Alan Matthews and his Longford Town squad travelled to West Wales with a two goal advantage from the first leg played in Flancare Park last week and given their recent pedigree in national cup competitions were optimistic of progressing to the next stage of this UEFA Cup competition.

On a wet and windy evening, Longford resisted early pressure from their Welsh hosts and appeared to have weathered the storm when in the sixteenth minute they conceded a goal scored by the Carmarthen striker, Thomas. Longford were thrown a lifeline four minutes later when they were awarded a penalty which was expertly dispatched by Andy Myler. The remainder of the first half passed without too much incident and Longford went in at half time in a commanding position as a result of the away goal.

The second half proved an unmitigated disaster for the midlanders as Carmarthen threw caution to the wind and attacked at every opportunity. They made an early breakthrough after four minutes when Lloyd put them ahead again on the night. The same player then converted a penalty some twenty minutes into the second half to make the aggregate score 3-3 but Longford still had the advantage of the away goal.

Regretably, Longford were unable to hold out and Carmarthen were justifiably rewarded for their attacking enterprise with further goals in the 75th and 80th minutes. This was indeed a very sad night for Longford Town and Irish football as a whole.

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An excited crowd of more than 6,000 filled Turner Cross for the visit of Lithuanian league leaders FK Ekranes for the second leg of the UEFA Cup first qualifying round. City had played excellently in the first leg and returned to Cork with a two goal advantage which the home fans expected them to build on.

Prior to the game, manager Damian Richardson had warned of the danger presented by the opposition and how right he was. Richardson set out his side in similar fashion to the previous week’s away leg in what was unquestionably a containing policy. The measure appeared to be justified during a quiet first half with virtually no chances created by either side.

The first real opportunity of the match came minutes into the second half and fell to Liam Kearney who blasted his close range shot over the crossbar following some fine build up play from George O’Callaghan and Roy O’Donovan. City received a rude awakening on fifty nine minutes when from a free kick delivered into the penalty area a Lithuanian head flicked the ball off the post and into the net.

The goal gave the visitors a great boost and shook the confidence of City, who came under increasing pressure at the back. The home side had goalkeeper Mark McNulty to thank for a magnificent save in the closing stages, which prevented FK Ekranes from taking the tie into extra time. Still, Cork survived and will be looking forward to tomorrow’s draw with no little element of anticipation and excitement.