Carrick maintain perfect start to the season

Irish Premiership

Limavady United 1 - 2 Carrick Rangers FT

Carrick Rangers maintained their perfect start to the season but they were made to work all the way for the points by Limavady United.

Anticipation was high around The Showgrounds before kick-off as they welcomed top-flight football back to the Rathmore Road venue for the first time in 18 years.

The Roesiders started brightly with on-loan youngster Alfie Gaston proving to be a real threat all game.

Two goals late in the first half did the damage as veteran Paul Heatley showed his class with a trademark finish on 38 minutes to put Carrick in front before Aidan Steele doubled their advantage four minutes later.

Gaston reduced the arrears on 54 minutes to set up a barnstorming second half, but for all their endeavour, Limavady couldn't find an equaliser as Stephen Baxter's men maintained their 100% start to the season.

It was the hosts who carved out the game's first opportunity with five minutes on the clock as the Carrick defence only half cleared Rodney Brown's cross and the alert Gaston drilled a low effort towards goal, which Nathan Gartside did well to block.

Coleraine loanee Gaston showed his quality again on 16 minutes as he scythed through the Carrick defence to set up John Butcher, but the impressive move was halted by the offside flag.

The visitors started to ask a few questions of their own with Danny Gibson forcing Marty Gallagher into a smart save before Heatley felt he had been upended by Stephen O'Donnell as he threatened to break away a minute later.

Carrick felt they should have had a penalty on 25 minutes as Mikey Place's run into the box was ended by a challenge from Brown, but his appeals were waved away.

Brothers Philip and Stephen Lowry combined on 34 minutes with the latter letting fly from outside the box, but his low drive was easily gathered by Gartside.

Just before half-time, the game swung in the favour of Carrick with two goals in four minutes.

Heatley bagged the first for the second week in a row, timing his run to perfection to latch onto Jimmy Callacher's through ball before dinking Gallagher.

Steele was then in the right place at the right time to tap home O'Connor's ball across the face of the Roesiders' goal.

Steele should have wrapped the points up four minutes into the second half as Gibson teed him up in front of the Limavady goal, but the midfielder screwed his shot wide of the post.

The home side would hit back to half the deficit on 54 minutes with Gaston smashing home from Philip Lowry's cut-back.

It could have been level before the hour mark as John Butcher saw a snapshot deflected for a corner and from the resulting set-piece, Sean Carlin blazed over after Gartside had spilled the ball.

The home went closer on 70 minutes as Philip Lowry's curling effort from outside the box smashed off the bar with Gartside beaten.

Five minutes later, Gallagher had to be alert to push away a powerful drive from Heatley as he went in search of his second of the game.

The Limavady stopper almost conceded a bizarre own goal late on as he misjudged Tiarnan Boorman's back pass with the ball rolling past the post.

There was still time for a couple of late efforts from the home side as Butcher curled wide before substitute Lewis Tosh fired into Gartside's hands but Carrick held on.

What they said

Limavady United manager Paul Owens: "I'm hugely frustrated with the result not the performance.

"There was a five minute spell before half-time where we conceded two goals similar to last week, but we got a really well-worked goal and that lit us up.

"That goal gave us belief and I thought we had a lot more courage in our play today and could have scored a couple more."

Carrick Rangers manager Stephen Baxter: "I knew with it being Limavady's first home game, and the whole town coming out to support them, it was always going to be a very difficult game for us.

"I thought they came at us like a house on fire and we had to deal with that.

"We started to play some good football and create good chances and we tucked two good goals away. Limavady came strong in the second half and scored after we missed three sitters, but we saw the game through."

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