Not so many weeks back Limerick SF manager Mickey ‘Ned’ O’Sullivan was confidently predicting the prospects of promotion to Division Two of the Allianz National League for his troops.

Football manager, Mickey ‘Ned’ O’Sullivan

That view wasn’t wide off the mark in the wake of the opening round win over Louth at the Gaelic Grounds, but since then it has been a tale of woe for the Shannonsiders. Limerick have managed to pick-up a single league point since then and are under serious pressure to survive a dreaded drop to the bleak old times of life in Division Four, and with that no place in the qualifiers of the championship and only the much maligned Tommy Murphy Cup to occupy themselves with for the Summer months.

The latest set-back was a home defeat to Longford at Kilmallock’s Fitzgerald Park, robbed, for the umpteenth time, at the death. Limerick were in front with the game heading into stoppage time only for the wily Longford midfielder Paddy Dowd to sally up the pitch and plant a shot past ‘keeper Mike Jones.

Even after Dowd’s late strike, Limerick still had time for to steal the show, only for Ger Collins’ decent goal-bound effort to be deflected over the bar by the impressive visiting netminder Damien Sheridan. Longford skipped three points clear early-on, but a Seanie Buckley left Limerick on terms at the interval, 1-1 to 0-4. The new-half was a mirror image of what went before the break, with the visitors coasting in front and Buckley throwing Limerick another life-line with his second goal.

The 3-5 to 2-6 win for Longford eases there relegation worries, but still Limerick have a game in hand on others threatened with the trap door. Next weekend, O’Sullivan’s team are on the road for their re-arranged fixture with Down and a fortnight later wind-up their campaign with what is likely to be a huge outing at home to Leitrim at Pairc na nGael, a contest that will most probably decide their league status for 2009.

From the very moment he stepped into the role, O’Sullivan has been at pains to point-out that Limerick are in a “transition period” but still a drop from the dizzy heights of Division One last season to the strong possibility of Division Four next year simply doesn’t add-up. Surely now, only survival in Division Three will ensure another term for the Limerick manager!

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