Shels (H) 27-04-13

[kingpin4]

Really should have won. Absolutely terrible game to watch. The sending off killed it as a game.

But as negative as they were, we weren't much better. Real opportunity missed to open up a gap on Cork.

[Jofspring]

Ya missed a big opportunity. Sending off actually killed the game. We ran the first half and were terrible in the second. Lack of quality on the bench that could change the game really showed up tonight. Shels are terrible but with 10 behind the ball we didn't look much better.

The most annoying thing for me was the idiots booing at the end of the game. Fair enough it was a poor performance and 2 points lost but you have to support your team through every kind of result. Something a few people clearly don't understand.

[nosebleds]

Ya missed a big opportunity. Sending off actually killed the game. We ran the first half and were terrible in the second. Lack of quality on the bench that could change the game really showed up tonight. Shels are terrible but with 10 behind the ball we didn't look much better.

The most annoying thing for me was the idiots booing at the end of the game. Fair enough it was a poor performance and 2 points lost but you have to support your team through every kind of result. Something a few people clearly don't understand.

l would agree with the booing no need for it whatsoever,about lack of quality on the bench dont agree,for me the players on the field didnt turn up,just my opinion from what i seen.

[kingpin4]

l would agree with the booing no need for it whatsoever,about lack of quality on the bench dont agree,for me the players on the field didnt turn up,just my opinion from what i seen.

You're right, there were some poor performances tonight. Gaffney isn't 100% yet and Curran ran around a bit but didn't look like scoring really.

But there isn't really a plan B other than putting Aaron Brown up front for last 10 mins to try nick a goal. No sign of Foley?! (Still injured?) Axel was a huge loss, and there wasn't really much point giving Judge 3 mins to try do something.
Disappointing, but things could be worse. Referees definitely have something against Galbraith too IMO.

[Jofspring]

l would agree with the booing no need for it whatsoever,about lack of quality on the bench dont agree,for me the players on the field didnt turn up,just my opinion from what i seen.

I agree most on the filed didn't turn up but also felt we didn't have any options off the bench. Have felt that way about most games so far. Been unlucky with having everyone fit also.

[NeverFeltBetter]

Truly disgusted for the first time this season. Some really bad football played tonight.

I kind of wish the sending off didn't happen, since Shels just packed out their defence for the rest of the game, shut the door. Had a pretty good view of the incident, Curran seemed to trip as he went for the ball and went into the guys back. Ref blew, I assumed it was Shels free, was checking my phone when suddenly everyone was shouting. Saw the red, and for a second I thought he'd sent Curran off. Can't understand why the red was shown, Ref had a much better view than I did. Did he swing an elbow? Will see on MNS.

Shels just had eight back for the rest of the game, two lines and they stuck to their task really well. Wasn't until the second half that we really tested their keeper from that header, but we really let Shels off light considering the situation. SomE poor crosses throughout, and a real hesitance to shoot in good positions or even just play the ball forward. It seemed like lofted balls from just inside our half directed towards Curran or Gaffney were causing Shels some problems, but that pretty much ceased in the second half.

Shels were so much better in the second half, I would not have been one bit surprised if they had won the game. They won so many corners, so many frees in a dangerous area, and there were some really tense moments towards the end. Maybe 11 on 11 the game would have been more open and we could have done better, but it was hard to see it.

Ryan was solid, but by the end every time he was kicking the ball out he couldn't find a Limerick player. Defence was jittery at times, but had little to do for much of the game save for clearing headers. Midfield was iffy. O'Leary couldn't do much, Gamble was really wasteful (that "shot" after being set up by Gaffney, wtf). Galbriath found lots of space and kept calling for the ball, but did no better with it when he got it than anyone else. It was when he finally started trying to beat players and head to the touchline that he got really dangerous and I wish he had done it better. Certainly think he had been pushed for his "simulation" yellow, but maybe MNS will clear it up. Not sure why he was give a MOTM award, he really didn't have that big of an impact.

Curran runs and runs, took the ball down well and probably did the most of anybody in trying to make opportunities in the final third. But he was dead on his feet by the end, and spent a bit too much time on the ground for my liking. Gaffney isn't match fit, I wouldn't expect him to be, and he still made himself a bit of a threat, but some of his crosses were truly dire.

I know the subs bench is a bit light, but I really think Browne should have come on much sooner. He won a few balls in the air when he did come on, made himself useful. I really don't agree with bringing people on in the 91st minute, I don't think Judge even touched the ball. Was one of the Limerick coaches sent to the stands near the end?

On the support, I would agree that booing is a bit much, especially with the situation we are in. I haven't seen a crowd that disappointed since losing to Waterford at home last year. Some really ****ed off fans, and I don't just mean the more recent crowd either. I think performances like this are the sort to drive prospective fans away more than results like the Pats or Shams home game. That being said, I actually thought the support, from the terraces at least, was top notch for most of the game, some of the lads were in fine voice, more than at other home games this season, but certainly a lot were getting really frustrated by the end. Important to remember, with nearly a third of the season gone, I think we're in a better position than we could have hoped for at the start of the season.

I'm not sure what the President made of it all anyway. POS looked delighted leading him out, but I little sour towards the end.

[da bishop]

could not understand the sending off,but for people to question shels attitude after that baffles me...what else were they to do,they were very disciplined,got plenty behind the ball and did not lose their shape,even had chances to win it in the second half but were always going to work for the point which in the end they deserved.we were terrible no pattern to our play tonight,did not have enough width or creativity,and for the first time this season taylor got it wrong,should have changed things at halftime and in a way sad to see us lumping the ball up to browne aimlessly for so long towards fulltime..the judge sub made no sense at all.we had an extra man for 80 mins and barely worked the shels keeper.now we did get a point and kept a clean sheet so all not lost.btw when is our bench going to stop getting themselves into trouble,concentrate on the game fellas.

[kingpin4]

could not understand the sending off,but for people to question shels attitude after that baffles me...what else were they to do,they were very disciplined,got plenty behind the ball and did not lose their shape.

Agree 100%. We didn't do nearly enough with the extra man. Judge will run all day so why wait until the 91st minute to put him in. I would have gotten him on with at least half an hour left to try stretch them a bit. But other than Judge, I can't think of anyone else on the bench to bring on and change the system.
Was a bad night for most there, but have to be careful not to over react too. Almost 1/3 of the games played and in a fairly ok position. I didn't hear the booing at the end either

[harpin]

The booing was by a minority of ****s who had a bit too much drink taken, one hilarious **** thought it would be funny to cheer on Clare.

Pushing Shane out wide so he can put in a few decent crosses just pushed him out of the game. Curran was poor, we had no bit of guile about us so couldnt break them down and they deserved their point.

Agree with Jofspring we have a severe lack of options from the bench, when we get a couple of injuries it's a major problem

[legendz]

Unfortunately missed the game but appears I didn't miss much. Thought Limerick would've gotten the win there last night and extend a gap on Cork. Early sending off and all is what I've heard in the reports. Tough trip away to Derry coming up but away to Cork on the Bank Holiday Monday should be a Munster derby with a bit more bite that the first game.

[NeverFeltBetter]

Also, was it Curran with that late strike in the first half that hit the crossbar? Had completely forgot about it. I was full sure I saw it over the line, anyone else? He should have kept it low of course.

[bluewhitearmy]

Also, was it Curran with that late strike in the first half that hit the crossbar? Had completely forgot about it. I was full sure I saw it over the line, anyone else? He should have kept it low of course.

Shane Tracy. My first thought was that it didnt go anywhere near crossing the line tbh.

[AlanOB]

One of those games for Limerick on Saturday night. The home side started off with a 4-5-1/4-3-3 shape with Gamble as the holder. Curran and Gaffney were interchanging between the lone striker and inside left roles. Galbraith was wider on the right, with O'Leary and Tracy supporting from midfield. Shels began in a 4-4-1-1/4-2-3-1 shape, with Robert Bayly playing off striker Dean Kelly. That is, until he got sent off after 8 minutes of course, for what I can only guess was an elbow. Looked like a fair challenge from where I was sitting.

Shels settled into a 4-4-1 shape after this, and initially were nowhere near compact enough. Limerick switched to a 4-2-3-1 by moving Tracy up, and he was getting in between the lines time and time again as Limerick played around the away side in the middle of the park. Shels, however, were at least getting narrow, and were able to cut off the ensuing attempted through balls into the channels on more than one occasion. One through ball (from O'Leary) did make it through, but Gaffney timed his run poorly (not for the first time) and was caught offside.

The obvious solution for Limerick was to go wide and stretch them, but here there were two problems. Firstly, the home side weren't moving the ball quickly enough. Often, full back Williams was stationed on the left flank in acres of space, awaiting a long pass. Limerick were reluctant to do this, however, preferring three short passes to one long. By the time the ball reached the free man on the flank, the Shels unit had shifted across. Secondly, when Limerick did get crossing opportunities, they were largely wasteful.

Second half, Limerick were much better in this regard. Numerous chances to finish from crosses were spurned, most notably when Gaffney was denied from point blank range by keeper Hanley. Recognising this, Taylor went 4-2-4, moving Tracy out to the left, and pairing Curran and Gaffney together upfront. Immediately Tracy provided a cross for Curran to flick on. Gaffney couldn't connect.

Eventually, with about 10 minutes to go, Taylor brought on centre back Aaron Brown up top, removing the off-colour Gaffney. He won a few headers but in fairness to Shels, they defended a bit higher from this point to nullify the impact. All credit to them. They put in a great shift. Limerick will look back with regret on the aforementioned chances, an open goal missed by Tracy before half-time, and what seemed like a stick on penalty denied to Danny Galbraith in the second half. Like I said, one of those games.