This article is from page 83 of the 2009-03-24 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 83 JPG
THIS was a must win for both teams and for very different reasons. Lif- ford, on the back of a disappointing loss to Newmarket on St Patrick’s Day, had to win to stay in with any kind of chance at league honours. The Newmarket defeat meant they missed on the opportunity to close the gap on leaders Bunratty and a successive defeat would almost cer- tainly have dashed their title hopes.
Moher, on the other hand, are bat- tling the long arm of relegation and needed to get something from the game to ensure they stayed in touch at the bottom of the table.
In the end, the game went accord- ing to league standings but it came with a scare for Lifford as well. Twice Moher lifted their game to reel in Lifford but eventually, Lifford had enough class and composure to see them through to securing that much needed victory.
In the early stages, it seemed as though Lifford could run away with the game as they took control of the game and on five minutes they were rewarded for their hard work when Ryan Boyle was on target.
Moher didn’t he down though and Johnny Daly popped up to direct a free kick to the net with a fine header that equalised proceedings. It an ac- tion packed first half, Lifford once more pressed forward and Roberto put them back in front after a neat dribble from the edge of the box saw him drive the ball low and accurately into the corner of the Moher goal.
But the away side still weren’t finished and just before the break, Shane Keane headed home Moher’s second goal to leave the sides locked at 2-2 at the break.
Just when it looked like Lifford could become frustrated with the lack of a breakthrough, David Mc- Carthy popped up with a superb strike. David McCarthy latched onto a cleared header and volleyed to the top corner from the edge of the box. From there, Lifford dominated and took the points to ensure they could still have a say in this year’s league.