LoI in Europe 2018

[Philosophizer]

Excellent strike from Duffy again. Well saved by the keeper

[Nah Nah Nah Nah]

Hoban sent off. And then not sent off.

Only seen this half but Larnaca better team from what I’ve seen.

[Duggie]

Shields has become a better player the last few years. improved a lot. Type of player that does not get noticed. Played well tonight.

[Philosophizer]

Larnaca seemed to raise their game for about 10 mins in the 2nd half and it looked like a goal was coming but Dundalk weathered the storm and are back in it the last 15 mins

[Philosophizer]

Shields has become a better player the last few years. improved a lot. Type of player that does not get noticed. Played well tonight.
Massively improved on the ball in recent years!

[Duggie]

Massively improved on the ball in recent years!totally.

[Real ale Madrid]

Entertaining game for a nil-nil. Dundalk coughed up too many chances, shore up at the back, score a goal, well in it still.

[bennocelt]

I would settle for that, didn't let in that dreaded away goal, and on a better pitch against a team still in pre season mode they have a good chance.

[ger121]

Hard to know what to make of that result. Clean sheet at home and if they score out there, they’d have a good chance. Having not seen the game, I don’t know how good Larnaca are and if they have a few more gears they can go up.

[CorribsideSteve]

That's a very good result for Dundalk. They might have won it even, and crucially, the dreaded away goal was avoided. As the game wore on, Dundalk's high pressing out wide on the touchlines was excellent. Shiels was magnificent. Duffy was trying to be fancy in the first half when he should have blasted it, also, there was plenty of space to the goalies right, but still, they can score out there. A positive result I would say.

[Philosophizer]

0-0 result. Fair result in my opinion. Very evenly matched teams. High quality game too. Both teams went for it.
Dundalk have every chance in Cyprus. Well capable of going there and winning it, but Larnaca have quality too.

[ger121]

Injury time winner for Hibs after being 2 nil down. They do leak a lot of goals.

[Asterix]

Think Dundalk needed to win tonight, the heat will play a big part next week

[Philosophizer]

Dundalk probably had slightly better chances. Duffy really should have scored 1 of his 3 chances. The Larnaca lad probably should have scored the right footed volley too but he struck it wide.

[Philosophizer]

Think Dundalk needed to win tonight, the heat will play a big part next week

Heat could be the difference all right. The Dundalk lads will be fecked in that heat. Larnaca will also be a week further along in their pre season fitness and may have a few internationals back from injury.
Still tho, Kenny and the Dundalk players will believe they can do it.

[ger121]

Sure, heat could be a factor but they are a fit side, it’s been a warm summer and they did a training week in Spain during the mid season break. That hopefully will stand to them. Over the last 5 years, they nearly always score away. It would be a good trend to continue next week.

[osarusan]

Both defences were fairly comfortable I thought. But Dundalk will always fancy their chances of getting a goal.

[White Horse]

Even enough game, I thought we just shaded the number of chances but a draw is a fair result.

The balance of our midfield just wasn't right, Benson was pushing too far forward and leaving oceans of space for them to exploit. Chris Shields had to play like two players to hold the midfield. A stunning performance from him.

McEleney coming off the bench was almost a game changer, they couldn't handle his movement and inventiveness. Its a pity he is not fit enough to play more than 30 minutes.

Overall I'm pretty happy to go to Cyprus knowing a score draw will put us through.

The ref though. An absolute shocking performance.

[ToberonaTornado]

The Duffy miss was one of those were you say - "that could've been the one" with gilt chances were at a premium.
AEK had one also and it thankfully screwed wide.
Otherwise there were other little skirmishes and saves by the respective gk's.
Great tie to be at in a hopping ground and everything still up for grabs

Ref Buttimer-esque in how he handled the game!

Still in with a great chance of progressing.

[CorribsideSteve]

AEK had one also and it thankfully screwed wide.

Time stood still for me for a split second as I was sure it had gone in. That was a big let off. As good as Dundalk played, and play, an away goal tonight would have been a sickener and create a steep mountain to climb, and in that regard they did just enough. Rogers made some comfortable saves. Agree about the referee, the red card situation was definitely a page out of Buttimer's Book.

[TheBoss]

LOI sides have progressed to the next round 22 times playing the away leg second but have failed 116 times. But 15 of them have been since 2004/05 season with 33 failures in that time.

Last success was when Dundalk eliminated FH in 2016/17 season.

[swinfordfc]

I think Dundalk have missed their chance ... The heat factor will be huge out there and I think they need a win here last night to get through ... But I hope I'm wrong!

[White Horse]

I think Dundalk have missed their chance ... The heat factor will be huge out there and I think they need a win here last night to get through ... But I hope I'm wrong!

I don't think the heat factor will be huge. Dundalk have been training during the day on the Oriel Park surface all summer, and temperatures at pitch level usually exceed 30 degrees as the surface radiates heat upwards.

All training sessions are being monitored with Statsports equipment with particular emphasis upon the impact of heat on the players. Dundalk knew that a Europa League run would entail playing in heat.

Dundalk looked the fitter side last night, not that Larnaca were slouches. They were in great condition given it was their first competitive game.

I think we chased the game too much and lacked composure at key points. I hope we will be a bit more compact in midfield and wait for opportunities rather than trying to force them from unlikely situations.

[marinobohs]

Even enough game, I thought we just shaded the number of chances but a draw is a fair result.

The balance of our midfield just wasn't right, Benson was pushing too far forward and leaving oceans of space for them to exploit. Chris Shields had to play like two players to hold the midfield. A stunning performance from him.

McEleney coming off the bench was almost a game changer, they couldn't handle his movement and inventiveness. Its a pity he is not fit enough to play more than 30 minutes.

Overall I'm pretty happy to go to Cyprus knowing a score draw will put us through.

The ref though. An absolute shocking performance.

Very fair reflection, having something to build on would have been nice but a nil all at home never a disaster in Europe given the 'away goal' rule.Heat will be a factor over there but Dundalk are the best conditioned team in the League so they may not suffer as much as others might.
Still all to play for and I expect t will boil down to who takes whatever chances are going in the second leg. one goal might well be enough

[Demesne Lad]

As a Dundalk fan for over 50 years, I would love to see them go through next week. But the temperature will be 29 - 30 C, Laranaca may have 3 or 4 first choice players back, and in their last 9 European games at home they have scored 14 goals and conceded 3: one each to Bordeaux, Spartak Moscow and Slovan Liberac.

[paul_oshea]

Contrast Dundalk players and management speaking after the game to Cork(mainly) or any other side, disappointment was the main theme, you can imagine caufield beaming from ear to ear, but still somehow being negative with a similar result. Talk positive, act positive, positive results will follow.

Shields was very good, thought O'Donnell would be a big miss for Dundalk in Europe this year but Shields was playing his role as well as his own. Connolly and Mcgrath were not up to the required standard but everyone else played pretty well. Larnaca seemed to up in the 2nd half looking for an away goal, but then they tired in the last 10 to 15 minutes and Dundalk looked relatively ok. But that humidity and heat in Cyprus where during the day it could be up in the late 30s will definitely affect Dundalk, 4 or 5 degrees is massive in that heat. Larnaca will also be a week further into their pre-season and that game last night will have done them the world of good.

Dundalk had some great chances, no clear cut, wtf was he at misses, but the right option at the right time and could have been a goal. The chance Shields created in the first half and followed the run into the box, the pull ball across was poor given the positioning of Dundalks players around the 6 yard box, should have been played back to Shields feet rather than blasting across the box. I thought a few selfish individual strikes also cost them a goal in the 2nd half, there were better options available but Hoban and Duffy chose the selfish option. I'm wondering watching duffy if he is trying to push his chances of a big move over the benefit of the team.

Someone mentioned above also, but dundalk left loads of space in the middle, fortunately Shields was all over the place, and Larnaca werent capable of taking advantage of the space. Dundalks high press meant that once larnaca got the ball in behind them or dispossessed dundalk up top then they left space to be exploited behind. Something they will have to balance better next week.

Although Connolly and mgrath had to come off I wasn't overly impressed with who came on.

A 0-0 was a fair result. I hope Larnacas fitness isn't that much better next week cos that middle quarter in the 2nd half they looked much more dangerous until they tired. But it really is so refreshing to watch Dundalk and listen to the team and management in Europe. I hope Kenny one day gets the top job in Ireland and the chance to make his mark.

[paul_oshea]

As a Dundalk fan for over 50 years, I would love to see them go through next week. But the temperature will be 29 - 30 C, Laranaca may have 3 or 4 first choice players back, and in their last 9 European games at home they have scored 14 goals and conceded 3: one each to Bordeaux, Spartak Moscow and Slovan Liberac.

It will be higher, it will be mid 30s, possibly mid to late 30s.

Is that draw a 0.5 in co-effs. What would Dundalk need to get this year to be Seeded 1st in the 2nd round next year, or in CL Champions path round 1/2 next year?

[El-Pietro]

It will be higher, it will be mid 30s, possibly mid to late 30s.

Is that draw a 0.5 in co-effs. What would Dundalk need to get this year to be Seeded 1st in the 2nd round next year, or in CL Champions path round 1/2 next year?
It only adds to the league coefficient. Not to Dundalks coefficient. I assume you will disappear from this forum again after next week for another year?

[paul_oshea]

See thats the negativity I am talking about. Cork will be here for at least another round, so give it another few weeks. Why can't cork go another couple of rounds. Positive thinking El-Pietro mi amigo negativo.

[Kingdom]

It only adds to the league coefficient. Not to Dundalks coefficient. I assume you will disappear from this forum again after next week for another year?

Hands up, you got him good there. It's deserved.

[oriel]

Decent game last night and a fair result. AEK are a good outfit, had plenty of the ball, but definitely lacking a little bit of cutting edge up front. Duffy had a great chance prob around 20 mins, possibly should have scored, Hoban and Duffy again all had more chances, but so they AEK.

0-0 home draw is not the worst result, that’s only Hajduk Split who have beaten Dundalk at Oriel now under Kenny (and Dlk won the away game), unbeaten v Bate, Esch, FH, Rosenborg, Levadia & AEK, not too many wins mind, only Esch and Levadia.

Also read this am, Dundalk have scored in 9 of the last 10 euro away games, that’s a decent record, obviously need to score away, wouldn’t fancy 0-0 after 180 mins in that heat, I think we can get a result, but AEK will be favs now.

[White Horse]

Disappointing that the ref booked Hoban for remonstrating about being spat at by a Larnaca player.

Say what you like about other teams in this league but being spat at is not something players have to put up with.

[paul_oshea]

Hands up, you got him good there. It's deserved.

Eh no he just proved my point around negativity and low expectations Kingdom. Stop following me around the www you dirty perverted voyeur :P.

[dundalkfc10]

It only adds to the league coefficient. Not to Dundalks coefficient. I assume you will disappear from this forum again after next week for another year?

Hes a regular poster on foot.ie from what i can remember.

Must be very bitter down in Cork

[Nesta99]

Santa Coloma 1-0 Valur in tonight's main upset. Valur - who were 60 seconds from knocking out Rosenborg last week - were shocking and deserved nothing tonight. Funny aul game!

Now where has our Icelandic cheerleader gone?

[Real ale Madrid]

It will be higher, it will be mid 30s, possibly mid to late 30s.

Is that draw a 0.5 in co-effs. What would Dundalk need to get this year to be Seeded 1st in the 2nd round next year, or in CL Champions path round 1/2 next year?

Dundalk were seeded in EL QR1 (cut off 2.900) and QR2 (cut off 5.000) this year - that won't change for next year in the EL based on their current coefficient of 7.000.

In the extreme hypothetical situation where Dundalk win the league this year - then their own co-efficient is good enough as it stands to have them seeded in the CL QR1 next year (Cut off 2018: 3.750) but it would not be good enough for QR2. (Cut off for 2018 14.000)

However if Dundalk in this mega hypothetical situation did win the league and as a seeded team in QR1 it follows that they would have a great chance of making the EL group stages.

Assume they win CLQR1, lose CLQR2, drop down to the ELQR3 as a seed, and win that round - they would be 1 tie away from the group stages and that is just following their seeding. Of course they can be lucky and unlucky in terms of the draw and it is rarely as simple as that.

Cork City of course are going to retain the league title this season ( I have to be positive ) - so the above is a purely hypothetical.

I would expect the cut off for seeded in the CL to rise slightly next year so our current co-efficient of 3.750 would be on the cusp of being potentially seeded IMO - progression to ELQR4 this year would bring it up to 4.250 and be potentially good enough. A ranking of 3.750 would be good enough probably (but not definitely) for us to be seeded in ELQR1 but certainly not ELQR2 for next year but that probably doesn't matter.

Confused? Good.

[passinginterest]

Very interesting game. Before the game I thought Dundalk's best tactic would be to play very high tempo and press them early and that seemed to be the way they set out. If anything that back fired a bit though, Larnaca didn't panic and killed the tempo early on and Dundalk seemed to be rushing things in comparison to their normal game. Overall I'd have said Larnaca were just about the better team, but playing away, in what's bound to be a slower tempo game, might actually help Dundalk to an extent. They'll sit a bit deeper, try and slow it down and retain the ball when they have it, invite Larnaca on a bit and hit them more on the break where the pace of Duffy, Connolly etc. can really be maximized. I'd agree that Dundalk looked a bit too open in the middle, Benson wants to bomb on a little bit too much, and McGrath's main job is meant to be linking play and getting close to the striker which left an awful lot for Shiels to do (which he did extremely well in the circumstances). It's a huge task in the away leg, but a score draw is definitely possible.

[disgruntled]

Decent game last night and a fair result. AEK are a good outfit, had plenty of the ball, but definitely lacking a little bit of cutting edge up front. Duffy had a great chance prob around 20 mins, possibly should have scored, Hoban and Duffy again all had more chances, but so they AEK.

0-0 home draw is not the worst result, that’s only Hajduk Split who have beaten Dundalk at Oriel now under Kenny (and Dlk won the away game), unbeaten v Bate, Esch, FH, Rosenborg, Levadia & AEK, not too many wins mind, only Esch and Levadia.

Also read this am, Dundalk have scored in 9 of the last 10 euro away games, that’s a decent record, obviously need to score away, wouldn’t fancy 0-0 after 180 mins in that heat, I think we can get a result, but AEK will be favs now.

Dundalk did well last night & were unlucky not to grab a goal from one of their chances.
AEK are a tidy outfit & fast on the break. They had players missing last night which may be back for next week. They will also have an extra week of fitness.
Dundalk have a good chance next week but what might catch them is the heat as its expected to be very hot out there.
Expected to be in the mid 30's.

[CorribsideSteve]

Did Dundalk not play some matches during our own heatwave? May not have been 45 degrees celsius, but was pushing 25-30. In general, this was the warmest summer for between 20 and 40 years. Those little things should stand to them, I feel. Still annoyed that Duffy didn't score on 11 mins. A 1 nil win for Dundalk would have been massive. There's a time and place to be a 'fancy dan' and that chance wasn't one of those times. If they get chances in Cyprus, maybe a simple finish would suffice.

[El-Pietro]

https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/sport/soccer/thomond-park-to-host-cork-city-european-games--as-pairc-not-being-considered-858129.html
Clearly timed to add to the pressure on the GAA surrounding Pairc Ui Chaoimh but I'm glad to hear we'd be moving to Limerick rather than Dublin. I'm no fan of Thomond Park but I'd much prefer to play a 'home' game there rather than in Dublin. Plus with some EL group games starting at 6pm getting to Limerick would be easier for people in the City and west of the City than Dublin. Especially with rush hour traffic around Dublin.

Hopefully if we do get to these games the PUC issue is resolved and we can keep the games in Cork. I think we would probably need to move a playoff round game too. It is quite possible that we get that far this year. Maybe 40% as we'd still be underdogs vs Rosenborg but definitely a real possibility.

[Real ale Madrid]

https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/sport/soccer/thomond-park-to-host-cork-city-european-games--as-pairc-not-being-considered-858129.html
Clearly timed to add to the pressure on the GAA surrounding Pairc Ui Chaoimh but I'm glad to hear we'd be moving to Limerick rather than Dublin. I'm no fan of Thomond Park but I'd much prefer to play a 'home' game there rather than in Dublin. Plus with some EL group games starting at 6pm getting to Limerick would be easier for people in the City and west of the City than Dublin. Especially with rush hour traffic around Dublin.

Hopefully if we do get to these games the PUC issue is resolved and we can keep the games in Cork. I think we would probably need to move a playoff round game too. It is quite possible that we get that far this year. Maybe 40% as we'd still be underdogs vs Rosenborg but definitely a real possibility.

It would be sad enough if/when we have to move a game to Thomond. Anyway its better than the alternative which would be Dublin.

[NeverFeltBetter]

Limerick City will finally have a team in Europe. Pat O'Sullivan will be thrilled.

[El-Pietro]

It would be sad enough if/when we have to move a game to Thomond. Anyway its better than the alternative which would be Dublin.
Especially when theres a stadium that seats 21k built with public funding only a couple of kilometers from Turners Cross sitting idle. I think the only way we get to use PUC is if we first move a game and we get similar uproar to what we've seen over the past two weeks. The money lost to the city would be criminal. Thats before you think about Cork City fans having to travel on a week day for a 6pm kick off in Limerick on bad roads.
In an ideal world we'd get a derogation to play all of our games in TX but thats unlikely. Next best option is PUC but thats less likely.

[paul_oshea]

https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/sport/soccer/thomond-park-to-host-cork-city-european-games--as-pairc-not-being-considered-858129.html
Clearly timed to add to the pressure on the GAA surrounding Pairc Ui Chaoimh but I'm glad to hear we'd be moving to Limerick rather than Dublin. I'm no fan of Thomond Park but I'd much prefer to play a 'home' game there rather than in Dublin. Plus with some EL group games starting at 6pm getting to Limerick would be easier for people in the City and west of the City than Dublin. Especially with rush hour traffic around Dublin.

Hopefully if we do get to these games the PUC issue is resolved and we can keep the games in Cork. I think we would probably need to move a playoff round game too. It is quite possible that we get that far this year. Maybe 40% as we'd still be underdogs vs Rosenborg but definitely a real possibility.

Any decision made around the Liam miller game, would be an exemption, they couldn't change to open up the ground before congress, which has already was being reported as having being widely rejected in 2017. I don't see why they should open their grounds either to be honest. Same as i don't see why gaa should be played on football pitches.

What criteria do Cork not meet for a play-off game? Munster FA own turners cross do they? Effectively meaning FAI owned?

[White Horse]

I thought having to play Europa League games in Dublin would be a disaster for the club. However, it turned out to be great. Dundalk attracted a lot of new support from Dublin and Leinster and many of those people are now coming to games in Oriel and when we play away in Dublin.

Playing in Limerick would allow Cork to spread their support further afield.

[paul_oshea]

Ya but would Dundalk have conceded 2 goals back in Oriel? It was a good mix of poles there as well actually, would have been good if some of them had decided to follow Dundalk/local Loi club after. Hearing the champions league music in the Avivia was something special though.

Turners Cross is a much bigger capacity than Oriel Park as well, would Cork City realistically get more than 7k for the games anyway? Unless its a big Premiership club. It makes less sense for Cork to move than it did for Dundalk.

[marinobohs]

https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/sport/soccer/thomond-park-to-host-cork-city-european-games--as-pairc-not-being-considered-858129.html
Clearly timed to add to the pressure on the GAA surrounding Pairc Ui Chaoimh but I'm glad to hear we'd be moving to Limerick rather than Dublin. I'm no fan of Thomond Park but I'd much prefer to play a 'home' game there rather than in Dublin. Plus with some EL group games starting at 6pm getting to Limerick would be easier for people in the City and west of the City than Dublin. Especially with rush hour traffic around Dublin.

Hopefully if we do get to these games the PUC issue is resolved and we can keep the games in Cork. I think we would probably need to move a playoff round game too. It is quite possible that we get that far this year. Maybe 40% as we'd still be underdogs vs Rosenborg but definitely a real possibility.

Given the negativity around the game for Liam Miller RIP I doubt you would get much joy from Cork bog ballers regarding PUC. would be a pity to take such games out of Cork but Thomond is probably a better option than Dublin. lets hope it becomes a problem for group games !

[paul_oshea]

Given the negativity around the game for Liam Miller RIP I doubt you would get much joy from Cork bog ballers regarding PUC. would be a pity to take such games out of Cork but Thomond is probably a better option than Dublin. lets hope it becomes a problem for group games !

It's all about the "small ball" in Cork, not the other bigger boggier kind :D.

[marinobohs]

Any decision made around the Liam miller game, would be an exemption, they couldn't change to open up the ground before congress, which has already was being reported as having being widely rejected in 2017. I don't see why they should open their grounds either to be honest. Same as i don't see why gaa should be played on football pitches.

What criteria do Cork not meet for a play-off game? Munster FA own turners cross do they? Effectively meaning FAI owned?

Amount of public money poured into the redevelopment of PUC. Having those match(es) in Cork would be a big boost for the whole City (not just financially). Public money should be utilized for all the people of Cork, but maybe an argument for a different thread :D

[Real ale Madrid]

I thought having to play Europa League games in Dublin would be a disaster for the club. However, it turned out to be great. Dundalk attracted a lot of new support from Dublin and Leinster and many of those people are now coming to games in Oriel and when we play away in Dublin.

Playing in Limerick would allow Cork to spread their support further afield.

Limerick people don't even support Limerick - we've no chance of expanding our support base imo.