Limerick FC v UCD - Market's Field - Saturday 5th March.

[CraftyToePoke]

Might as well give it a thread.

Predictions ? I am going narrow home win, settle the nerves, would be nice.

[thomas72]

I expect ucd to push us all the way for promotion will be a very tough opening game Russell has no more excuses he has a premier league squad in nearly every area.
But if I'm been greedy I just think we still lack that 20 goal a season striker I don't see anybody up top doing that.

I'll go 2-1 just about.

[osarusan]

3-0.

Optimism.

[Jofspring]

We should be going in expecting a win. UCD will be a decent team but they have lost a few players. O'Donnell in goals guaranteed to play out of his skin. Aaron Greene available. The FAI have scrapped the yellow cards carrying over from last season.

Limerick 3-2 UCD

At:1,100

[bluewhitearmy]

We should be going into every game this season expecting to win, it obviously wont happen like that but that should be the teams attitude. UCD have some good players and some of their unknowns almost always turn out to be very talented so this will be a tough one but from talking to players they are absolutely determined to get off to a good start and I think they will with a narrow win.

2-1.

Would be annoyed with anything under 1000 in attendance tbh

[Lim till i die]

Entertaining 2 all draw.

I'd always be wary of UCD but then they have an absolute jester playing in goals.

In front of about 700.

I think team munster are playing a cider league relegation playoff against the edinburgh dragons at the same time which could hurt us crowdwise

[Jofspring]

Munster match should have no affect on the Limerick match. Usually it would but Munster are playing rubbish and the team they are playing are rubbish.

Going to be interesting to see how many people that showed up at the games where we had 2,000+ show up tomorrow night. It was a lot of families so I'd be optimistic they come back. There was actually a good few of them at the Galway friendly.

[thomas72]

We have to be a bit realistic aswell lads if we get anywhere near 1000 it would be a excellent attendance.
We are in division one now and don't have the pull of a rovers cork st pats bohs plus there will also be very little travelling away support from teams in this division.
Ucd tomorrow night will bring what MAX 20 or 30???

[bluewhitearmy]

We have to be a bit realistic aswell lads if we get anywhere near 1000 it would be a excellent attendance.
We are in division one now and don't have the pull of a rovers cork st pats bohs plus there will also be very little travelling away support from teams in this division.
Ucd tomorrow night will bring what MAX 20 or 30???

Thats probably even being generous.

[Market's Field]

I agree with thomas that if we get more than 1000 it will be a good night's work and a starting point to build on assuming we do have a promotion push.

As regards the game, I'm going for a win but worried that we will end up with a high scoring draw. We are still way too easy to play against and that is not just a back four problem.

[Jofspring]

It looks like Kelly and O'Flynn will be out and McLeod not signed in time if it's going ahead.

[bluewhitearmy]

It looks like Kelly and O'Flynn will be out and McLeod not signed in time if it's going ahead.

Hall


O'Conor Sharkey Williams Tracy


Duggan Lee J


Kenny Coughlan Mulhall


Greene

Thats what I would go with without them lads but can see Russell swapping Greene and Mulhall.

[Jofspring]

Hall

Paudie Sharkey Williams Tracey

Duggan O'Connor

Kenny Lynch Greene

Mullhall

I actually wouldn't mind seeing Coughlan up top but he has played a lot of games recently.

[Treaty Gooner]

Has he? 45mins the other night wasn't it?

For me: Freddie, O'Connor, Shane, Sharkey, Williams. Duggan, Lee J, Mann, Mulhall. Greene and Coughlan.

[bluewhitearmy]

I will cry if Paudie is left at right back up against Marty Waters. And that isn't slagging off Paudie but pace or being good on the ball are not his strong points.

[Jofspring]

Seen him do a fine job at full back before. Paul O Connor wouldn't be the quickest either and at full back you can just get rid when in trouble.

Garbhan has been playing Collingwood cup with UL. He played last Friday night a full game then played again 45mins against Galway the next night. Picked up a couple of small knocks from talking to a mate.

[bluewhitearmy]

Seen him do a fine job at full back before. Paul O Connor wouldn't be the quickest either and at full back you can just get rid when in trouble.

Garbhan has been playing Collingwood cup with UL. He played last Friday night a full game then played again 45mins against Galway the next night. Picked up a couple of small knocks from talking to a mate.

When was this? Paul isn't the quickest but he is around a long time so is smarter on the pitch at the minute and is much much better than Paudie on the ball and seen as its a game we should be planning on having most of the ball I think thats important. I love Paudie don't get me wrong he has a bright future in this league or beyond at centre back but I would be very uneasy leaving him exposed out of position against someone of Marty Waters quality.

[Jofspring]

I can't even remember who it was against but I saw him play left full not right full and he did a fine job, got up and down the line too and I remember thinking he will do a fine job when he comes into the senior team properly. Might have been
Munster senior cup final in turners. I know the opposition is tougher but I think Paudie has the quality. I think Paul is solid back there as well but it feels like if we move him back then Lee Jay has to move further back also to accommodate it and we lose Lee Jay going forward a bit. I think he does most his damage helping out in attack rather than in defense.

[bluewhitearmy]

I can't even remember who it was against but I saw him play left full not right full and he did a fine job, got up and down the line too and I remember thinking he will do a fine job when he comes into the senior team properly. Might have been
Munster senior cup final in turners. I know the opposition is tougher but I think Paudie has the quality. I think Paul is solid back there as well but it feels like if we move him back then Lee Jay has to move further back also to accommodate it and we lose Lee Jay going forward a bit. I think he does most his damage helping out in attack rather than in defense.

Honestly hadn't seen Paudie play at full back but if he can and has done it then I wouldn't be against putting him there for the exact reasons you say about Lee J.

[Treaty Gooner]

Great start. Bit shakey til the red card but some great finishes and a lot of chances created.

[thomas72]

Brilliant performance in fairness we should of been 1 or 2 up before they scored even when they had the 11 on the pitch we missed some good chances.
Positives
Been full time will be a huge advantage in this league our work rate to a man tonight was fantastic non stop closing down incredible fitness levels.
Aaron greene what a player this lad is looked a level above from min one he will tear this division apart he should of got two hat trick in the end lol.
Biggest positive was the amount of chances we created against the 2nd favourites for this league it could of been 7 or 8 easily flynn alone missed 2 one on ones when he came on.
Shaun kelly, paul o connor, lee j, Mcleod, add john flynn and Jordan moore still few weeks off full fitness we got an unbelievably strong squad.
Excellent attendance aswell it will only get better as the season goes on Imo.

Negative
It was absolutely freezing 😂 roll on Waterford

[NeverFeltBetter]

Can’t remember the last Limerick game I was actually able to go to. Might have been Pats or Athlone in Thomond Park the season before last. Anyway, made it down to visit family earlier than I thought so was just able to make it to MF before kickoff. Nice little stadium. Needs a bit of work in parts of course, and the pitch cuts up easily, but loads of potential in the ground. Great atmosphere too (I hope the “This Is Awesome” chant becomes a regular staple!)

If only it wasn’t so cold tonight. Hold God I was numb. I bought a burger at halftime and just held it in my hands for a few minutes.

Good performance overall, but some concerns. Only really dominated after the red, at times in the first we seemed sort of all over the place at the back. Those few minutes in the lead up to the UCD goal especially, we just couldn’t get the ball clear and gave away some stupid frees. Really bad defending for actual goal too.

But we were really strong in getting the ball from defence to attack, and bossed the midfield, thanks largely to Duggan, who had such a good game. Every time he got the ball he was placing some great passes or driving at UCD, and he terrorised them in the second. And what about those balls for Greene, the first especially. Some nice finishes, and I like seeing Greene get so worked up about missed chances late on, not resting on his laurels. The UCD left back position was so worked over in the second half, we had so many attacking possibilities through there, and Mulhall and Tracy took their goals well, Tracey especially, it was a really smart finish to place it opposite of the keeper’s momentum instead of just lashing it.

The red made all the difference though. I was right on halfway but only got a glimpse before the whistle blew. He seemed to move his elbow, and the linesman was right in front of it, but the people around me weren’t convinced. In the second UCD just had no ideas or Plan B, and once Limerick were in front I never had any doubts. But we did make lots of chances before the red to in fairness, but we only tested the keeper once – there was a weird reluctance to actually shoot from good positions, Duggan could have had a hat-trick tonight if he’d taken more on.

Good to see them hit four figures in the first game, and I’m sure a lot will keep coming back. Noticing a lot of families and young kids too, which is great. I counted 15 or so people in the away stand, though only a handful by final whistle.

Overall, very positive stuff. It was made easier than it would otherwise have been, but have a good feeling about this team and this season, especially if a bit of work can be done to shore up the defence. That Duggan/Greene combination could be responsible for a boatload of goals this season.

[osarusan]

The red made all the difference though.
I don't think so. I agree with you on our defensive frailties (woeful goal to concede) but we would have won easily anyway.

Apart from a spell of about 3-5 minutes either side of their goal, they offered next to nothing even before the red, and we were already cutting them apart on the wings.

Once Greene stopped playing speculative long balls when he should have advanced himself and actually started advancing himself, they simply had no answer for us at all.

[Market's Field]

Second half performance was the best in a long time. Who knows what impact the red had on that but in truth we had carved them open a few times at 11 v 11. In the 2nd half, we moved the ball much quicker and took the right option almost all the time - 2 things we haven't been doing recently. Thought from the start we mixed it up much more than the friendly games and looked to get the ball forward much quicker. Maybe it is a coincidence but, similar to the Dundalk friendly where he also played there, we transition from defence to attack much better when Shane Tracy plays centre mid. Second half also showed how good Shane Duggan can be when he gets on the ball 20 yards further up the field rather than going back to our back 4 for it.

[Jofspring]

Ya I don't think the red made all the difference. It might have affected the margin of victory but I still thought we were going to win the game at 1 down. Barr the few minutes before their goal and the few minutes after it, UCD spent most of the game chasing shadows. I thought we played nice football and were strong in the tackle when we had to be.

Hall: comfortable most of the night, pulled off one very good save and was strong in the air. His distribution was excellent.
Sharkey: very solid and comfortable on the ball and getting stuck in.
Paudie: looked comfortable, hopefully a season where he can grow even more as a player. Two had passes but will learn from his mistakes.
Robbie: solid again, decent in the air and calm under pressure.
Murphy: did extremely well considering he has barely played 90mins for the last three years, thrown in at he deep end and I thought he stepped up.
Duggan: showed his class tonight. When he got his second wind he ghosted past their midfield and ran the show.
Tracey: put in a great shift in the middle, shows his versatility.
Greene: looked a class above tonight, smart in possession, dangerous in attack. Two good finishes and he could have had another two.
Kenny: dangerous on the wing, put in a good shift, showed some nice tricks and was strong on the ball.
Coughlan: looked good in the number 10 role. Could have had a few goals himself, slipped a lot of the surface at key times but he is working harder than I have ever seen, FairPlay to him.
Mullhall: I was extremely impressed with his work rate, he is quicker than he looks and was dangerous with the ball at his feet holding up the ball.

O'Flynn: took a few minutes to get into the game but was involved in some nice passages of play and should be a danger man in this division.
McCartan: did very well in the time he was on, could have had a goal and went into a tackle fearless against the big centre half.
Ross Mann: most impressive I have seen Ross for us. Beat a few players on a couple of occasions and showed great pace on the break.

[bluewhitearmy]

Have to say at no stage lastnight did I think we wouldn't win that game, as others have said they had 5 mins either side of their goal but other than that we were on top and at times utterly dominant. Their goal was a mixture of silly mistakes from defenders not getting it clear and Freddy making a mistake from the free but after that I thought the lads at the back handles it fairly well. Going forward we were absolutely fantastic I don't think you can fault any of the midfield or front 3 too much in an attacking sense yes we could have had more goals but for first game back some of the touches and passing were superbly sharp near the end of the game we were simply playing with UCD especially Duggy and Greene.

Was skeptical of Mullhall up top in pre season but I think it could be a great decision by Martin in certain games he uses his size and strength very well and is well able to play it on the deck too just the kind we are going to need in scrappy games in small pitches with teams sitting back on us. If UCD are in the top 3 in this league this could be a fun year.

[NeverFeltBetter]

Highlights: https://www.facebook.com/OfficialLimerickFC/videos/10153898217318886/

Still marveling at that assist for Greene's first.

[bluewhitearmy]

Highlights: https://www.facebook.com/OfficialLimerickFC/videos/10153898217318886/

Still marveling at that assist for Greene's first.

I was convinced it was Duggy but turns out its actually Kenny such a great pass. Footage doesn't do the finish justice either.

[CraftyToePoke]

Good win and thanks for the various reports. Nice attendance too, and hopefully the result will have convinced a few more undecided punters to come to the next one. The highlights are very welcome, well done to the club on that too.

A win in Waterford next week would send a lovely message to the division that we are only visiting and they should line up, take their hidings and get it over with.

:)

[NeverFeltBetter]

Extended highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEs8HD_a2Io

Includes the red-card incident. UCD player seems to shoulder-check Mulhall as he goes on a run, but no contact with the face as far as I can see. I'd say it's a yellow more than a red, but it is way way off the ball.

[da bishop]

well you can only beat[ whack ]whats put in front of you,,,so thanks UCD for that silly sending off and for being so naive after it making our inevitable victory a lot easier than expected.given the future muck in this division our exciting midfield cum fowards will continue to dazzle and i am looking foward to that,now our defence..hmm..lucky this div is muck.