the dominator ands him and vinny are a nice barrier in central midfeild
kirbs 5 average game missed two chance s to score! needs a goal to settle his nerves
the ladykiller lavine 7 supported well in attack worked himself to the ground
dessie 7 super game from the baker boy hit some class balls and nearly scored a screamer near the end

all i can say is that we are back ,the confidence is bursting thro their veins and i believe we have another three home games to play before we play away so heres hoping that this home bogey will disappear and the stayaways will cum back to us!

fair dues to the pats supporters-they brought a huge crowd with them and caseys goal for them was class! good atmosphere as well even though section o was small in nos compared to their normal standard!

[Flea]

very hard to give a MAN OF THE MATCH but personally speaking i would give to Shane Barrett! barrett was back to his best attacking players at will! the town movement on and off the ball was a revelation and there were some class passing movements from our midfield

I completely agree Martinio, a great performance was had by all, and a vital 3 points, shame about the poor crowd. I would also give my man of the match to Shane Barrett. He probably was only second best to Fitzgerald on the night but the improvement he has been making recently is admirable. He has come under a lot of fire this season from particular fans mainly due to the fact that he was unable to turn on the style that we saw from him last season. Most of all though was his commitment- fighting for every ball! especially after just losing it.

The best players on the night for me were
Gartland- 9 - solid!... and a good goal too!
Barrett- 10 - good improvement on recent games and fabulous commitment
Fitzgerald- 10 - the midfielder we've been craving for since stuie byrne left

[A face]

Saints lose to Longford

Longford Town 2-1 St. Patrick's Ath
A second half header by Graham Gartland gave Town all three points in a relegation clash at Flancare Park last night.

The winner came from a free kick whipped across the box by Dessie Baker and Gartland was there to head into the top corner from ten yards out.

Read more at www.soccercentral.ie

[observer]

For me Dessie Baker was the man of the match as he had a hand in every creative move produced by the Town. When he stirs himself he was the ability to open defences. A pity he dos'nt do it more often. Barrett is almost back to his best and adds a whole new dimension to the team when he is on song. Also agree that Deano appears to be the solution to the midfield problems. I thought Kirby worked his socks off but his confidence in front of goal is gone. Still, one good strike can solve that problem. All in all the Town played some excellent football, except for a 20 minute period in 2nd half when they lost the plot. A great morale boost following on the Waterford win. Confidence is now well up for the Cup game.

[Pauro 76]

Thats an excellent result, well done Town!! by the sounds of it, Deano is fast becoming the next terrace hero...

[Xlex]

almost fair enough assessments but I dunno how you can credit Lavine and Baker with 7's. Lavine caused the Pat's goal by setting up their attack. Baker was at the centre of most things and had a vital say in both goals. It was a great team performance but really I think Baker was MOM by a nose hair. Nice to see Barrett back to his former self.

Poorest player was Vinny, but he was good on Sat. In fairness to the team, there was fair relief to get a good performance at home but any Pat's - Longford tie always produces the goods. Two wins on the trot has arrived at a good time for town. I'm also getting a little concerned for Digger and we will need to look at number 1 for next year. Still commands his box well though.

Pat's are on a downward curve.

[De Town]

Brilliant result alright, Hopefully thats the start of a good run that we have been crying out for.

My Ratings:

Digger-8- Was left exposed for the goal, Great save from Fahys free kick and very commanding in the air.
Murph-8- Good going forward and defensively sound. Good finish for the goal aswell.
Baz-7- Good performance, worked well with Garto.
Garto-8- As above, great header for goal.
Prunts-8- Some lovely touches and never lets us down, Solid.
Kirbs-8- I thought Kirbs was brilliant, even if he did fcuk 2 glorious chances up! Worked tirelessly and created a few chances.
Deano-9- Someone mentioned it above, the replacement for Stuie Byrne. Some great tackles and covered Vinny very well.
Vinny-5- Very poor performance, dont think he's up to Premier standards. He's way too slow.
Barrett-9- His pace seems to be finally coming back. Very good going forward, but sort of forgot he had to get back sometimes.
Eric-9- Works so hard, I really hope he scores soon because of his workrate.
Dessie-8- Played very well and created a lot, but i just feel he doesnt work hard enough for the team.