NE started well in the second half and, on two minutes, NE's Nobby Kearney shook off a Liffey defender and smacked a volley off the far post with the Liffey keeper beaten. Key moment of the match then occurred on the fourth minute when the best player on the pitch, Liffey's Aidan (?) Roche got taken down for a penalty for Liffey. However, it was hit at a nice height for Lee Walker in the NE goal who managed to push it away comfortably enough for a corner. However, NE committed the cardinal sin at that corner to let Aidan Roche run unimpeded towards the near post and he planted the ball home with a header to put Liffey two up. On eight minutes, Kyle Dempsey came on in place of Warren Broaders and the new NE substitute did well enough from then on to pose the question that he probably should have started. NE pressed forward well for the remainder of the half without threatening to score as the excellent Liffey keeper managed to gather virtually everything that came into the box. With 25 minutes gone, Liffey had a rare break to make it 3-0 but Lee Walker got down to save. NE continued to press and Shane Dempsey had a chance with his left but dragged it wide and Decky Downes for NE headed over at the far post. With three minutes to go, a Shane Dempsey effort which was blocked by a Liffey defender was called a handball just outside the Liffey box. Shane Dempsey smacked it home with the Liffey keeper stranded on the other side of the goal for 2-1 but with virtually only injury-time left. In the last minute of injury-time, a Liffey defender nearly headed the ball into his own net, but it flew about a foot over the top right corner of the goal to give NE only a corner. That corner didn't beat the first defender and Liffey came out narrow winners on a 2-1 scoreline. NE were a credit to football in Wexford and might have done more if they had got their first goal earlier in the game.
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