The elements were reasonably kind, as despite a chilly wind factor the afternoon was dry and conditions fine. Franklin welcomed back Jon Carey, Mauricio Carillio and Adrian Ward to his squad but this was tempered by the sad news that Liam Kelly had suffered a recurrence of the injury which had kept him on the sidelines for several weeks and was unlikely to be fit to return to the fray in the current season. All three started the game with Martin Flannery and Paddy McGee filling substitute roles. A confident RISSC took immediate command of the game, with the central midfield partnership of Donnie Mullen and Gary Stockwell both individually and as a unit becoming increasingly effective. This dominance was instrumental in creating several scoring opportunities with the strike partnership of Carillio and leading goalscorer Mick Coffey going close on four occasions with the latter being particularly unfortunate not to score. Further chances fell to Tim Nagle, Stockwell and Ward but the Bristol City custodian was having one of those days when the ball appeared to be magnetically attracted to some part or other of his anatomy. Patience was the order of the day and the persistent pressure eventually manifested itself in the opening goal. Mullen fired a long range shot which took a deflection and looped over the head of the goalkeeper. RISSC continued to dictate matters and shortly before the interval, a series of controlled passes culminated in Nagle striking goal number two. The second half followed a similar pattern and on the hour mark, Stockwell joined his midfield partners on the scoresheet with another fine strike to create a three goal lead. Not to be outdone, the fourth member of the midfield quartet, Ward capped a fine personal performance when stealing in behind a hesitant visiting defence to score. With RISSC in absolute control, goalscoring chances continued to accrue but the visiting goalkeeper remained a formidable barrier. Goal number five ultimately arrived courtesy of full back Mark O’Connor who stole into the penalty area to convert a neat pull back from his defensive partner Dan Healey. The centre back himself converted the sixth and final goal of the match from a Ward corner. Franklin elected to give substitutes Flannery, McGee and Paul Lavelle a run out during the latter stages and such was the authority of the RISSC performance that each of them came close to adding to the goal total. While this was one of the team’s most complete performances of the season so far, a certain perspective must be retained as with the notable exception of their net minder, Bristol City were generally disappointing. The gap to the leaders cut by three points, the goal difference ratio reduced by six and another home fixture against lowly Blackburn Rovers on Sunday next, provides the team with the opportunity to maintain their forward momentum and place increasing pressure on the current league leaders. Team Darren Nolan Mark O’Connor, Karl McGee, Dan Healey, Jon Carey Adrian Ward, Gary Stockwell, Donnie Mullen, Tim Nagle Mauricio Carillo, Mick Coffey Substitutes Martin Flannery, Paul Lavelle, Paddy McGee |
