SSE Airtriicty League 17th/18th/20th/21st May

[HarpoJoyce]

Premier Division, Today Fri 17th May UCD AFC and Shamrock Rovers The UCD Bowl, ko 19:45De Dodder Derby Another instalment in this an historic fixture. The Students are down in the dumps at the minute between hitting the books for exams and hitting the crossbar at Turners Cross. But as usual individual players are the talk of the town with Gary 'Gaz'/'Gar' O'Neill, Liam 'Liamo' Scales and Neil 'Neil' Farrugia all both rumoured and predicted to be joining other FCs on transfer and/or trial (some of the clubs are at the top of an entire league, some are not).


This should be another cracking game of ball and with the increased respect for youd football after the UEFA U17s maybe the UCD players won't get rudely shouted at as much as in the past.


Directions to UCD Bowl
http://www.ucdsoccer.com/club/directions-to-belfield-bowl
(http://www.ucdsoccer.com/club/directions-to-belfield-bowl)
The Poolside Cafe in THE Student Centre (3 mins walk from The UCD Bowl) has delicatessan meals available up to 20:00.
Beside the Student Centre The Clubhouse Bar has hot meals as well as alcohol.

[joey B]

Harps missing 9 players between injuries/suspensions tonight, Waterford might be a good bet!

[HarpoJoyce]

Harps missing 9 players between injuries/suspensions tonight, Waterford might be a good bet!

Injuries/suspensions?
At UCD AFC there is also 'zams.

http://ucdsupporters.ie/blog/2019/05/17/press-release-ucd-afc-v-shamrock-rovers-fri-17th-may-2019/

"......
Injured: Evan Osam (achilles)
Doubtful: None
Exam Commitments: Timmy Molloy, Luke Boore, Dan Tobin, Kevin Coffey
Suspended: None"

[wonder88]

Tough game for Galway tonight with a strong on paper Longford team visiting. Hoping for the best(a draw).
Big derby night in Dublin should bring the capitals soccer followers out in their numbers. The between the canals derby in Inchicore such be interesting, are Bohs regressing and the effectiveness of the new Pats style of play at home? are questions we may get an answer too.
Shamrock R should get back on track with it being the exam season in the other big game.

[NeverFeltBetter]

Could be the last weekend of Limerick's season.

[Martinho II]

Could be the last weekend of Limerick's season.

or could be history if the worse happens?

[DFCForever]

Comfortable 2-0 win for Dundalk at the Cross this evening. McEleney's control for the opener was Zidane-esque, and to think that Cork fans used to say he was an overrated diver who never turned up against them ;D

[sbgawa]

Rovers should have won by 3 or 4 glad to get out with 3 points in the end.
6 points clear of 3rd place.
Big game on Monday between
Dundalk and bohs.
Wouldn't be confident against harps on Monday but hopeful

[sbgawa]

Great to see Sean boyd scoring a 90th minute winner for harps.
Brilliant kid

[oriel]

Watched most of the Cork v Dundalk game on skorlive, can be hard to follow with the long single camera view, and no commentary, but what do you expect for free. Dundalk looked quite comfortable and didn’t seem to have to raise it much. McEleney looked at last to be back to his pre injury best, great cross by Gannon for the second.

Disappointing another penalty miss, 2 in a week (although v Bohs shouldn’t have been given), second peno miss by Hoban this season already, red cards are never good news and that’s the second in 3 weeks, players have to be better disciplined when on a yellow.

Still a good result, keeps us top, I think that’s 6 in a row wins now v Cork, including the Pres Cup away, I didn’t think Cork would seriously challenge Dundalk this year but I never thought they would be this poor.

That’s a ridiculous decline for them, given the nucleus of the team are still there, plus they have Europe in 6 weeks time.

[sbgawa]

Was the dundalk penalty in at or around the box?

Not that it matters these days.
The refs should just start the match with a peno for dundalk and get it over with.
Would save time and avoid the tension

[White Horse]

Dundalk were much stronger than Cork but Gary Rogers still had to pull off two excellent saves. Dundalk are getting into their stride and will hopefully will have Benson and McGrath back soon.

[joey B]

Football is a beautiful game!

[pineapple stu]

Rovers should have won by 3 or 4 glad to get out with 3 points in the end.
Yeah, was a strange kind of game. Rovers the better side, but we'd missed an open goal before ye scored, and the goal only came about because of a complete brain fart in our defence. Very annoying to ultimately have lost like that, but it was a better performance than recently and hopefully we can build on that and take something off Cork on Monday.

Rovers nowhere near as good as they were in the game in Tallaght, but in the end of the day, both games were worth three points to ye.

Meanwhile, bloody Waterford...

[Northsider]

Enjoyable game in Inchicore. Thought it wasn't going to be our night when Dinny missed the peno, but Mandroiu's free kick was a peach and we had the chances to win it after that. Pats had a goal disallowed near the end so the draw was probably a fair result.

Great evening for football and good atmosphere down there. A good point to stop the rot and hopefully set us up for a good performance up in Dundalk.

[Ezeikial]

Great evening for football and good atmosphere down there. A good point to stop the rot and hopefully set us up for a good performance up in Dundalk.

Watch out - our lads are taking intensive dark arts masterclasses this weekend.

Naturally Dean Jarvis is being removed to a safe house to prevent any retribution attempts

[ToberonaTornado]

dundalk winners all over bar the pen from hoban!
he hit it so well and all but it the post intervened.p l e a a s e stop with the silly run-up and just blast that bloody thing.
dundalk sauntered home even with 10 men ,result never in doubt aftter jarvis tapped in the 1st.
cork rallied a little after both goals and the sending off and could have equalised just after jarvis had scored but the response was a patchy one and dundalk seen that rare patch off cork pressure off quite easily tbf.

cant quite understand the s/o re mountney? 2nd card was benign enough like but wouldn't mind seeing it again.

dundalk in confident mood for bohs on monday

[nigel-harps1954]

Up the Harps.

That is all.

[sbgawa]

Up the Harps.

That is all.
3 points on a weekend is enough for you boys , tell the team to go out and celebrate on the lash :)

[joey B]

3 points on a weekend is enough for you boys , tell the team to go out and celebrate on the lash :)

That was the reserves!! The first teams back on Monday,all fresh and ready to scalp some the Dubs!!

[Dalymountrower]

Great result Harps against a good football team.
Had a better sense of Pats fans problems with HK after seeing game last night.Long balls pumped into the corner for Drennan. No other clear shape or pattern to the play.Fortunately for Pats RhysMc Canbe came on for an injured player and he started Pats playing some football. Bohs should have been 2up at that stage. One top class save from Clarke.
Missed Peno and two open goalchamces in second half from Bohs but Pats had their chances too.
Of the five teams competing for third place, I would say on current form that they are the least likely to get third..
Friendly atmosphere around the ground as usual other than the ott Garda presence.

[Olander]

A good win for us last night, thoroughly deserved it too.

It looked like it was going to be another one of those nights where we played well and got nothing, but thankfully we got our just rewards finally.

If it wasn't for Longford's keeper, we could've scored 4 or 5, he was their best player. They were very poor and only scored off a calamitous error at the back. Kevin Horgan wasn't really tested. Satisfying for us to play well again, come from behind with an under strength team and win. It's always nice to beat Longford too, their mouthy fans on social media are very quiet today.

[marinobohs]

Great result Harps against a good football team.
Had a better sense of Pats fans problems with HK after seeing game last night.Long balls pumped into the corner for Drennan. No other clear shape or pattern to the play.Fortunately for Pats RhysMc Canbe came on for an injured player and he started Pats playing some football. Bohs should have been 2up at that stage. One top class save from Clarke.
Missed Peno and two open goalchamces in second half from Bohs but Pats had their chances too.
Of the five teams competing for third place, I would say on current form that they are the least likely to get third..
Friendly atmosphere around the ground as usual other than the ott Garda presence.
Garda presence was simply ridiculous and OTT.
Pats were VERY route one. McCabe by far their best player and the only one who looked up to spot a pass. Although Bohs had a lot of the ball we lacked a bit of creativity and missed a couple of decent chances. All in all a draw probably about fair.

[wonder88]

Very encouraging performance and result from Galway last night. Lots of tackles made in the midfield area, which gave us the edge over Longford in this sector. Gamara was mostly responsible for this, great to see a player of his type. Two good goals scored, great crosses into the box and excellent finish from Vinnie for both.

Negatives: terrible goal to give away, and the poor attendance.
Well done to Finn Harps to get off the bottom of the table.

[Martinho II]

Very encouraging performance and result from Galway last night. Lots of tackles made in the midfield area, which gave us the edge over Longford in this sector. Gamara was mostly responsible for this, great to see a player of his type. Two good goals scored, great crosses into the box and excellent finish from Vinnie for both.

Negatives: terrible goal to give away, and the poor attendance.
Well done to Finn Harps to get off the bottom of the table.

wot was the attendance at as couldnt make it

[PartySaint]

Great result Harps against a good football team.
Had a better sense of Pats fans problems with HK after seeing game last night.Long balls pumped into the corner for Drennan. No other clear shape or pattern to the play.Fortunately for Pats RhysMc Canbe came on for an injured player and he started Pats playing some football. Bohs should have been 2up at that stage. One top class save from Clarke.
Missed Peno and two open goalchamces in second half from Bohs but Pats had their chances too.
Of the five teams competing for third place, I would say on current form that they are the least likely to get third..
Friendly atmosphere around the ground as usual other than the ott Garda presence.


We we told you so, we’ve after wasting a good budget on Kenny, he is clueless and our ‘style’ of play shows this, there is no plan whatsoever. We’ll finish 8th if Kenny is in charge for the whole season.

[Dalymountrower]

Bonkers results in First Division.!

[NeverFeltBetter]

Limerick beat Cobh. As things stand they won't play the next game.

[joey B]

Sligo and Derry finished 0-0,bit of a drab affair apparently.

[Nah Nah Nah Nah]

Yeah poor enough game but couple of great saves from Cherrie late on

[redarmyfaction]

It's always nice to beat Longford too, their mouthy fans on social media are very quiet today.

There is nothing more satisfying than handing it out to a club with a bigger history.

[micls]

That’s a ridiculous decline for them, given the nucleus of the team are still there, plus they have Europe in 6 weeks time.

The nucleus of the team isn't still there though.

If you look at the team that would have been starting early 2017 season only 4 players started Friday. Nults is now 38, and clearly on the decline. McCormack, who was our best player, Shep and Kevin O Connor, who was playing in the wrong position and is still getting back to fitness.

It takes more than that, especially in defense.

There's a huge gap between the teams and it is a huge decline, but based on the players there the gap is huge. Obviously we should be doing better than we are, but different level to where we used to be.

[osarusan]

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/fai-called-into-betting-crisis-7cb7sjl3l?fbclid=IwAR2yn7_KX5eZ58mSRftnrYKUdsUWDHU vycEm6GB0rl9dRrRF1vRBD_5dyqg


The League of Ireland First Division has been plunged into a gambling crisis after another game attracted suspicious betting on Saturday, prompting one of the team’s managers to contact the Football Association of Ireland.

Limerick were backed from 9-4 in to 4-9 to beat Cobh Ramblers away from home, an inexplicable market move in a game that would usually attract little attention. Incredibly, Paddy Power was still offering odds of just 4-9 about Limerick 22 minutes into the game, when it was 0-0.

Cobh had originally been put in as favourites to win the game. They went 2-0 down, levelled matters, before losing 3-2, conceding two penalties.
The rest of the article is behind a paywall.

Was it the same Cobh player who gave away both penalties by any chance?

[outspoken]

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/fai-called-into-betting-crisis-7cb7sjl3l?fbclid=IwAR2yn7_KX5eZ58mSRftnrYKUdsUWDHU vycEm6GB0rl9dRrRF1vRBD_5dyqg


The rest of the article is behind a paywall.

Was it the same Cobh player who gave away both penalties by any chance?
No, if I remember reading it correctly the pens were given away by Stephen Kenny and Shane O'Connor who were both later substituted

[Couch Potato]

Very Entertaining game in Richmond on Friday.

After 15 minutes I thought we were going to be hammered Bohs were well on top and Clarkie pulled off a great save tipping one over the bar from close range.
After that we kind of battled our way back in to it and should have had a peno when Shaw nearly got strangled by his own jersey he was being pulled back that vigorously.
In typical LOI fashion the ref looked at the lino the lino looked at the ref and the moment passed with neither saying a thing to the other.
A decent goal for us smallest man on the pitch heading over keeper who probably could have done better.

Second half and I thought we looked fairly comfortable at 1-0 Bohs really struggled to create with lots of possession the peno they got was a bit of a farce one player tripped over and the two players that were running behind him then fell over him one being a bohs player.
This time the lino actually tried to call the rf over but the refs mind was made up. good save from clarkia though he was about 2 yards off his line.
This actually sparked Bohs more than us and the equalizer was on the cards from then on.
The bohs equalizer was a peach and credit to the ref for the assist blocking a clearance before the foul but Bohs deserved to be level.

Bohs then had two great chances to win and we had a goal disallowed, I'm not sure if there was any contact on the keeper but we all know that doesn't matter its always a free out these days regardless.

Our shape is still a massive issue we created very little again and our full backs will be shattered by the end of the season if we persist with it.
On the up side our direct style of play might actually work in Europe teams just aren't used to it.

[Bohs11]

Very Entertaining game in Richmond on Friday.

After 15 minutes I thought we were going to be hammered Bohs were well on top and Clarkie pulled off a great save tipping one over the bar from close range.
After that we kind of battled our way back in to it and should have had a peno when Shaw nearly got strangled by his own jersey he was being pulled back that vigorously.
In typical LOI fashion the ref looked at the lino the lino looked at the ref and the moment passed with neither saying a thing to the other.
A decent goal for us smallest man on the pitch heading over keeper who probably could have done better.

Second half and I thought we looked fairly comfortable at 1-0 Bohs really struggled to create with lots of possession the peno they got was a bit of a farce one player tripped over and the two players that were running behind him then fell over him one being a bohs player.
This time the lino actually tried to call the rf over but the refs mind was made up. good save from clarkia though he was about 2 yards off his line.
This actually sparked Bohs more than us and the equalizer was on the cards from then on.
The bohs equalizer was a peach and credit to the ref for the assist blocking a clearance before the foul but Bohs deserved to be level.

Bohs then had two great chances to win and we had a goal disallowed, I'm not sure if there was any contact on the keeper but we all know that doesn't matter its always a free out these days regardless.

Our shape is still a massive issue we created very little again and our full backs will be shattered by the end of the season if we persist with it.
On the up side our direct style of play might actually work in Europe teams just aren't used to it.
Agree with you that the Shaw one could have been a penalty, but for ours if you look back at the Soccer Republic highlights, you'll see the two defenders completely sandwiched him, and it should have been retaken with how far Clarke was off his line.

On tonight's game, would be delighted if our team of part-timers can get a draw against the 11-men of Dundalk and their referee.

[NeverFeltBetter]

https://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2019/0520/1050598-cobh-ramblers-request-fai-help-over-betting-claims/

[Ezeikial]

The nucleus of the team isn't still there though.

If you look at the team that would have been starting early 2017 season only 4 players started Friday. Nults is now 38, and clearly on the decline. McCormack, who was our best player, Shep and Kevin O Connor, who was playing in the wrong position and is still getting back to fitness.

It takes more than that, especially in defense.

There's a huge gap between the teams and it is a huge decline, but based on the players there the gap is huge. Obviously we should be doing better than we are, but different level to where we used to be.

It is probably fairer to compare with 2018 than 2017 which was an exceptional season for Cork City. Most people predicted a fall off from Cork this season compared to last, but it is the extent of it that has surprised most people.

Obviously finishing runners-up in both the league and cup and qualifying again for Europe was a qualified success. There is no doubt that losing players like Sadlier, Beattie and Keohane can't help but the nucleus of the 2017 squad still exists. According to the Cork City website these are the players with most minutes this season

1 Mark McNulty
2 Conor McCarthy
3 Sean McLoughlin
4 Garry Buckley
5 James Tilley
6 Conor McCormack
7 Dan Casey
8 Karl Sheppard
9 Shane Griffin
10 Graham Cummins
11 Gearoid Morrissey

Only Tilley and Casey are newcomers. That doesn't taken into account other newcomers like Kevin O'Connor and Daire O'Connor.

While there may be many reasons why Cork have declined so badly this season, the aging of Mark McNulty and modest injury issues can hardly be the major ones

[micls]

The decline started middle of last season though, rather than this season compared to last. Since July last year our league form has been awful. Yes the nucleus of that team is still there, but we were poor for much of it. Take out the top goalscorer from a team that was already struggling and them struggling even more isn't a surprise.

First half of 2018 we were very solid, and grinding out results. What happened to change that? I don't know really. But there was a very sharp decline from the middle of last season. (arguably started before that but that's when it became obvious). Plenty of possible causes but it did look like the motivation and fight that worked for us for years, the spark had been lost.

It being the full year is why I was supportive of Caulfield leaving. It was time for a change.

The biggest change in the squad this year is in the depth rather than the starters. The other night ye were able to bring on Massey and Georgie Kelly. We were bringing on 17 year old Darragh Crowley and a guy we got from Junior football. The gap between the squads is enormous.

I think practically we probably overachieved first half of 2018,relative to the squad. And underachieved first half of this season.

An aging McNulty and Bennett has had a big impact though. They were key to our success. The quality mixed with experience. Some of the young defenders will be fantastic, but the jump to playing weekly is a big one. And our defense just hasn't clicked at all this season, bar the recent Bohs and UCD games. We're still trying to figure what works.

Looking at Friday in particular, it was Boylans first start and he was facing Duffy who skinned him every time. Comeford has barely played and he started too.

Only 5/6 of the starters against you would have been starting most games last season. McNulty, McLoughlin, McCarthy (about half), McCormack, Shep and Cummins. So I didn't find it a surprise at all the decline when compared to yourselves.

[Ezeikial]

As predicted, Dean Jarvis relegated to the bench for safety reasons, even if he continues with the pink boots. Bohs fans already hysterical with rage

[Nesta99]

I'm feeling a tad hysterical myself after that start!!:mad:

[Nah Nah Nah Nah]

Oh Christ. Bohs have a fella sent off and Dundalk get a penalty in injury time to win it. What’s the record number of posts on a weekly game thread?

[White Horse]

Thank feck for the Dark Arts.

[pineapple stu]

Can't buy a goal at the moment. Daylight robbery from Cork, who were generally awful but scored from a defensive howler.

Bottom on goals scored now, which is appropriate

[Bohs11]

7 Yellow Cards to 1, a red card, and a 95th minute penalty. Dundalk's 12th man got us again.

[sbgawa]

The refs goals per game ratio for Dundalk is seriously impressive
It would make them top scorer if they took the penos as well :) is that 10?


Good 3 points for Rovers in Donegal , was more than a bit worried given Harps recent results

[Northsider]

We're not getting much luck against Dundalk lately I think it's fair to say.

[Nesta99]

Well you do have to get in/at and around the box to be in with a chance of a penalty so we are doing something right!

[Nesta99]

Dundalk's 12th man got us again.

and it wasnt Mr Connolly either, we must have a bit of a fan club with the men in the middle....

[mcgonigle]

I'm just here for the Bohs tears