Mid season Report Card -- Longford Town

Club: Longford Town

Manager: Neale Fenn

Stadium: City Calling Stadium

Highest attendance this season: 725 vs Shelbourne.

Highest league goalscorer: Dean Byrne (7).

Mid-season position: 2^nd

How we thought they would do

As a collective, the Extratime.ie staff predictions expected a strong promotion push for Longford Town. Neale Fenn bolstered his ranks during the off-season, and it was expected that his side could go one further than last term as De Town missed out in the narrowest of circumstances to Drogheda United.

How they really have done

After a rip-roaring start to the season, going eleven games unbeaten in the league, things have started to unravel slightly for Longford Town in recent weeks.

Having only conceded two goals in the opening two months of the season, Town have shipped nine goals in their previous seven. While they are still defensively very solid with the best defensive record in the First Division, goals have become hard to come by for Neale Fenn’s side.

De Town, for all of their dominance at times, have only scored three goals twice in a game all season. their issues in front of goal are emphasised even more clearly by strikers Aaron Dobbs and Jamie Doyle only scoring three times between themselves in their seventeen league games to date.

Longford are well in the mix and will perhaps feel hard done by to come away from their trips to Tolka Park and the Carlisle Grounds pointless in recent weeks, but it is becoming abundantly clear that more goals will be needed in order to sustain their promotion push.

Moment of the season so far

Ignored by many during the off-season, Longford Town went into the 2019 First Division unfancied. Obviously, the departures of Micheal Kelly, Daniel O’Reilly and Dylan McGlade caused worry among the club’s supporters, but Neale Fenn constructed a very well-rounded squad during the off-season.

With much of the talk surrounding Shelbourne and their reported budget, Longford’s home tie against the Reds in March was always going to be a tasty affair. Town went ahead thanks to a Peter Hopkins shot from outside the area before Karl Chambers sealed the deal late on.

De Town’s win over the Reds instilled a genuine feel that Longford were title contenders, and should they turn in similar performances against those around them at the top of the table, the First Division may very well be in waiting for the Midlander’s.

Star Player: Dean Byrne

There have been plenty of star performers in this Longford Town side so far this season. However, Dean Byrne has asserted himself as a key player in De Town’s promotion push. His threat on the wing has posed many questions of opposition defences with his seven goals proving telling thus far. The young Dubliner has enjoyed a fine 2019 and there is plenty of scope for the attacking threat to push on even more in the coming months. 

Surprise star player: Anto Breslin

Coming from Wolves during the off-season, Anto Breslin has nailed down a starting berth at left-full back for Longford Town this term. Breslin has turned a weak point of Longford Town’s side into one of their strongest assets. The 22-year-old has a weapon of a left-foot which is very dangerous at set-piece scenarios while his long-throw ins are certainly a key point of attack for Neale Fenn’s side. The former Republic of Ireland under-19 international could very well move on soon enough but his contribution will prove key during the second half of a fiercely competitive First Division season.    

Young player: Aodh Dervin

It has been another stellar year at the office for Longford Town’s Aodh Dervin. Dervin has proved to be an instrumental part of all things good about De Town’s play with his tireless play and fierce tackling proving key. The homegrown product of Longford Town’s academy has been raising eyebrows with his impressive start to the season and it will be interesting to see where his future lies should his boyhood club fail to get promoted to the Premier Division come the end of play this season.

Star signing: Conor Kenna

Keen to fill the void left by Daniel O’Reilly, Longford Town secured the pivotal signing of experienced campaigner Conor Kenna during the closing stages of the off-season. Kenna, a Premier Division league title winner has proved to be a major part of Longford’s impressive early season defensive solidity. Having played every minute of every league game to date, the 34-year-old has proved he is more than capable to perform consistently at the top level, with his experience and game management key for a quite young Longford Town squad. 

What they need to do in the transfer market

If you are to look at the statistics, one area that the Midlander’s are lacking in is a regular goalscoring forward. It proved to be their achilles heel last term and it is starting to bear fruit once more for Neale Fenn’s side.

While they do possess the attacking duo of Aaron Dobbs and Jamie Doyle – both very capable finishers on their day – a consistent scorer is badly needed. As well as holding onto key assets such as Dervin and Byrne, an additional quality striker is turning into a requirement at this stage.

Goal-scorers are hard to come by in the League of Ireland so Fenn may once again be forced to look at potential players in the junior ranks in order to add a few more badly needed goals to his side.

Where we see them finishing

Longford are still well on course to secure a Playoff spot despite all of their recent struggles against the sides around them in the league table. Home fixtures against Shelbourne, Drogheda United and Bray Wanderers will prove decisive as they look to rediscover their imperious early season form.

Sitting four points behind Shels with just ten to play, all hope is certainly not lost for the Red and Black of the Midlands. The First Division is set up for more points to be dropped by the bigger sides, so it is imperative that De Town remain consistent during the remaining few weeks of the season.

A FAI Cup run will always be most welcomed at City Calling Stadium, but the league campaign is the priority. This squad is more than capable of matching, or even exceeding Shelbourne in the race for promotion but a Playoff spot will probably suffice still. However, the threat posed by Drogheda United in third spot will be something that Neale Fenn and co. will need to stay wary of.