Rovers vs Shamrock

[prodsc]

Your too right bout that. I hate coming out of a game giving out about officials but Buttimer tonight must have been gettin a lift on the Shams bus! So many bad decisions......good night.

Keane was MOM even if he did give away the peno.didn't see it I believe it may have been harsh!! Lookin forward to MNS!

[Real Rover]

I was right behind the goal for the penalty decision..the ref gave a penalty because the shams players shouted at him basically.

[bigredtruck]

Game of two halves tonight we were all over them in the first half then let them back into in the second, game really turned with amond and ryan going off strange changes i think, ryan was controlling the whole game great free kick in the first half and hit the bar in the second, danny was like a headless chicken in the midfield letting players run off him all over the place, amond and blinks had shams defence tied in knots, still in all it was a major improvement on the 3-0 thumping last season.

[CRFC&SRFC]

Alot of positives to be taken from night...So much room for improvement aswell.

Thought Keane and Peers were excellent although i did think Keane was looking for a foul in the build up that led to us conceeding freekick. It may have been a free out but i didnt have a good view of it. Just wish we could have built on the start we made, we seemed to hand initiative to shams as soon as we had ball in net. Once Whelan got booked it seemed to affect his game...Ryan i thought was excellent first half. Thought the lads that came on were always up against it as game had reached frantic pace at that stage and difficult to adjust

As mentioned by a few here its great to have such a strong bench, should really induce the best out of everyone

As for the officiating, maybe instead of all this pre season work in limerick, someone might sit them down and explain, that when a player(s) handles the ball deliberatly, it is a free to the opposition. When players and managers seek to get opposition players booked they too should be booked, & when the ball crosses the sideline it is a throw in to the team that didnt touch the ball last! Frustrating isnt the word but it i cant see it changing just got to hope it balances out over season..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnixDS8eFbY

[Oldred]

Would have been nice to get the three points against that shower, but i suppose a third of something is better than all of nothing! No doubt Shams will have Chris Turncoat, at least on the bench next week, now that its safe for the FAI to make a decision in their favour!

[und2015]

On the bright side...

Sligo played Shams four times last season, and lost all four (L 2-1, L 0-3, L 3-1, L 1-2). In the very first match against Shams this season, Sligo received more points than in all four of last season's matches combined. While a draw is never satisfying enough, for us to have played them to a draw in a match (a match that we could/should have won) shows that this will be a better season than the last. With this said, Sligo better come away with a 'W' next time they play Shams!

[Shiba]

Would have been nice to get the three points against that shower, but i suppose a third of something is better than all of nothing! No doubt Shams will have Chris Turncoat, at least on the bench next week, now that its safe for the FAI to make a decision in their favour!

From my understanding they have bottled making a decision on Turner and passed it on to some independant body to decide................ probably some crowd called Shams Supporters club or Dublin league of Ireland commission...........:D

[bennocelt]

Was at the game, but was in with the Shams fans, came down from Dublin on the bus - good fun, but a little weary of my culchie accent!!! Right beside me a mad Sligo fan shouting for Sligo every time they got the ball - in the Shams end!!!!!Had to politely tell him to feck off and move away from where I was - Jesus wonder how he ended up since he moved deeper into the Shamrock Rovers crowd!!!
Good game, good atmosphere and great to see packed crowds for the LOI. Game of two halves really, and to be fair most of the Shamrock rovers fans were also wondering about that peno.
But what a save near the end by the Shams keeper, definitely will be a highlight in tomorrows MNS

[Blowin_Rover]

I was behind the goal, not sure who handled but it seemed to me that our player was getting out of the way of the ball, but the ball was definately handled.. The referee definately couldnt see it and the protest was so strong from Shams that it swayed his decision..It infuriates me that these so called linesmen or assistant referees arent even spoken to either to confirm the penno or say the defender was getting out of the way of it.These refs need to get off thier high horse and leave the ego in the dressing room, How many times was the game held up because advantage wasnt played.?

[Rasputin]

Well without doubt the best signing of the close season for O'Neill has got to be Buttimer, outstanding Buttimer, Man of the Match performance for Shams.
Life is full of funny coincidences isnt it? What are the chances of Bohs and Shams getting Penalties in games they were struggling in this weekend?

As for the football played by our lads, was outstanding tbh, in defence we are just rock solid, granted shams controlled long periods of the game but they just never looked like scoring. They really have no teeth without Twigg. The team was outstanding with special mention to Davoren, Keane, Peers, Amond and Ryan. Our defence was just immense and the workrate throughout the team was brilliant, the teams fitness is definetly a different proposition to last seasons. All in all im fairly happy, still thick over the peno but sure what do you expect playing Shams or Bohs? A good point for the lads playing against 12 men.

[showgies]

Perhaps my expectations were too high but I was actually disappointed in our performance, particularily after we scored. Yes, the Shams keeper pulled off as much saves as Brush did, put I thought our ball retention, passing and overall play was disjointed. For most of the match Blinkhorn and Amond were isolated with very little support from the midfield. Our passing was very sloppy and I was disappointed our full backs didn't attack as much as I would have liked.

On the plus side, our defence kept Shams at bay and they never really looked like troubling us until the penalty. Ryan's shot deserved a goal, why doesn't he try this more regularily when he is in that position? Blinkhorn gave everything he had, it would have been great if he had got the winner at the end.

Nevertheless, we have got 1 point more of Shams than we did last season, roll on Fingal and a slice of revenge.

[Sean South]

.1579

Thanks for that

Here is our two displays
http://www.forzarovers.net/apps/photos/photo?photoid=72823172
http://www.forzarovers.net/apps/photos/photo?photoid=72823175

[Mayo Red]

Whatever about anything else Buttimer gave Shams a huge dig out lastnite, he was atrocious, it was like watching a game of bogball the amount of times he let them away with handballs aswell!:(

[bingoballs]

I thought we sat too deep after going infront and showed shams far too much respect. They were given far too much time to play the ball out of defence and we were over run in midfield until Donninger and O' Grady came on. Defensively, we were solid, especially Peers and Keane, and we definitely should have had a free out just before the free that led to their penalty kick!
Plenty of positives to take from the game but if Cook insists on playing Ventre in midfield, he will have to drop one of the strikers because at times it looked as if shams had an extra man in the middle, not including the referee of course. When we did turn their defense we looked threatening.
We have a decent squad and as the team starts to gel, I think we will pose problems for most sides in the league.
Also the FAI need to get their act together regarding their officials, the first weekend of a new season and the major talking point is the standard of the refereeing at games. Surprise surprise, the contraversial decisions went in favour the "big sides".
Any word on why Dillon didn't start last night?

[redarmyfaction]

Why do the FAI consider it imperative that one of the big sides win the league, I mean that has been happening for decades and look at the state of the LOI.

[dong]

I think a draw was a decent result. A solid start for us. We had the better chances no doubt, even if thay had a lot of the ball.
Thought Brushie was excellent all night, looked much better on the crosses than usual. He must have been working on them for pre season. Pity he wouldn't practice the kick outs!
Many's the time we ended up losing games like this last year so happy days.

[rovers100%]

we need more confidence badly. we went one nil up and closed up like a turtle. if its between us and fingal for 3rd spot my money is on fingal. it should not have been so hard sat nite considering we were the home team. we spent 80 mins on the back foot against a team some say we are better than. when we got the ball and used it sensibly and got at shams we were causing them real trouble but instead we took the option to hoof the ball as far away as possible as no one wanted the responsibility of trying to play it out of the back.
there was indeed positives as the back four looked very sturdy when shams came at us but we continually just hoofed it out allowing shams to come straight back attacking us. i still feel we need a leader in the centre of the park to take control of the game and slow things down and be a calming influence. we looked like headless chickens at times sat nite.
as for the ref im sick giving out about them clowns and every year it just goes from bad to worse. we can be a top 3 team if the team believes in itself more and realises the gulf between the top 2 and ourselves is not that big. we showed shams far too much respect considering we were at home and shams are not all that superior. the team as a whole were extremely commited and most played very well but we need to use our heads when have a lead and believe we can beat anyone. especially at home !!! looking forward to a good season all the same

[Brian Boru]

Cannot completely agree that we should finish above Shams but no harm in being optimistic. Dont forget the ref factor that has always favoured the Hoops, from the youngest Sligo supporter to the oldest we all remember all the decisions that wrongly went to Shams. Not referee bashing but my mind is cluttered with wrong decisions over the years in this fixture.

You were totally right Well Red. We cannot finish second with refereeing like that.

[Guts&Glory]

I was right behind the free kick.

McCabe raised his arm above his head and stopped a goal bound shot from giving Brushie something to worry about - peno simple as lads.

As others have said though we should have had a free out in the build up to the free being given to Shams.

[Rover'n'out]

McCabe raised his arm above his head and stopped a goal bound shot from giving Brushie something to worry about - peno simple as lads.

TBH of all the guys on Saturday night, I was not that convinced about McCabe. I suppose to be fair I dont want to knock the lad on his first game for us. He had a couple of moments alright, but then it seemed he found it hard to keep the ball - he seemed to be muscelled off it or gave it away almost every time. Saying that we gave the ball away too cheaply on ALOT of occassions on the night. Not sure who is likely first choice down the right. Dillon was there against Cliftonville and seemed to do a good job - admittedly against a weaker side.

Absolutely brilliant to see such a good crowd at the game. I hope we try and keep it up as there is a good buzz around and this has the makings of a reasonably good season.

[rovers100%]

mccabe looked very good when close to the defenders and cutting inside but over a distance he was getting caught for speed and strength every time.hard to judge him as he was a doubt for the game so maybe he was carrying a slight knock. i thought doyle apart from his goal was very poor. he gave away the ball every time and looked lacking in commitment especially in the dirtier work. he does have a great knack for popping up in the box at the right time though !!!

[Nah Nah Nah Nah]

mccabe looked very good when close to the defenders and cutting inside but over a distance he was getting caught for speed and strength every time.hard to judge him as he was a doubt for the game so maybe he was carrying a slight knock. i thought doyle apart from his goal was very poor. he gave away the ball every time and looked lacking in commitment especially in the dirtier work. he does have a great knack for popping up in the box at the right time though !!!

Very much like raf!

[red_away]

Sadly I couldnt make the game but reading the times it says we were lucky to get a point (no bias there then) and also had the line;

"The start of the game was delayed for almost 10 minutes as fans queued outside the gates in the Showgrounds’ biggest crowd for years of 2,800."

These dub journalists must not go to semi finals or euro games....we will need to be very good this season to beat the opposition, the refs and the facking media!!!!!!!!!!!!

[showgies]

Did anyone else notice, that Michael O'Neill stood and shook hands with all players at the end of the game (including our boys), all except Padraig Amond........or maybe I was mistaken.....

[avvenalaf]

Did anyone else notice, that Michael O'Neill stood and shook hands with all players at the end of the game (including our boys), all except Padraig Amond........or maybe I was mistaken.....

Showgies mistaken???????????

[Shedzer]

Did anyone else notice, that Michael O'Neill stood and shook hands with all players at the end of the game (including our boys), all except Padraig Amond........or maybe I was mistaken.....

Ya,Amond ran straight past O'Neill and down the tunnel...

[hoops1]

Good fan display Saturday fair play.

[Guts&Glory]

He was on the bench by the end of the game did he venture back out on the pitch at the end to have a chat with the Shams players or just walk straight down the tunnel from the bench and hence no ignoring or running past O'Neill ?

[showgies]

He was on the bench by the end of the game did he venture back out on the pitch at the end to have a chat with the Shams players or just walk straight down the tunnel from the bench and hence no ignoring or running past O'Neill ?

Yeah, he went back onto the pitch to shake hands after the gaem and walk straight by O'Neill as he came off......obviously some sort of falling out I assume.

[gustavo]

Post match Interview with Cookie from about 13 minutes in here

http://www.rte.ie/podcasts/2010/pc/pod-v-080310-29m56s-thefootballshow080310.mp3