First Division 2010

[Mr A]

Run ins.

MONAGHAN UNITED
(A) Cork City
(A) Salthill Devon Rearranged fixture.
(H) Limerick
(A) Mervue United
(H) Derry City

DERRY CITY
(H) Shelbourne
(A) Salthill Devon
(H) Finn Harps
(A) Monaghan United

WATERFORD UNITED
(H) Finn Harps
(A) Longford Town
(H) Athlone Town
(A) Shelbourne

SHELBOURNE
(A) Derry City
(H) Mervue United
(A) Limerick
(H) Waterford United

Considering their respective form, Shels will be fancied to get a result at the Brandywell this weekend. If Derry get the win though they could finally regain their confidence- which with games against Salthill and Harps coming up should be enough to carry them through to the showdown on the last day. If they don't win the game against us gets harder- although we're playing so badly there's only so hard it can get. If Derry's fixtures looked anyway tough, they could totally bomb, but the games against Salthill and Harps should keep them up there.

If Monaghan win in Cork and Derry fail to win I think they'll go on to win it- they should beat Salthill, Limerick at home and Mervue. Waterford should beat Harps and indeed Athlone and Longford. But Athlone are notorious party poopers at this stage. Shels have it a bit tougher- Limerick have a bit of a history of screwing them over.

What it all boils down to is that the last day of the season looks fantastic. We could easily have Mons V Derry effectively playing off for 1st and Waterford V Shels for 3rd.

Before all that though, the game between Mervue and Salthill this week is massive for the clubs involved.

What a great division :)

[passerrby]

has to be the most intriging finish in a long time all to play for .if we can manage to get a result in cork then we realy are in the driving seat .
lots of possibilities would love a massive game with derry for the title.

[BonnieShels]

Tis a great division. But lord knows I can't wait to be out of it. Plus these seasons of last day drama are a killer on the old ticker. Bring back 2007 and boring mid table mediocrity. Not.
Cmon Shels.

[razor]

if we can manage to get a result in cork then we realy are in the driving seat .Ye really are our new bogey team and given our home form this season i'm not hopeful.
But Saturday 3pm kick off, looking forward to a family day out at the Cross.

[SwanVsDalton]

Molloy, McCallion and Farren could yet take us over the line with their top-class experience of winning 16 League Cup's - but I doubt it.:(

[Schumi]

Ye really are our new bogey teamA team ahead of you in the league can't be your bogey team, they're just better than you.

[aidz1]

What a difference the 2nd half of last weeks games made to the top of the table. A great comeback win for Monaghan which puts us in a very strong positon for at least the play-offs:
Table if results had of remained as of half time scores:
1 Derry City 61 (29)
2 Waterford United 57 (29)
3 Monaghan United 55 (28)
4 Shelbourne 55 (29)

Present Table:
1 Derry City 59 (29)
2 Monaghan United 58 (28)
3 Shelbourne 55 (29)
4 Waterford United 54 (29)

[BonnieShels]

The more I look at that the more I get giddy.

[legendz]

Predicted Final Table Pld Pts
1 Monaghan United 33 71
2 Derry City 33 68
3 Shelbourne 33 62
4 Waterford United 33 61
5 Limerick 37 FC 33 55
6 Cork City FORAS 33 55
7 Wexford Youths 33 44
8 Finn Harps 33 37
9 Longford Town 33 36
10 Athlone Town 33 31
11 Mervue United 33 16
12 Salthill Devon 33 9

[Mr A]

Salthill to lose three points between now and end of season. And Derry thought they were in poor form!

[razor]

A team ahead of you in the league can't be your bogey team, they're just better than you.They can be whatever I want them to be.
You're just upset cos it used to be ye :D

[BonnieShels]

Predicted Final Table Pld Pts
1 Monaghan United 33 71
2 Derry City 33 68
3 Shelbourne 33 62
4 Waterford United 33 61
5 Limerick 37 FC 33 55
6 Cork City FORAS 33 55
7 Wexford Youths 33 44
8 Finn Harps 33 37
9 Longford Town 33 36
10 Athlone Town 33 31
11 Mervue United 33 16
12 Salthill Devon 33 9

Don't be going jinxing us or I'll get John Phelan to wrap ya in our Phoenix banner and throw ya in the Tolka!
:o

Ha, I hope you're right. If we finish in the playoffs I want an away game.

[razor]

Bray and Drogs down for Monaghan and Derry would certainly save us a bit on travel next season.
Add to that Cobh up instead of one of the Galway teams and we'd have our local derby back too.

[shep]

Bray are unlikely to be involved in playoff IMO,i think they will beat Galway in thier playoff.Gonna be vey interesting in the playoffs anyway.Personally i hope any 2 of Derry,Monaghan and Shels go up(sorry Waterford!!!)

[frenchman]

for me it could all be over this weekend (not the play-offs but the title)we've gone from ''potenially getting third and building on for next year'' to what i would consider ''stupid if we lost it''. how the title could be over at the weekend.
we beat cork (beat them already in cork and they are already 6 points off third) + derry lose (shels 6 wins in 7 and derry 2 wins in 9) =advantage utd+2
monday night we beat salthill (1-0) = advantage utd +5
wins over limerick (out of the runnings by then) + derro to beat salthill = adv utd +5
wins for both =adv utd +5
final day we don't care.................................. there is a chance that we draw with limerick but also the same chance tath derry draw with harps so even if we drop two points to limerick we will still be 3 ahead going into the final day. goal difference is + 3 to derry at the moment but will be turned around to + three in our favour before the final day. if we win big in salthill and merve (more than 2 goals) they'll have to hammer us by more than 3 goals.............this is not to be showing off i'm just in a state of shock after years of watching jim barr and peter magee running around in the freezing pouring rain in front of 50 people all those years ago!!!!!!!!!!can anyone see past my bullet proof plan?

[passerrby]

yep i can

[razor]

we beat cork (beat them already in cork and they are already 6 points off third)We are more than due a win over you but sadly we have no centre halves, which could be a distinct problem against a team of monsters.

[Magicme]

What's that coming over the hill, its the mons monsters!

[pineapple stu]

No, it's just another cow, isn't it?

[Magicme]

The magic moos. I once told one of our players we were changing our motto to the magic moos and he believed me. Oops.

[Mr A]

A stupid footballer?

Well I never.

[Magicme]

Actually its shocking how smart most of our team are this season!

[Mr A]

Actually its shocking how smart most of our team are this season!

You mean they can tie their own shoe laces?!?

[pineapple stu]

Aidan Lynch has been teaching them their alphabet, I'd say.

[holidaysong]

And Philly has been teaching them how to bet.

[passerrby]

whoever their maths teacher is deserves an award 4 is bigger than 2

[SwanVsDalton]

That's nothing, up in the Brandy the players only recently realised two contracts is bigger than one.

[bullit]

Paddy Powers bet:

Derry City 1/1
Mons 6/5
Shelbourne 9/1
Waterford 12/1

Did i read in previous posts that a Derry books paid out earlier in the season on City winning the leauge :confused:

[SwanVsDalton]

Yup McBride's Bookies - everybody's a winner! Except for the bookies and the club of course.

[Jofspring]

Limerick 1-0 Wexford.

The goal came in the last minute and the relief on the Limerick players was unbelievable. It seemed to give the whole team a boost to finish the game on a high. Closing the gap on Shels to two points keeps the pressure on them going into the weekend. We are still clutching at straws but haven't given up yet.

[Darkglasses]

Looks like it's Salthill v. Cobh in the play-off, would much prefer a trip to Cobh...

[blue til i die]

Looks like it's Salthill v. Cobh in the play-off, would much prefer a trip to Cobh...

Mervue and salthill should just join together to play cobh. If cobh win, both galway teams are gone. :)

[legendz]

Mervue and salthill should just join together to play cobh. If cobh win, both galway teams are gone. :)

Yeah, they could do that and maybe Carlow and Tralee could play-off to take the 12th spot! :-D

[trevy]

Waterford are back into 3rd spot after a comfortable 3-1 win over Finn Harps last night. 3rd place is in our hands now with next 2 games Longford away and Athlone home before the big one away to Shels in last game.

[GalwayRed]

After last night I hope Derry win the league. They looked far far better than any team we have played this season and if we manage a playoff I would prefer to play Monaghan than Derry. It's pretty clear whats required now. Win 3 games and we get 3rd place. I would expect us to get through the Mervue game alright but going down to Limerick will be very tough.
Hopefully Derrys confidence is up now and they carry last nights form through the last 3 games. If they keep playing like they did last night, they'll win the league.

[Darkglasses]

Mervue and salthill should just join together to play cobh. If cobh win, both galway teams are gone. :)

Good call! Salthill Devon Mervue FC. It's even less catchy than Cork City FORAS Co-op!

[legendz]

Monaghan should win their game tonight to keep the pressure on Derry.

[holidaysong]

You'd expect both teams to win the games between now and that final showdown in Gortakeegan. Assuming that happens then Derry will be going into that game only needing a draw. However, I think home advantage will be massive for Monaghan in that match and if they can get to that match needing a win to take the title, then I can see them pulling it off.

[hedderman]

You'd expect both teams to win the games between now and that final showdown in Gortakeegan. Assuming that happens then Derry will be going into that game only needing a draw. However, I think home advantage will be massive for Monaghan in that match and if they can get to that match needing a win to take the title, then I can see them pulling it off.

Please don't remind us of Cork in 2005 :( That's where I got the scarf :p

[holidaysong]

Did Derry only need a draw in that game or did you need the win?

[hedderman]

Did Derry only need a draw in that game or did you need the win?

We only needed a draw! At 1-0 down Kenny took off Sean Hargan at right back to bring on another attacker. Almost straight away we conceded a goal!

I'm really hoping that history won't repeat itself but if Derry do manage to win our next two games, after a comprehensive win against Shelbourne, I'd be hopeful that we'd go to Gortakeegan and get a result.

[Candystripe]

It depends on which Derry team turns up.

When Derry needed to we played some great stuff V Shels, as good as we've seen in years and they were lucky to leave with only a 3-0 defeat.

If Derry play like that V Mongahan then I would predict a comortable win with what will probably be the biggest crowd ever at Gortakeegan.

The pressure will also be on in there game V Limerick so if they fail to win then Derry could win the league at the Brandywell V Harps.

[razor]

Monaghan looked dead on their feet on Saturday, they had the better of the 1st half but we created a fortune of chances in the 2nd half and should have won by 3 or 4.

Saturday will either have been a kick up the jacksie or the beginning of the end for Mons.

[jafrazer]

http://vimeo.com/15734521

[hedderman]

Great video. Alan Matthews very honest in his assessment.

I thought Ruarí Harkin really made the difference when he came on, added a lot of creativity in midfield.

Looking back on that video, I think he only touched the ball once for the cross to Farren who finished with aplomb.

[holidaysong]

Saturday will either have been a kick up the jacksie or the beginning of the end for Mons.

I'm sure they'll get back to winning ways tonight against Salthill. They couldn't have asked for easier opposition to get the confidence back up before the crunch match against Limerick.

[monutdfc]

Table as it stands:
Derry 62 pts GD +36
Mons 61 pts GD +32
W'ford 57 pts GD +28
Shels 55 pts GD +23
Lims 53 pts GD +17
Cork 52 GD +11

Remaining games
Derry: Salthill (A), Harps (H), Mons (A)
Mons: Limerick (H), Mervue (A), Derry (H)
Waterford: Longford (A), Athlone (H), Shels(A)
Shels: Mervue (H), Limerick (A), Waterford (H)
Lims: Mons (A), Shels (H), Athlone (A)
Cork: Harps (A), Salthill (H), Wexford (A)

Could be set up nicely for Mons v Derry and Shels v Waterford on the final day, but we have 2 difficult games before then, starting with Limerick on Friday night

[Jofspring]

Table as it stands:
Derry 62 pts GD +36
Mons 61 pts GD +32
W'ford 57 pts GD +28
Shels 55 pts GD +23
Lims 53 pts GD +17
Cork 52 GD +11

Remaining games
Derry: Salthill (A), Harps (H), Mons (A)
Mons: Limerick (H), Mervue (A), Derry (H)
Waterford: Longford (A), Athlone (H), Shels(A)
Shels: Mervue (H), Limerick (A), Waterford (H)
Lims: Mons (A), Shels (H), Athlone (A)
Cork: Harps (A), Salthill (H), Wexford (A)

Could be set up nicely for Mons v Derry and Shels v Waterford on the final day, but we have 2 difficult games before then, starting with Limerick on Friday night

I think Mons will beat Limerick Friday night but i think what Limerick have going for them is the fact we haven't beaten ye this season we owe ye one and have a slight chance at nipping in in third....very slight.

[legendz]

I wouldn't write Limerick out of the equation yet either but the need to cut the gap to Waterford to a point this weekend. Both divisions are set-up for a good finale.

[micls]

We only needed a draw! At 1-0 down Kenny took off Sean Hargan at right back to bring on another attacker. Almost straight away we conceded a goal!

I'm really hoping that history won't repeat itself but if Derry do manage to win our next two games, after a comprehensive win against Shelbourne, I'd be hopeful that we'd go to Gortakeegan and get a result.

In fairness to Kenny, ye looked beaten before the kick off let alone when ye were 1 down. Ye're players just didnt turn up at all and couldn't handle the pressure of the 8k fans and crazy atmosphere.

Home advantage in that game won that for us.

That said Monaghan is a different story, ther'll probably be more Derry fans than Mons and if they get behind the team it could feel like a home game.

It'l be interesting either way!