Cup Final

[peadar1987]

Yeah that would be a great idea! However we have here in Germany many "barstoolers" as well. German football is not that glory like it maybe seems.

Btw, okay I understand: Sligo is just a town... but a nice town, indeed. ;)

We'll swap you St. Pat's for St. Pauli if you like!

[robertob]

We'll swap you St. Pat's for St. Pauli if you like!

What would Saints fans think about that? ;)

Btw, St. Pauli is the much-hated rival of my local team, Hansa Rostock...

[PartySaint]

I don't see why not, I've heard Hamburg is a great City

[peadar1987]

I don't see why not, I've heard Hamburg is a great City

Everybody happy! :)

(And that wasn't anything personal against Pat's by the way. If there was a "Hansa Skibbereen" I could have used them instead!)

[poster]

This is my first time online since Sunday morning. What a morning, what a day, what an evening,what a week/end. Not just for us, but for the League Of Ireland.

[thischarmingman]

Hardly major news or anything, but two little snippets in an article that LOI fans can be proud of- disappointment because a player who was at Sligo not very long ago didn't get a run-out in the international squad, and a mention that the FAI Cup Final attracted more people and had a better atmosphere than an Ireland international.


The energy of Coleman would have benefited a contest which did little to keep the 30,068 punters warm on a chilly night. Many of those fans had departed before Erik Huseklepp's 87th-minute decider.

"I am a little disappointed with the result," said Trapattoni. "But I saw some important positives. We have more options now."

With the attendance 6,000 below what turned up for Sunday's reasonably priced FAI Cup final -- in truth, the difference seemed to be considerably greater. The atmosphere was flat from the outset.


http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/traps-missing-the-point-2425459.html

[legendz]

LoI fans can be proud in someways but still, it'd be great to see big support for the international team. It's good to see players like Doyle and Fahey in the side who have played in the LoI.
Congrats poster, must've been a great few days!

[bluemovie]

Amazingly, the keeper (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helmuth_Duckadam) never played again, though wiki doesn't mention the story I've heard before about him refusing to give up the Mercedes (I think?) the players won for winning the final, and as a result having his hands broken by the secret police. It's hinted at here (http://www.goldenfoot.com/acm-on-line/Home/News/articolo6559.html).

It's a great story, but highly unlikely that it actually happened. The Guardian's Jonathan Wilson (author of the best football book ever "Behind the Curtain: Travels in Eastern European Football" seems pretty sure (but not 100%) that it never happened. Duckadam didn't play for three years afterwards, but it's thought to have been a blood disorder. As bad as his father was, Valentin Ceausescu apparently wasn't the type to either want a flash car or have his star player's hands broken to get it. I saw Duckadam on TV last year as a guest at one of the draws - I think it was the Champions League, but could have been for Euro '12. He still doesn't talk about his missing three years so suspicion remains.

Seems like it's just one of the urban myths of football. Now tell us, how did Socrates fare when he played for UCD?

[Mad Moose]

Congratulations to Sligo Rovers. I've finally watched the cup final through to the end last night as I didn't get a chance to see it Sunday. Absolutely fantastic game and one, much like the Semi Final at Dalyer, I've been encouraging people to watch. I think I might well watch the game through in full but what a credit to the league that game was. A wonderful final, wonderfully supported and brilliantly played. Cook's style of football has been very attractive. I'm thinking back to a game I caught while home in the last couple of seasons v Cork City at the Showgrounds. The football was quick, silky and very very attractive. I think they hammered a decent Cork City side 3-0 that night. I've seen them once, my nephew's first game, this season against Dundalk and while they didn't play to their potential the style was there as was the ability and intent. I think a cup double and 3rd place finish is a hell of an achievement. I like Paul Cook and what he's done at Sligo Rovers. Its not long ago the club was heading to the wall around the time of the departure of Sean O'Connor. Anything is possible when a club and support pull together.

What I get from Cook's style of management is an instillation of belief and a real togetherness of the club. It was little surprise they lifted the cup together on Sunday. I detect a loyalty from him also and I'm sure offers will tempt him away and I'm sure they will appeal I get somebody who is loyal and very very measured and careful.

I've spoken to Benny the Bull the last occasion I was at the Showgrounds and I detect he's not the youngest man in the world. You never get much life from Benny the Bull at all. I thought he looked a little out of place at the cup lift and maybe took up a little too much room up there. What happened to one of the coaches? Presumably he took a smack while standing at the front of the celebrations? I thought he was having a coronary actually.

Well done to both sides and fans from both teams. Nice touch by the Rovers players going over and applauding Shams fans.

[thischarmingman]

Can't believe noone mentioned the kit man getting a smack from the trophy lid during the celebrations. I sinceraly hope he's ok, but he looked like he was about to cry when it happened. The fact that he stood out as the only person there wearing bright blue and the fact he was a little...bulky(?!) just compounded the hilarity of it. I look forward to the cover of every new season magazine pull-out with Sligo's cup winners on it having his disgruntled little face among them.

[Fivesilver]

He must have a hard enough head, though - have you seen the state of the Cup? :shock:

[harleyleeds]

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http://foot.ie/images/misc/pencil.png

[redobit]

He must have a hard enough head, though - have you seen the state of the Cup? :shock:

Ya the lid is in siht alright. Top part all bent and a big dent in it. When it was lifted it fell and dropped of Brannigans head but it must have fallen another 4 or 5 meters and hit the ground then.

[oriel]

Brilliant article by Eamonn Sweeney in the Sunday Indo today, all about the cup final and the whole experience, a must read not just for Sigo fans but all LOI.

[bennocelt]

Here is the link
http://www.independent.ie/sport/other-sports/only-sport-can-do-this-to-you-2429296.html

[thischarmingman]

That's a great article. My favourite bit:


And if Sunday was a triumph for a manager and players it was also one for the fans, people who have struggled on through much thin and little thick, people who are often condescendingly congratulated for staying loyal to Sligo Rovers rather than some 'glamour team'.

Yet the reality is that if the League of Ireland bug has bitten you, Sligo Rovers or Shamrock Rovers or Drogheda United or Bohemians, are glamour teams.

[marinobohs]

Here is the link
http://www.independent.ie/sport/other-sports/only-sport-can-do-this-to-you-2429296.html

Great article that puts in words how we have all felt after a success for our respective clubs. The sheer joy your team winning a trophy is a "rush" that EPL fans will never quite get. And that is very much their loss.

[Mad Moose]

Here is the link
http://www.independent.ie/sport/other-sports/only-sport-can-do-this-to-you-2429296.html

Might just stick it on boards.ie under the Go Ahead Eagles support base. Bear with me though :)