Games 29-30 June

[pineapple stu]

We have a water break at the Bowl!

Is that a LoI first?

[micls]

Had one at oriel too.

[pineapple stu]

Boo!

Kicked off ten minutes earlier, so ye win

[El-Pietro]

We had a good start. Then sort of fell to pieces for ten minutes but sorted out our shape after the water break. Dundalk have had all the possession but aside from that ten minute period it's been mostly sterile. Were happy for them to play in front of our defence and shoot from distance. They did have one very dangerous shot from Benson though.
Despite our lack of possession we've gotten into dangerous positions quite a bit but the shot has fallen to the wrong people and hadn't troubled the keeper.
Interesting game. Kinda wish I could have been there but couldn't get out of work in time so happy to have the TV option.

[bluemovie]

Listening to Pat Morley doing the Cork game is like having Gary Neville doing Man U games

[micls]

Great header from Josh! 1-1. Game on.

[El-Pietro]

Pat hates Cork City!

[Straightstory]

We have a water break at the Bowl!

Is that a LoI first?
One at Shels v Drogs a few weeks ago

[Longfordian]

Haven’t heard much from Belfield, anyone know the score?

[pineapple stu]

Bizarre end to the game in the Bowl; two defensive howlers gift Longford two goals, and we get a stonewall peno ignored.

Doesn't change that Longford fully deserved their win, but I think that might be our worst First Division result ever, and it wasn't that kind of game

[Longfordian]

That’s a great win for us in all seriousness. That’s Harps, Drogs, Galway and UCD that we’ve beaten in recent games. Frustrating that we dropped 5 points to Athlone and Cabo.

[patrickccfc]

That was a horrible way to lose tonight. Dundalk the better team but we had some chances, particularly the Sheppard one that Roger's tipped on to the post. Would've taken the point but it's two points behind now. It's going to be interesting.

[osarusan]

Great win for us given the circumstances. We did well in the first half, but had to withstand a fair bit of pressure in the second half. Although we had chances to finish it off too.

9 ahead of Bray with 12 games to go...will be a tough task for them.

[nigel-harps1954]

Finn Harps win at Cabinteely and all is again good with the world.

[sbgawa]

Good win for rovers very comfortable 2 nil .
A warm evening in Tallaght stadium......hard to believe.
New stand looks great coming on quickly

[White Horse]

Cracking atmosphere in Oriel Park tonight. I thought Dundalk were very wasteful in the fist half, they dominated possession but were making poor choices with the final ball. However, all looked well when Adorjan score a delightful goal at the start of the second half. Fair play to Cork after that, they pushed numbers forward and got a goal that looked offside at the time. Cork seemed to sit back at that point, while Dundalk pressed forward themselves and Kenny's two substitutions (Connolly and Murray) made the difference.

The single biggest difference between Dundalk and Cork is the comparison between Cummins and Hoban. Hoban burst a gut to throw himself towards a cross in the 92nd minute. That is what wins tight games.

As an aside, it was disappointing to hear that Dundalk fans in a local pub were attacked before the game. It seemed a premeditated attack from the accounts of people who witnessed it.

[ToberonaTornado]

Hoban was brilliant tonight.
Totally proved that he has more to his game than just scoring the odd goal here and there.

Was a cracking game.Cork started better but Dundalk got going about 20mins in and ran it from there until h/t.
Thought after our 1 st goal we lost our way AGAIN but with a bit of team spirit we dug in well after that and deserved the win.

O hanlon goal offside? i was in the worst place to judge but looking back on rte after it was onside by a whisker.

Great atmosphere in the ground also.

[L.T.F.C.]

Bizarre end to the game in the Bowl; two defensive howlers gift Longford two goals, and we get a stonewall peno ignored.

Doesn't change that Longford fully deserved their win, but I think that might be our worst First Division result ever, and it wasn't that kind of game

And yet not one UCD player called for it?
€12 into that place is a robbery.

[Dalymountrower]

Pats should have been 3 up at half time but a 25 yard drive out of nowhere from Devanney had us ahead.
Pats seemed knackered second half , which Bohs probably edged.
Can see Pats getting dragged into a bottom 5 battle.

[patrickccfc]

Hoban was brilliant tonight.
Totally proved that he has more to his game than just scoring the odd goal here and there.

Was a cracking game.Cork started better but Dundalk got going about 20mins in and ran it from there until h/t.
Thought after our 1 st goal we lost our way AGAIN but with a bit of team spirit we dug in well after that and deserved the win.

O hanlon goal offside? i was in the worst place to judge but looking back on rte after it was onside by a whisker.

Great atmosphere in the ground also.

I was very impressed with Hoban. He got his head on nearly every ball that was sent into the box.

Thought we did well for the first 15-20 pressing high up the pitch but we just sat back they and Dundalk got on top though without creating many clear opportunities. Very unfortunate goal for us to concede but Hoban throwing himself at that cross caused McLoughlin to make that mistake.

Instantly thought our goal was offside, clearly see on the replay that he was on though.

That would've been a good point had it ended that way but wasn't to be and now we have a 2 point deficit to make up. Not impossible by any means but we can't afford to fall any further behind I reckon.

European fixtures could play a part in this also.

[White Horse]

There are lots of points to play for. I don't think there will be many points between Dundalk and Cork come the end of the season.

Head to heads ties are important but there will be banana skin games when both are juggling European ties.

[Ezeikial]

An impressive display from Sean McLoughlin at the heart of the Cork defence - he was unlucky to turn the ball into his own net for the winner, although the credit must go to Hoban for applying the pressure to force it.

[micls]

Gutted for McLoughlin. Very hard on the young lad, who hasn't put a foot wrong since coming into the team.

On the balance of the whole game, Dundalk probably deserved the win, horrible time to lose it though and tough mentally. I thought we were slightly the better team in the second half. Dundalk much better first half, without creating much.

Our 2 early subs made a huge difference for us, leading to the goal between them. Sheps chance was pivotal. Poor first touch killed it.

Hoban was fantastic. McNamee probably out best. Sadlier had a quiet game unfortunately.

Disappointing loss. Big few weeks for the lads mentally now after that. They need to get themselves right for Rovers next week.

[pineapple stu]

And yet not one UCD player called for it?
€12 into that place is a robbery.
Kelly, who was fouled, was well ****ed off with it. But what was the point of a big appeal at 4-1 down? Not denying that Longford deserved to win at all; just that the last couple of minutes put an unusual gloss on the score.

Twelve quid is standard enough for a First Division game surely? Maybe a tenner, in which case twelve can hardly be robbery

[Longfordian]

Goals from Belfield here. UCD will be disappointed with pretty much all of the goals though the fourth from Elworthy was a cracking finish in fairness.

https://youtu.be/1gI5fe0X--I

[White Horse]

An impressive display from Sean McLoughlin at the heart of the Cork defence - he was unlucky to turn the ball into his own net for the winner, although the credit must go to Hoban for applying the pressure to force it.

If it was an OG, it was very much a forced OG. The lad was tracking a surging run from Hoban to get get on the end of a delicious cross.

McLoughlin played well the whole game.

[Ezeikial]

Disappointing loss. Big few weeks for the lads mentally now after that. They need to get themselves right for Rovers next week.,

Rovers are very obviously a hit and miss team but now have 3 wins in the spin (scoring 9 with none conceded). We might even gift them a win on Monday night in the LSC to keep their run going and build confidence ahead of their visit to Turners Cross.

While I expect Cork to have too much for them, they may well be vulnerable after last nights defeat in Oriel Park

[pineapple stu]

If it was an OG, it was very much a forced OG. The lad was tracking a surging run from Hoban to get get on the end of a delicious cross.

McLoughlin played well the whole game.
If only El-Pietro and micls had travelled up too, Cork might have saved the point. :)

[micls]

If only El-Pietro and micls had travelled up too, Cork might have saved the point. :)

With my record in Oriel, we'd likely have lost by more!

[patrickccfc]

Just watching dundalks winner there, When the ball is played through to Murray, Bennett doesn't go out to him to try prevent the cross. All presumptuous of course but maybe if he goes towards him and not in to try deal with the cross, he could've got a block on it or even pressurised Murray into a less quality cross in.

Very unfortunate for McLoughlin who was excellent last night.

We really need to match dundalks results until we meet again because I just don't see them dropping points.

[Ezeikial]

Just watching dundalks winner there, When the ball is played through to Murray, Bennett doesn't go out to him to try prevent the cross. All presumptuous of course but maybe if he goes towards him and not in to try deal with the cross, he could've got a block on it or even pressurised Murray into a less quality cross in.

Very unfortunate for McLoughlin who was excellent last night.

We really need to match dundalks results until we meet again because I just don't see them dropping points.

Bennett was fortunate to be on the pitch at that stage for his forearm smash on Hoban

[dong]

As a neutral watching last night and from seeing both teams a couple of times I feel Dundalk are clearly trying to play a more expansive game. Cork seem happy enough with a smash and grab approach in the majority of their games.
I dont know if the gap in player quality is thst great but there is a gulf in philosophy that I feel holds Cork back. I suppose they have had some success with this approach so they can argue the end justifies the means but I would like to see how good they could be with a less cautious coach.

[micls]

I'll take our 'some success' with our most successful manager of all time and most sustained period of challenging consistently! JCs win rate is outstanding. We won't be looking to get rid in the hope that someone might be prettier at it.

[Ezeikial]

I'll take our 'some success' with our most successful manager of all time and most sustained period of challenging consistently! JCs win rate is outstanding. We won't be looking to get rid in the hope that someone might be prettier at it.

That makes plenty of sense form the perspective of Cork supporters who have experienced winning a league and two FAI Cups in addition to consistent European qualification under Caulfield. While Cork folk would be unlikely to contemplate change currently, what Dong alludes to is an interesting suggestion that Cork could possibly achieve more with the current crop of players with a more adventurous or progressive manager - it is unlikely that the thesis will be tested

However, in the event of Cork receding and going a season or two without winning a trophy, the Cork support may become more impatient with the Caulfield style of football.

[oriel]

Obviously delighted with that last night, tough on Cork at the end, but Dundalk kept passing and looking for the opening, brilliant timing for our goals the first and last minute of the second half.

I sit in the top row of the stand and that was some shift Cork put in with their organising when they didn’t have the ball, you get a great view from there on stuff like this, almost every time Dundalk started a move they closed down the option of where to pass it and Dundalk often had to look for the next gap, it continued for the whole game.

The quality from both is definitely a step up on anything I’ve seen in a long time, there have of course been battles involving sides like Bohs and Shels when they were winning leagues, and Pats too, maybe Rovers for a bit and Derry too when they won a few trophies, but this battle is into its 5th year, and I’d say the standard of both could easily fit into League 1 in England.

Not sure why JC had a go at the 4th official for the Dundalk winner, but another point we were talking about after the game, people forget at times he has come from non league football management to where he is now, that’s serious progress, oh and why did he wear his tracksuit coat/top in near 25c heat !

Good win for Dundalk, great to be back on top, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see the lead change a few more times before end of Oct, one draw for either never mind a loss and the gap gets bigger, or closer of course.

Edit. Forgot to say O’Hanlon’s goal was definitely onside.

[micls]

That makes plenty of sense form the perspective of Cork supporters who have experienced winning a league and two FAI Cups in addition to consistent European qualification under Caulfield. While Cork folk would be unlikely to contemplate change currently, what Dong alludes to is an interesting suggestion that Cork could possibly achieve more with the current crop of players with a more adventurous or progressive manager - it is unlikely that the thesis will be tested

However, in the event of Cork receding and going a season or two without winning a trophy, the Cork support may become more impatient with the Caulfield style of football.

Thats fair. I don't necessarily agree that someone else could get more out of this group, JCs man management is second to none and he gets more out of a lot of players than would be expected. I appreciate others may disagree and realistically we won't know.

Agreed though, if we fell off the pace fans would get impatient. We're not the most patient of bunches. Although I think that would be equally true of a manager playing nice football and not being competitive. We aren't great losers!

[osarusan]

Some match in Sligo...already 2-2 after 30 minutes.

[RathfarnhamHoop]

Some match in Sligo...already 2-2 after 30 minutes.

Each team only named 6 subs by the looks of it

[ForzaForth]

Rumours at the Peamount game this evening that Wexford will be losing the three points gained against Athlone for playing a suspended player.

[WoodquayBoy]

According to weekly FAI suspension list, Thomas Croke of Wexford was suspended for one ‘First Team Competitive’ game as and from Monday June 25 for reaching 5 yellow cards. According to extratime.ie, a Thomas Croke came off the bench for Wexford in the 65th minute of their game on Friday June 29 against Athlone, their first competitive game since Monday June 25, to replace Ryan Nolan. Oops

[Charlie Darwin]

Boo!

Kicked off ten minutes earlier, so ye win
They had one at Shels-Drogheda a few weeks ago.

[Charlie Darwin]

,

Rovers are very obviously a hit and miss team but now have 3 wins in the spin (scoring 9 with none conceded). We might even gift them a win on Monday night in the LSC to keep their run going and build confidence ahead of their visit to Turners Cross.

While I expect Cork to have too much for them, they may well be vulnerable after last nights defeat in Oriel Park
We'll both be playing reserve teams but your reserve team is a lot better than ours. Outside Shaw, Miele and Gilchrist we're down to teenagers.

[Charlie Darwin]

According to weekly FAI suspension list, Thomas Croke of Wexford was suspended for one ‘First Team Competitive’ game as and from Monday June 25 for reaching 5 yellow cards. According to extratime.ie, a Thomas Croke came off the bench for Wexford in the 65th minute of their game on Friday June 29 against Athlone, their first competitive game since Monday June 25, to replace Ryan Nolan. Oops
ET reporting it now. Sounds like Wexford are in trouble. http://www.extratime.ie/articles/21245/confusion-as-wexford-field-suspended-player-in-fridays-win-over-athlone/

[oldyouth]

Croke was suspended for the game

[Ezeikial]

We'll both be playing reserve teams but your reserve team is a lot better than ours. Outside Shaw, Miele and Gilchrist we're down to teenagers.

That would be outrageously disrespectful to the venerable LSC competition.

Maybe losing the game to a bunch of kids would help bolster any flagging confidence in the "project". #4MoreYears

[Ezeikial]

Matthew Connor in goals for Waterford with Corbet on the bench.

Is Alan Reynolds blind to Corbets amazing potential?

[total hoofball]

According to weekly FAI suspension list, Thomas Croke of Wexford was suspended for one ‘First Team Competitive’ game as and from Monday June 25 for reaching 5 yellow cards. According to extratime.ie, a Thomas Croke came off the bench for Wexford in the 65th minute of their game on Friday June 29 against Athlone, their first competitive game since Monday June 25, to replace Ryan Nolan. Oops
Per the FAI's website Croke was booked in four games but it's a case of whether Croke could have received another yellow-card or Croke's name on the suspension list was an FAI admin error

I hope Wexford haven't been that stupid to play Croke without receiving clearance FAI because it was only last September they lost 2 points for playing an unregistered keeper in their draw against Shels

[sulywaterfordfc]

Matthew Connor in goals for Waterford with Corbet on the bench.

Is Alan Reynolds blind to Corbets amazing potential?

Tad bit random. Any particular reason for that comment? Matthew is a young local lad with a fair amount of potential and is number one, doing well too mind you.

[pineapple stu]

Ez is a tad bit upset that I suggested Waterford (and Cork) had better goalkeeping options on the bench than Euro Calamity Rogers and Dropsy Sava.

[White Horse]

Ez is a tad bit upset that I suggested Waterford (and Cork) had better goalkeeping options on the bench than Euro Calamity Rogers and Dropsy Sava.

How many league winning medals does Rogers have?