LOI Fixtures April 7th and 8th

[Philosophizer]

How are ticket sales going down in Cork for the match v Derry?
Would be great to see another sell out with the match being live on RTE.

[AlanOB]

Don't think the live TV coverage affected the attendance for Dundalk's Turner's Cross visit too much!

Might affect myself, and a debuting Conor Molan, on Limerick Soccer Live though; coverage of Pat's/Limerick from 19.35 here (http://www.mixlr.com/limerick-soccer-live).

[El-Pietro]

Don't think its going to be a sell out but sounds like they have been selling pretty well all week. Maybe 4,000? 4,500?

[CityBoy]

Heard there was over 4,000 tickets sold yesterday. Should be getting 6,000 for this. Can't wait.

[nigel-harps1954]

Should be 10,000 in Finn Park tonight too.

[brendy_éire]

Don't think the live TV coverage affected the attendance for Dundalk's Turner's Cross visit too much.[/URL].

FWIW, it's certainly affected away attendance. Feck all of us down here.
Not expecting much tonight really. Punted for 3-1 Cork win the in the prediction league, but if there's a match this season that we won't score in, this'll be it.

[thomas72]

St Pats 0 Limerick 1

[pineapple stu]

This live game is pretty dire stuff.

Drogheda beating Rovers now; them and Pat's slipping uncomfortably close to the bottom three. Limerick and Bray both in the top 5 as it stands

[White Horse]

This live game is pretty dire stuff.

Not a great advert. Derry are trying to play football though.

[SwanVsDalton]

Our defence is getting taught a sore lesson. Plenty of mitigating factors but still need to keep the score down to stop this getting any more demoralising.

[thomas72]

Pat's 0 Limerick 2

[NeverFeltBetter]

2-0 win for Limerick. Huge result. Strange to think it was 1-4 the last time they played. Limerick up to 5th. Cheers to AlanOB for the coverage.

I see Waterford grabbed a late winner against Cobh. In terms of keeping the FD interesting it's a pity.

[DannyInvincible]

Disappointing result for Derry tonight and the defending was poor. Cork could have had one or two more goals. Amazing start to the season for them.

Out of interest, why was there a German flag and a Swedish flag flying over the Derrynane Road stand?

[patrickccfc]

There was representatives from Schalke 04 and Malmo FF over on a SD Europe thing that was going on in cork

[jinxy lilywhite]

So it looks like everyone is rolling over for Cork

[ger121]

Bye bye Bradley

[da bishop]

Super result for Limerick and excellent coverage from ALANOB and his guest analyst.

[Dalymountrower]

Bye bye Bradley

It' must be tough managing a team in a cup final every week.

[sbgawa]

You get used to it. Koh

[SeanDrog]

Rovers missed some sitters tonight but we showed great spirit going for the win after being reduced to ten men after what was a very strange penalty decision (I will have to wait for tv highlights to see what the ref saw). Good rovers support and a enjoyable match. Very important three points for us after a bruising run of losses.

[TonyD]

Super result for Limerick and excellent coverage from ALANOB and his guest analyst.

Pats very poor in the first half and Limerick deserved to be ahead at the break. Lifted it in the second half and had a couple of great chances to score, including a missed penalty. Caught on the break with a sucker punch for the second, and in fact Limerick should have scored a third. Massively disappointing after last week. I suspect it's going to be that sort of a season.

[nigel-harps1954]

Poor game in Finn Park. Harps just allowed Dundalk set the tempo of the game really. Weren't out of it at all although until Dundalk scored.

[AlanOB]

2-0 win for Limerick. Huge result. Strange to think it was 1-4 the last time they played. Limerick up to 5th. Cheers to AlanOB for the coverage.


Super result for Limerick and excellent coverage from ALANOB and his guest analyst.

Thanks for tuning in lads. Thought the debuting Conor Molan complemented me brilliantly on colour commentary.

[MattB11]

Routine win for Dundalk in FP, we were decent for half an hour in the end though it could of been 4 or 5

[oriel]

Poor game in Finn Park. Harps just allowed Dundalk set the tempo of the game really. Weren't out of it at all although until Dundalk scored.

Sounded like a decent win for Dundalk, hopefully with the players coming back we can get better now, and go on a good run. Interesting bench tonight, O'Donnell, Mountney, Kilduff, McEleney, all 4 played significant roles in Europe last season.

That's some start by Cork, they are fairly blowing sides away, looked like they could even go up a gear tonight.

[MeathDrog]

Drogs good value for the win tonight. Shamrock Rovers were poor. I would be worried if I was a Shams fan.

[osarusan]

Pats very poor in the first half and Limerick deserved to be ahead at the break. Lifted it in the second half and had a couple of great chances to score, including a missed penalty. Caught on the break with a sucker punch for the second, and in fact Limerick should have scored a third. Massively disappointing after last week. I suspect it's going to be that sort of a season.
Yeah, good summary. The second came at a time i thought we might cave in, and instead it was game over.

Couple of superb saves from Clarke too.

[onlooker]

just in from the pub and saw the game on TV but no sound on. have it recorded and might watch it over next few days. Derry were physical but no match for Cork who looked like a very hungry team with a point to prove. promises to be a great fight for top spot this year. Can Cork finally do it? looked a decent crowd there too. Fabulous looking stadium and pitch looked great too.

[Ezeikial]

Poor game in Finn Park. Harps just allowed Dundalk set the tempo of the game really. Weren't out of it at all although until Dundalk scored.

Overall it was a poor quality game - but from a very early stage it was clear that there was only one likely outcome. Harps were physical and had plenty of effort but were simply not at the races and it was in the dying embers of the match that Harps had their solitary shot on target.

A 3 or 4 goal win would not have flattered

[Candystripe]

As a Derry fan it still hard watch a Derry team without our captain Ryan but hopefully our player's will settle down and continue the good start to the season we were having before he died.

The Finn Harps game next Friday is going to be a bit mental though with only 1574 fans officially allowed to attend and both teams fans able to buy tickets locally I can foresee an absolute nightmare the stewards and the Gardai.

Ah well if we won out two games in hand we'll be in second place.

Corks bubble will burst soon enou4 although they did look good tonight even against a seriously weakened Derry team .

[El-Pietro]

It' must be tough managing a team in a cup final every week.
Shamrock Rovers are now more points behind the "so called big club" than Shamrock Rovers have points.

[El-Pietro]

As a Derry fan it still hard watch a Derry team without our captain Ryan but hopefully our player's will settle down and continue the good start to the season we were having before he died.

The Finn Harps game next Friday is going to be a bit mental though with only 1574 fans officially allowed to attend and both teams fans able to buy tickets locally I can foresee an absolute nightmare the stewards and the Gardai.

Ah well if we won out two games in hand we'll be in second place.

Corks bubble will burst soon enou4 although they did look good tonight even against a seriously weakened Derry team .

Not sure who will burst our bubble. We haven't played especially well yet this season, but I can't think of anyone who has played well against us yet. Long way to go all the same.

[Pablo Escobar]

Not sure who will burst our bubble. We haven't played especially well yet this season, but I can't think of anyone who has played well against us yet. Long way to go all the same.

The one certainty is that we won't maintain the 100% record all season. Some of our fans need to get a bit of a grip I feel. It can turn very, very quickly. One game at a time, and the next one is Bohs. A game we're well capable of winning.

[joey B]

Dundalk did what they had to against us,we battled but never troubled them really and they cantered home .
Apparently we should of had a penalty in the second half but I was too far away to see it ,I heard a group of Dundalk lads got arrested before the game for fighting with each other! again I didn't see it just seen a load of guards on Navenny street 10 minutes before kick off.

[shep]

When I was walking into the match with my father and my five year old daughter,there was two "kids" who couldn't handle their drink being held by gardai,was no bad atmosphere etc just a couple of idiots who probably had a few too many cans on the bus. On the match itself,I don't think Dundalk had to get out of 2nd gear,and it was probably our cosiest win apart from Sligo in the Showgrounds. Harps set out to disrupt us and be physical early on but it didn't really work. Enjoyed the match and the grub in Naverney Grill!! On to Bray next week.The difference the Dave Mc Millan makes to our team is massive.

[oriel]

The one certainty is that we won't maintain the 100% record all season. Some of our fans need to get a bit of a grip I feel. It can turn very, very quickly. One game at a time, and the next one is Bohs. A game we're well capable of winning.

Things can indeed change very quickly. Cork are in some form, but Dundalk are getting nicely into gear. I think back to crucial two week period after a break in Dundalk's euro run. We lost away to Bray and then to Galway and Cork picked up 1 point I think in the same period. As a result our lead was only cut by 1 point.

[wonder88]

Shambolic organising by Cork last night allowing youngsters interfere with the rte during their half-time segment. You would not see this carry-on at a gaa club match on tg4.
Great professionalism display by Peter Collins and team however. Impressed with Declan Devine's contributions, Dan Murray will improve I am sure.

[White Horse]

Shambolic organising by Cork last night allowing youngsters interfere with the rte during their half-time segment. You would not see this carry-on at a gaa club match on tg4.

You also wouldn't get yobs like that as a GAA club game, though you might get a 50 year old fan getting on to the pitch to "remonstrate" with the ref.

[SeanDrog]

Side issue but as harp boys are in this thread - any decent hotels near your ground - I'm thinking of overnighting it there in a few weeks for our match. Beautiful part of the world.

[joey B]

Side issue but as harp boys are in this thread - any decent hotels near your ground - I'm thinking of overnighting it there in a few weeks for our match. Beautiful part of the world.

Jackson's and Villa rose both walking distance from the ground and Kees is a little further away in Stranorlar but again a handy dander over the town,all have decent bars and food options.There's a couple of okish pubs in town,Pat Bonner's,Barrett's is where you'll find Harps fans and Heeneys is not bad it does decent grub as well.
If you're looking for a night out after I'd suggest staying in Letterkenny again plenty of hotel options but Letterkenny would be 20/25 minutes drive from Finn Park, hope that helps.

[Philosophizer]

Shambolic organising by Cork last night allowing youngsters interfere with the rte during their half-time segment. You would not see this carry-on at a gaa club match on tg4.
Great professionalism display by Peter Collins and team however. Impressed with Declan Devine's contributions, Dan Murray will improve I am sure.

While the young lads shouldn't have been allowed to walk past the cameras, you do indeed get that at gaa grounds all the time. I see it ever week when intercounty players are being interviewed on pitch after the match

[SeanDrog]

Jackson's and Villa rose both walking distance from the ground and Kees is a little further away in Stranorlar but again a handy dander over the town,all have decent bars and food options.There's a couple of okish pubs in town,Pat Bonner's,Barrett's is where you'll find Harps fans and Heeneys is not bad it does decent grub as well.
If you're looking for a night out after I'd suggest staying in Letterkenny again plenty of hotel options but Letterkenny would be 20/25 minutes drive from Finn Park, hope that helps.

Cheers Joey - appreciated

[DannyInvincible]

While the young lads shouldn't have been allowed to walk past the cameras, you do indeed get that at gaa grounds all the time. I see it ever week when intercounty players are being interviewed on pitch after the match

Indeed, see here - a TG4 interview of Mayo's Tom Parsons (with people in the background cheering, waving and even a kid in his da's arms mock-shooting himself in the head with a toy gun, ha) after his county beat Tyrone in Omagh - from just the other weekend: https://www.facebook.com/HumansofGAA/videos/1289570827828345/

[TonyD]

Yeah, good summary. The second came at a time i thought we might cave in, and instead it was game over.

Couple of superb saves from Clarke too.

Yeah, one superb save in particular from Clarkie in the second half, from an Ian Birmingham shot. How w didn't score from a couple of those goalmouth scrambles in still a mystery to me the following morning. Alex O'Hanlon practically ended up sitting on the ball at one stage when it looked easier to score. Going to be a tough season for us, no doubt about it.

[nigel-harps1954]

Overall it was a poor quality game - but from a very early stage it was clear that there was only one likely outcome. Harps were physical and had plenty of effort but were simply not at the races and it was in the dying embers of the match that Harps had their solitary shot on target.

A 3 or 4 goal win would not have flattered

Excuse me. Harps had two shots on target. There was a weak effort in the first half. We were denied a completely stonewall penalty by Paul Tuite who had a nightmare game. Vemmelund should have been sent off and Harps were not the only physical side by any means, Dundalk gave every bit as good as they got.


When I was walking into the match with my father and my five year old daughter,there was two "kids" who couldn't handle their drink being held by gardai,was no bad atmosphere etc just a couple of idiots who probably had a few too many cans on the bus.

Bus load of teenagers all caused trouble in the town. Around 10-15 of them stopped by the Gardai using fake ID's in a pub on the main street. Took 5 cops to separate them all beating the heads of each other outside the door.

There was a few lads arrested later on outside the shop next to the ground. It was definitely isolated to this one bus load of lads though, not one of them seemed to have any bit of Dundalk FC attire on them either.

[ger121]

Jackson's and Villa rose both walking distance from the ground and Kees is a little further away in Stranorlar but again a handy dander over the town,all have decent bars and food options.There's a couple of okish pubs in town,Pat Bonner's,Barrett's is where you'll find Harps fans and Heeneys is not bad it does decent grub as well.
If you're looking for a night out after I'd suggest staying in Letterkenny again plenty of hotel options but Letterkenny would be 20/25 minutes drive from Finn Park, hope that helps.

Cheers for that. Couple of us are thinking of doing an overnight for our game up there.

[Trevor Carey]

Corks bubble will burst soon enou4 although they did look good tonight even against a seriously weakened Derry team .

We've not played well yet. Maybe 30 mins here and there. Bohs, Pats and Bray finish off this series for us, and we start Series 2 with Harps, Galway, Drogheda and Shamrock Rovers.

We've had serious injuries too. Bolger, Beattie, Campion, Dunleavy all absent or just back on the bench from injury in the case of Beattie. John Kavanagh has had injury issues too. It's all about squad depth. Still issues in central defence in terms of quality and cover, and if Maguire got injured then we're ****ed.

[White Horse]

We've not played well yet. Maybe 30 mins here and there. Bohs, Pats and Bray finish off this series for us, and we start Series 2 with Harps, Galway, Drogheda and Shamrock Rovers.

We've had serious injuries too. Bolger, Beattie, Campion, Dunleavy all absent or just back on the bench from injury in the case of Beattie. John Kavanagh has had injury issues too. It's all about squad depth. Still issues in central defence in terms of quality and cover, and if Maguire got injured then we're ****ed.


The really positive thing for Cork is that they haven't really clicked yet. Even in games where they are poor, like in Tallaght, they are getting three points.

There is always the risk that Maguire will want away in the summer but, unlike Bradley, I don't think Cork are a one man team.

[nigel-harps1954]

A lot of suspicions of offside surrounding Dundalks second goal last night..

https://scontent-lht6-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/17799116_1429135840478685_5600249674340492265_n.jp g?oh=581fc543c702a377cb3a1bf20b811709&oe=594CAC1B

[oriel]

Cheers for that. Couple of us are thinking of doing an overnight for our game up there.


I'd def stay in Balybofey guys, you don't want to be driving 30 mins at 10pm or so. Good few of us stayed in Jacksons hotel last year, perfect spot and very reasonably priced, nice beer garden too, 10 min walk to the match. Balybofey might be small, but it has a nice feel to it, nice few pubs around.