League of Ireland in Europe 2019

[Nesta99]

It's a nerve wrecking spell between now and tomorrow night. I really dont like the unknowns about this Riga side. I think they will be a right handful and it could be a difficult night for us. The ramifications for the club and then the league ranking could be significant. Of course we could bring our A game and cruise the game tomorrow and finish the tie.....just no soft goals just before HT after doing the hard work and no defensive gaffes!! As is always the case we cant be missing sitters expecting a load of chances, we need to make opportunities count. When you consider the headed sitter miss v Rosenborg and Kilduffs sitter off the top of the bar, hitting the post twice in St Petersburg 2016 and Sava's error against the same in Tallaght. 4-5 proper chances to progress further in those years including last 32 of EL. There is all the talk of Drogheda v Kiev etc. Chances just have to be made count and I'm not sure we are firing on all cylinders to do that.

[swinfordfc]

It's a nerve wrecking spell between now and tomorrow night. I really dont like the unknowns about this Riga side. I think they will be a right handful and it could be a difficult night for us. The ramifications for the club and then the league ranking could be significant. Of course we could bring our A game and cruise the game tomorrow and finish the tie.....just no soft goals just before HT after doing the hard work and no defensive gaffes!! As is always the case we cant be missing sitters expecting a load of chances, we need to make opportunities count. When you consider the headed sitter miss v Rosenborg and Kilduffs sitter off the top of the bar, hitting the post twice in St Petersburg 2016 and Sava's error against the same in Tallaght. 4-5 proper chances to progress further in those years including last 32 of EL. There is all the talk of Drogheda v Kiev etc. Chances just have to be made count and I'm not sure we are firing on all cylinders to do that.

Your captain is always good for a gaffe in European football!

[oriel]

This Riga team are definitely no mugs, ridiculous amount of internationalists too in their squad, they’ll be well pleased to have drawn us. From our side, this is of course one of the better draws, avoiding the Polish team was key, and a few more, but make no mistake Riga should not be taken lightly, and this could be a lot tighter than some are making out.

Any win will do tonight, and a clean sheet please.

[Duggie]

Dundalk, Rovers and Cork all to go through.

Pats to go out.

I think Dundalk and Cork will sneek through. Pats and Rovers will go out. Hope i'm wrong on the last 2 though.

[ForzaForth]

Best of luck to all clubs in their European ties and to the Irish Universities Women's team in their semi-final this afternoon. You're only Jong unce!

[Kingdom]

I'm really looking forward to catching the Euro games, as always, but I've a gut feeling we're going to do well. It's hard to see Pats turn it on, but I've a snakey feeling Cork will do well.
Dundalk will qualify.

[Real ale Madrid]

Dundalk to win.

We are in a 50/50 tie - need a positive result tomorrow night.

A repeat of last years performance might be good enough for Rovers but up against it also.

Pats have no chance.

[Ezeikial]

It's conceivable that all four teams will fall at the first fence, but I suspect that two from Dundalk, Rovers and Cork have a realistic chance of progressing

Dundalk may be marginal favourites to go through, but it is very obvious from listening to Vinny Perth and others within the squad that they fully realise that Riga (with their 12 internationals) represent a big challenge

[nigel-harps1954]

I don't think it's unreasonable to suggest that all four Irish sides will be put out in their first round.

Weighing it up, I think Dundalk are the only ones with a chance of progression.

[Nesta99]

Your captain is always good for a gaffe in European football!

Which one? Garts away to St Petersburg wasnt Captain that time, Boyle's handball peno was harsh in the play-off round.

Sava's sliced clearance is the standout one in a close fixture. Ganno concussed in Rosenborg but still should have gone through on away goals when Kilduff clipped the bar from 8 yards - if he'd scuffed it it would would have gone in - small margins!

[D24Saint]

Swiss refs in Richmond tomorrow night they should be at a decent level compared to our clowns.

[Mr A]

Swiss refs in Richmond tomorrow night they should be at a decent level compared to our clowns.

They should be neutral anyway, and their flag is a big plus.

[Nesta99]

They should be neutral anyway, and their flag is a big plus.
Thanks for that, I laughed more than I should and snorted a mouthful of tea at the same time....nervous tension released!!!

[bennocelt]

Not a whole lot in that latvian team, if Dundalk can snatch a one nil tonight will be great. Might be nice if Duffy could keep hold of the ball too..............

[pineapple stu]

I can imagine Dundalk fans starting to get a bit worried at this stage, especially given how last year's tie went.

[ger121]

This one has 0-0 written all over it

[dong]

Pardon my ignorance but would Dundalk be expected to progress in this tie?
The way the RTE commentary and pundit team are talking they should be winning this easily.
Decent game and not much in it.

[pineapple stu]

They're the seeded team and the ones who've been in the group stages in fairness. So I think they should be slight favourites, but it was never a 4-0 aggregate kind of game.

Latvian sides have won 3 of the 5 European meetings between the countries, including the most recent one, 4-1 against Pats in 2015.

I know 0-0 means an away goal in Latvia would be big, but I think Dundalk need one here, even just to prove they can.

[Nesta99]

Riga staying very structured and keeping us at arms length. We are obviously nervous about the away goal. If its stays as it is I think the away leg will be more open. The early free header missed by Hoare is the example of chances that need to be taken. Benson has helped and with more gametime under his belt could start in Riga. A trademark late penalty will do nicely for us!!!

When Shields went down injured you could tell from the silence of the crowd how important he is for us!

[dong]

I think ye have been better since Shields went off to be honest.
Concentration key in these last few minutes.

[Dalymountrower]

Excellent Ref in Oriel.

[Real ale Madrid]

Broken record time but you'd think if Dundalk were serious about Europe they would install a grass pitch.

[D24Saint]

Poor enough game. I was surprised by Riga they clearly showed they are no mugs and that tie is very well balanced ahead of the second leg.

[CorribsideSteve]

Ordinary enough from Dundalk. Really struggled to carve out chances.Benson made an immediate difference when he came on though, so hopefully he's more match fit for the away leg and starts. Overall though, Riga nullified Hoban to a large extent. Terrible miscommunication between Shields and Cleary. Hope he's alright. They have it all to do in Riga.

[Kingswood Rover]

Jeez Dundalk great team and all that but the ground looks gank on TV, Come Louth Co Co, Dundalk owners and the FAI sort out

[D24Saint]

Jeez Dundalk great team and all that but the ground looks gank on TV, Come Louth Co Co, Dundalk owners and the FAI sort out

Are they not still in hot soup with council over the building behind the ground ? Or what was the issues with it.

[Nesta99]

No any issues with the associated planning levies on the YDC have been resolved, that was part of the initial stand-off between Gerry Matthews and the Fastfix lads after the 2016 European moneypot was earned. Also that he built the YDC partly on his own land and partly on the Casey Trust held land has also been resolved between Des Casey and Dundalk FC and that GM sold the Hiney Park parcel of land to Dundalk Grammar School since - the YDC was taken in to the Casey Trust area. Des Casey's issue was the lack of courtesy by the former club owner who took some liberties with the positioning of the building and that the council granted permission for a building that straddled two owners land!?

[paul_oshea]

Dundalk weren't clinical enough like they normally are in Europe and missing that bit of accuracy they've shown in previous years. I think they were trying too hard to score instead of making building up play there was a lot of rushing forward and hitting the pass or cross everytime that never bet the first man. They played some lovely controlled football in the middle but up front they were blunt and awkward.
Riga could have had a man sent off with all the late and off the ball stuff. They looked to be physically bullying them at times and were a bit quicker at times hopefully that's all they have and Dundalk can be confident of getting an away goal out there.
That Dundalk pitch is disgraceful and was one of the reasons a shot was skyed over for Dundalk.

[Nesta99]

Excellent Ref in Oriel.

Naw he didnt award us a penalty!

In general he was good, maybe could have booked their centre half earlier for the fould that stopped a decent break. Got a yellow soon after though for similar a similar indescretion. He let play go mostly with only the odd soft free awarded. I thought he got caught in the way a couple of times on the edge of the box after some quick passes from Gannon to McEleney arriving from deep but Im nit picking there!

No away goal was first target, we didnt play that well either but still had the better chances. I think we will play with a bit more freedom and it will be Riga that will be tentative in not conceding an away goal. It wont be a Larnaca repeat (??!!!) as 1st leg last season was their first competative game for starters, heat and injuries and their quickfire early goals had us reeling. That was a chastening experience so the lads will have learned from that.

Hoare's early chance is the stand out missed opportunity. Benson showed his importance but also Shelids will be a loss if it turns out that there is a fracture of the jaw/eye socket. Hoare was good at times when he moved in to midfield but he doesnt have the ability to consistantly pass accurately in that position. Shields and Benson in the same midfield is a different proposition for Riga to face. Hoban put in a shift but was never in with a shout of scoring and similar to his league type form. His link up play and work rate was ok.

For as bad Oriel is and controversy on the pitch, we've only lost twice in 10 games at 'home'. Levski we were never at the races with that side and were lucky to hang on in Lux. Hadjuk was a young inexperienced side that gave too much respect and then went and won away and could have won the tie. So playing at our own home has its merits. The strict conditions on seating and capacity does mute the atmosphere. The pitch isnt an advantage with so many clubs especially in Europe playing on artificial surfaces regularly. Is it a disadvantage to us though? We should be used to it especially when it rains heavily after being watered also. Players should have a change of boots ready if the surface is as wet as it was tonight. They shouldnt be losing footing and with Cleary at the end it could have been costly. Kelly when he came on also lost his footing a few times. I would expect the players to be prepared for a greasy grass pitch also!

[paul_oshea]

Why does he stuff keep flying up when they get the foot stuck in though? And the ball clearly bobbles. Thankfully yer players seem to be able to play enough to control it but it causes issues in attack.

[paul_oshea]

Why does the stuff keep flying up when they get the foot stuck in though? And the ball clearly bobbles. Thankfully yer players seem to be able to play enough to control it but it causes issues in attack positions

[Nesta99]

Why does the stuff keep flying up when they get the foot stuck in though? And the ball clearly bobbles. Thankfully yer players seem to be able to play enough to control it but it causes issues in attack positions

The black rubber infill was probably topped up prior to the game and the pitch brushed and watered. While there is an extensive thread on the pitch, the black infill is cheaper than the green coloured variety and looks a lot worse than pitches where the coloured stuff is used. As with most Dundalk fans grass would be preferred, the artificial pitch served a purpose in the mid 2000s when first installed and was invaluable income and savings. That said if an average grass pitch was watched closely sand and loose soil would kick up also. As for the ball bobbling about, I didnt notice it any more than usual or even any more than many grass pitches during a dry spell. The pitch in Tallaght is exceptional. The one in Cork gets so much use that it is probably a real headache to keep right. The only people that can really assess the pitch is the players that use it most often albeit we know their preference. It would be interesting to hear their honest assessment of the Oriel pitch and the one in the Brandywell. As for 'the seriousness of the club in Europe' many clubs in Europe have artificial surfaces. The Luzhnky for one hosted international qualifiers and artificial surfaces are or were allowed up to CL semi finals. That many rugby clubs for example have opted for artificial surfaces without concern for injury etc and in Municipal Stadium developments its quite possible they will be opted for especially if multiuse, we will see more of them in the league over time. I'd take it if Louth CoCo were building a ground we could use!!!

[swinfordfc]

Dundalk in the final third was poor and it could have cost them a place in the next round. Riga are no mugs but teams now at this level shouldn't be ... There still have a chance but Riga are favourites now for sure.

[Nesta99]

I dont know, its 50/50 now imo. Riga have had rough patches domestically, they dont score a whole lot of goals considering their relative budget. Even their average gate would be lower than Dundalk's. They are well organised undoubtedly, really graft, and their main threat will be from the set piece so if everyone keeps switched on the set piece can be managed. We do though have to improve and get our own strengths working like the creative ability of McEleney and McGrath. The threat on the wings from Duffy and poissbly Kelly coming in and full back overlapping. I can see Massey getting the nod over Jarvis. Boyle and Cleary have the pace to scramble if we get caught with the fullbacks pushed up though Hoare was solid in centre defence. Benson could be fit for a start now and can dictate the pace. Hopefully Shields is ok to play so there is no temptation to play Hoare in midfield. Flores is definitely out and Murray is still carrying niggling injuries. They will go with Hoban in belief he will have more space and that we can get behind them. If he doesnt perform then Kelly should be getting a starting berth and Hoban could be on the move - THE hatstand Rovers are after albeit a very expensive one by all accounts.

[pineapple stu]

Probably the main worry for Dundalk out of that has to be the next round.

Win and it's Partizani or Qarabag - 0-0 after the first leg in Albania, but EL/CL group stage regulars (Qarabag) won't fear what they saw last night. Lose and it's BATE/Piast - 1-1 after the first leg in Belarus - and again, that's a tough draw.

Of course if Dundalk do beat Riga but lose to Qarabag, then there'd be another round in the EL. And Dundalk started off 2016 by scraping past FH on away goals before coming good against BATE.

But you'd wonder what Peak6 are looking for out of this campaign.

[sbgawa]

I dont know, its 50/50 now imo. Riga have had rough patches domestically, they dont score a whole lot of goals considering their relative budget. Even their average gate would be lower than Dundalk's. They are well organised undoubtedly, really graft, and their main threat will be from the set piece so if everyone keeps switched on the set piece can be managed. We do though have to improve and get our own strengths working like the creative ability of McEleney and McGrath. The threat on the wings from Duffy and poissbly Kelly coming in and full back overlapping. I can see Massey getting the nod over Jarvis. Boyle and Cleary have the pace to scramble if we get caught with the fullbacks pushed up though Hoare was solid in centre defence. Benson could be fit for a start now and can dictate the pace. Hopefully Shields is ok to play so there is no temptation to play Hoare in midfield. Flores is definitely out and Murray is still carrying niggling injuries. They will go with Hoban in belief he will have more space and that we can get behind them. If he doesnt perform then Kelly should be getting a starting berth and Hoban could be on the move - THE hatstand Rovers are after albeit a very expensive one by all accounts.

Rovers couldn't pay the wages Hoban is looking for.
Based on his current form I'm not surprised dfc are calling his bluff on contract. No loi club will outbid dfc and will an English club pay more for a guy who failed spectacularly over there before and who has 5 goals from play this season for the team that are clear at the top.

[bennocelt]

Bought my Basel V PSV tkt today, 18 euros, ultra tickets were only 13 euros.

Dundalk still very much alive, not letting in an away goal was crucial, now all to play for in the away leg, with more freedom and hopefully not another silly plastic pitch

[sbgawa]

I'd say the mangt at dundalk were happy enough with nil nil.
Riga aren't that good that you could see them scoring 2 or 3 goals at home.
Sneak an away goal and that could be enough

[oriel]

Broken record time but you'd think if Dundalk were serious about Europe they would install a grass pitch.

This was my initial thought leaving the ground, would a grass pitch have suited better, but UEFA ordered additional rubber to be laid on the pitch to make it heavier, plus as always the rain makes it worse. I think overall Dundalk didn’t do enough to win in, disappointed with that, the bonus though is the clean sheet, and I think we will score over there, hopefully it will be enough. This might have shades of the 2016 campaign, that started even worse with a 1-1 home draw v FH. That was the only game from the 12 that season that we were favs, and still didn’t win it.

Another post asked about what P6’s expectation would be, I would say they will be looking to play in 3 rounds, most likely route for that would be to beat Riga, then prob lose CLr2 (most likely to Qarabag), then that will get them into ELr3 v one of the other losers of a CL r2 tie, that could be as far as they’ll go. If they lose to Riga, its into EL r2, with no lifeline left after that.

Still fairly confident we can get the job done, will need to play a lot better next week though.

[oriel]

Dundalk in the final third was poor and it could have cost them a place in the next round. Riga are no mugs but teams now at this level shouldn't be ... There still have a chance but Riga are favourites now for sure.

Checking prices this am, and PP have both neck and neck to qualify for next round Riga 10/11 and Dundalk 4/5

[Ezeikial]

Rovers couldn't pay the wages Hoban is looking for.
Based on his current form I'm not surprised dfc are calling his bluff on contract. No loi club will outbid dfc and will an English club pay more for a guy who failed spectacularly over there before and who has 5 goals from play this season for the team that are clear at the top.

Pat Hoban's value continues to fall with each passing poor performance; although his 6th goal from open play against Derry last week was very welcome.

It may even get to the stage where the current contract offer is withdrawn if Dundalk agree a deal with a replacement striker

[Ezeikial]

Dundalk still very much alive, not letting in an away goal was crucial, now all to play for in the away leg, with more freedom and hopefully not another silly plastic pitch

While it was disappointing not to score last night, not conceding a goal was even more critical (certainly in a better position going in to the 2nd leg at 0-0 as opposed to 1-1).

Dundalk can certainly play much better, it remains to be seen if Riga can.

There might be many possible reasons why Dundalk did not play to their full potential last night, but the pitch is likely to be well down near the bottom of that list

[D24Saint]

Have that weird feeling called optimism today a feeling often crushed by the loi. I’m hopeful of at least a draw tonight.

[DFCForever]

We're definitely a better side than Riga, we just struggled to break them down. I think we could have more success in that regard in the second leg because Riga will have to attack more to try and win. Obviously a win would have been preferable but I still think we'll do the job.

[disgruntled]

If that was Riga at their best then Dundalk still have a decent chance but they need to have Shields fit.
Really surprised that Dundalk with their resources didn't seem to have a ready made replacement for Shields but there may be reasons for that ?
Dundalk had a couple of chances but Rogers made a couple of fine saves which balanced that out.
Benson made a big difference when he came on.

Riga are no mugs, are well able to kick when they need to but it will be interesting if they play any different at home.
Dundalk will have to watch Bopesu who although all legs is a decent player & showed glimpses of genuine skill last night.
Referee was excellent which is not always the case in Europe.

The less said about the pitch & the stadium the better but that's for another day.

Anyone get the attendance for the game last night ?

[oriel]

The line up was also a little surprising last night, I would have started Massey instead of Jarvis and Boyle ahead of Cleary.

MF were missing Fores (injured), Benson is only 2 weeks back, and Murray also prob a week away, the latter two would have made a difference if fit.

Hoban was not good, the contract thing is clearly effecting his form, needs to sort that out.

Attendance not given, but most seats seemed to have been taken, I think that’s 3,200 (not 3,500) as may have been mentioned before.

[EatYerGreens]

Broken record time but you'd think if Dundalk were serious about Europe they would install a grass pitch.

Why ? Surely an artificial surface that they're used to gives them an advantage when hosting teams who aren't used to it ? Grass offers no-one any such advantage (unless it's a terrible surface).

Not to mention the revenue uplift they presumably get from being able to hire out an artificial pitch continuously. It costs money to get into Europe in the first place, and more still to advance once there.

So why would grass be the way for them to progress in Europe ?

[EatYerGreens]

Poor enough game. I was surprised by Riga they clearly showed they are no mugs and that tie is very well balanced ahead of the second leg.

Very few chances for either side in the game. It was such a poor spectacle that I fell asleep twice during it :o

[Real ale Madrid]

Why ? Surely an artificial surface that they're used to gives them an advantage when hosting teams who aren't used to it ? Grass offers no-one any such advantage (unless it's a terrible surface).

Not to mention the revenue uplift they presumably get from being able to hire out an artificial pitch continuously. It costs money to get into Europe in the first place, and more still to advance once there.

So why would grass be the way for them to progress in Europe ?

Because they clearly play better on grass. They have been a better team on grass since Kenny took over originally imo. They looked last night to me to be clearly a technically better outfit than Riga but with the slow inconsistant surface they were unable to impose themselves on the game as they wished imo.

The idea that a club, backed to the extent they are by Peak 6 and with millions earned from big wins on a pristine surface in Tallaght against the likes of BATE and Maccabi Tel aviv, get a finanical advantage from renting out thier pitch is laughable.

As someone said already It served its purpose at one time. Its time now for them to move on from it I think.

[D24Saint]

Because they clearly play better on grass. They have been a better team on grass since Kenny took over originally imo. They looked last night to me to be clearly a technically better outfit than Riga but with the slow inconsistant surface they were unable to impose themselves on the game as they wished imo.

The idea that a club, backed to the extent they are by Peak 6 and with millions earned from big wins on a pristine surface in Tallaght against the likes of BATE and Maccabi Tel aviv, get a finanical advantage from renting out thier pitch is laughable.

As someone said already It served its purpose at one time. Its time now for them to move on from it I think.

Is it not just down to the type of artificial surface they are using , I haven't seen many complaints about the branywell pitch.