Matches Friday 29th & Saturday 30th September

[JC_GUFC]

Premier Division

Bohs v Sligo

Bohs are just about clinging on to a shot at top 3/4 in the league having gone 5 games without a win in the Premier Division (though 4 have been draws tbf). Had they lost on Monday night against Shels things would have looked fairly grim but they came back well and arguably on paper their run-in looks favourable with 3 of their 5 matches against the bottom 3 in the league. I'm sure they'd like to get back to winning ways ahead of their cup semi-final next week.

Sligo's win over Derry combined with Cork's two defeats probably means they're safe. With the superior GD it means Cork would need 10 points from their 5 matches to have any chance of catching Sligo. In fact a win for Sligo and a defeat for Cork this weekend and they're guaranteed safety for another year.

Cork v St Pat's

Cork need wins and fast - an interesting dynamic here is that these teams meet again next week in the cup semi-final. Strangely that seems to have happened quite a number of times this year that teams meet in the cup and league in successive games - Drogheda v Sligo, Bohs v Shels and Bohs v Drogheda.
Pat's will have both Sam Curtis and Jake Mulraney suspended and look to be low on confidence despite having very briefly been in the title race and a cup semi-final!

Derry v UCD

After UCD's heroics against Rovers last weekend can they put on a show against the other top team in the league? Appropriately it's now academic for UCD as they've been officially relegated. It's probably too late for Derry but they'll obviously want to secure 2nd spot and who knows - if Rovers can't beat UCD they may drop points elsewhere.

Dundalk v Drogheda

Dundalk's big win on Monday somehow keeps them in a with a shout of 4th place, which could be Europe if Pat's or Bohs finish in the top 3 and win the cup. Drogheda aren't mathematically safe from the playoff just yet but realistically Monday's win at Pat's has ensured they'll be in the Premier Division next season. They'd definitely love to get a result in Oriel Park, Dundalk have won all 3 meetings this season but in at least 2 of them they were 2nd best.

Rovers v Shels

Rovers could take a huge step to the title with a win here but Shels have still only been beaten 5 times in their 31 matches this season and actually haven't lost in the league since June. This has pushed them into the chase for Europe, another draw would probably be a good result for them.

First Division


Bray v Cobh

Anything other than a win for Bray ends their chances of a playoff. Given the resources and geographical location I think there's an argument that this as been the biggest underperformance of any team this season. Bray should've been finishing comfortably third in this Division with an outside chance of actually winning it - instead they're 8th and not even close to the playoffs.
Cobh on the other hand have had a phenomenal season and are the form team in the Division and have secured their playoff spot with 4 games to go. They'll want to keep their fine run of form going to bring in to matches against possibly Wexford and Waterford.

Galway v Athlone

With the League wrapped up and the cup semi-final next week it will be interesting to see how weak a team John Caulfield plays here. We have a 100% home record this season so he'll be keen to keep that going - especially to hang on to that for the cup - so I would expect a relatively strong team, similar to Monday night against Harps.
Athlone's form is very up and down and now they've slipped to 5th so are in the firing line of the playoff teams. They should be fine but will need 4 points (5 to be mathematically sure) from 4 games to secure a playoff.


Harps v Kerry

The end of the Dave Rogers era started with Monday's defeat in Galway but they'll obviously want to win this and maybe they're even aiming to catch Bray. Kerry will be looking for 2 more points to reach the magical 10 points for the season. On paper their matches look tough but their last two matches are against teams who'll have an eye on the playoffs so hopefully they can get 2 points, if not another win somewhere.

Waterford v Wexford

Ronan Coughlan was back and scored last weekend - with the radio silence surrounding his injury I thought he may have been gone for the season but it's perfect timing for Waterford when it looked like their season was about to totally unravel.
Wexford have put a great run together and wins over Bray and Longford last weekend have made them almost certainties for the playoffs. 3 more points guarantees it and they've already won in Waterford this season.

Longford v Treaty - Saturday

Depending on how Wexford and Athlone get on away to the top 2 on the Friday night this is a shootout to be the last man standing in terms of challengers. A draw is pretty much useless for them both. Since beating Galway, Longford have had a run of 3 games without a goal and only picking up 1 point (and that was against Kerry).
Treaty are on the back of an injury time equaliser in Bray followed by a big win against Athlone - they're like a cockroach - they just won't die.
If they could move to within 5 of Athlone with 3 games to play, who knows.

[nigel-harps1954]

Blow it up early ref.

Can't wait for this season to be over.

[MichaelCherrito]

Let’s win in Tallaght to make it a tight league finale.

[Stuttgart88]

If Rovers win tonight I think that's probably it for the league. If they don't then anything can happen. I can even see Derry clawing back a chunk of GD tonight.

[yurt]

Looks like the Rovers v Shels games is going to be close to, if not, a sell out this evening. Should look great on the telly.

Neutrals will be going for Shels I imagine, hopefully they can prolong any form of title race. The 4 big Dublin clubs having a growing rivalry is a big part of the LOI's revival.

[brendy_éire]

No chance of us finishing top, even if Rovers were to slip a few times.
Great result for UCD last week, but you can't imagine it'll be repeated today.
For Higgins's sake, he'll need to finish in second or else it'll almost certainly be him sacked.

Elsewhere, Kerry are in Ballybofey. Would a second win of the season be possible? Or will Harps get their act together?

[joey B]

Or will Harps get their act together?

A bit late for that unfortunately....

[brendy_éire]

A bit late for that unfortunately....

Still 12 points left to play for. It's not out the question to catch Bray, if that's worth anything.

[Nesta99]

Still 12 points left to play for. It's not out the question to catch Bray, if that's worth anything.
could be worth showing how good or bad the last manager was!?

[DCWA]

For Higgins's sake, he'll need to finish in second or else it'll almost certainly be him sacked.


Higgins is absolutely rock solid in his position. 3rd position wouldn’t change that a bit.

[Jack B]

Can't understand how we've been this bad for so long and are still 3rd.

[Jd2793]

no idea what jon daly wants to do at pats.... we are somehow well on top pats not layed a glove on us

[culloty82]

All suddenly taking off in Ballybofey - first Kelliher gives Kerry the lead, before Banda promptly levels.

[Jack B]

Awful from Pats tonight. Absolutely blessed that Cork totally unjustly went down to 10 men for a completely innocuous second yellow that if anything was a foul on their man. They've nothing to fear for the semi final anyway.

[culloty82]

Harps go ahead, and Leo misses a penalty.

[kksaints]

Unimpressive win for us. Performance was poor. Cork were the better team for most of the match. Bad decision from the ref for the 2nd yellow for the Cork player, didn't even look like a free to us. Pitch looks very bobbly and not in good condition. Whoever does the LOITV coverage for Cork needs to control the replays much better, almost missed the goal and a great Cork chance because they were showing an unnecessary replay.

[joey B]

Harps nab a win but thought Kerry deserved a point...
Whoever wins between Longford and Treaty tommorow might still have an outside chance of the play offs if Athlone collapse down the stretch.....

[Calcio Jack]

Great win and performance by Rovers especially in second half - Shels so organised etc but didn’t create a single chance.

Kearns poor for our goal and Burke showed both his genius and then his childish petulance by getting a stupid red .

Jack B came in for last 25 mins and looked like he’d never been away.

So think we’re almost there… finally record Tallaght attendance of 7,859

[brendy_éire]

Higgins is absolutely rock solid in his position. 3rd position wouldn’t change that a bit.

Rumours just, but some saying that's not the case.

Huffed and puffed a bit in the first half at the Brandywell tonight, but second was a different story. Must have been given a good hard kick up the arse at HT, because we came out with a lot more energy in the second half and seemed determined to get the score up.
Suspicion of handball for Kavanagh's goal, though the UCD players seemed to be giving off to the linesman for an offside.
Patching had a lovely goal, a bit like the one he scored in Belfield earlier this month.

Highlights up already. Very efficient. https://youtu.be/vNSJ1gsEBe8?si=mVV4Kl8cWJzo7hoK

[D24Saint]

Good jaysus how are we third. I think we have been absolutely dreadful for weeks now. I’d have to look at the red card again but by all accounts it was harsh.

[joey B]

Imagine you told a Shels fan in 2005 you wouldn’t beat Rovers in the league again for at least another 18 years,a mad stat albeit things were bad for Shels for a long time….

[2 Year Contract]

A very important 3 points for pats last night. Couldn’t get near cork's goal in the first half but there was a total lack of end product from cork who had 15 shots off target and 1 on target near the end of the match which tells the story of the game pretty well as Pats weren’t much better in that regard with 9 off target and 2 on target. Red card was very soft and shouldn’t have been given but after being on the receiving end of a horrendous refereeing performance on Monday night we were due one in our favour

[legendz]

Harps nab a win but thought Kerry deserved a point...
Whoever wins between Longford and Treaty tommorow might still have an outside chance of the play offs if Athlone collapse down the stretch.....

Kerry have a soft underbelly. Frustratingly easy for opponents to get back into a game and even take the lead. Not the first time a free from near halfway floated into the box has resulted in the concession of a soft goal. Then another goal conceded from a corner. This is all before a missed penalty to at least draw the game. Kerry assistant manager James Sugrue admitted during the weak that more physical players are required to defend set pieces. They'll have to get that right during the off season or else there will be no improvement on this season.

[thebronze14]

Kerry have a soft underbelly. Frustratingly easy for opponents to get back into a game and even take the lead. Not the first time a free from near halfway floated into the box has resulted in the concession of a soft goal. Then another goal conceded from a corner. This is all before a missed penalty to at least draw the game. Kerry assistant manager James Sugrue admitted during the weak that more physical players are required to defend set pieces. They'll have to get that right during the off season or else there will be no improvement on this season.

Agreed. Ye were the better team and had the better chances. Should have had another penalty. Was too easy for our goals though

[placid casual]

It must be concerning for shels fans that their 1st team manager appears to be so out of the loop on future financial plans for his own club,when the dogs on the street know his club have been actively trying to entice a number of Rovers, Pat's & boez player's over to tolka pk for next season,all with decent packages. From Rovers I've heard it was Byrne, Gaffney and O'Neill, from Pat's it was Redmond and one other,and from boez it is Coote and Affolabi. Shels/Hull are paying big wages for Woods & Cabral,and the turkish Simon Cowell seems very ambitious. Maybe he just doesn't view duffer as a viable manager to get them success.

[Nesta99]

Welcome back PC!

Its quite possible that Duff is well in the loop, he'd be foolish to openly state that he'd been given a large budget increase, knock noses of the current squad out of joint before the end of season, they start looking for improved contracts, generally upsets a dressingroom. Id also take at least a small pinch of salt with rumours of players getting big offers knowing their current club is going to be cutting tha fat squad wise in anticipation of the big rebuild and wanting to broaden options - obviously a bigger gamble for a player of Gaffney's profile who has to balance wage with contract length than it does for a J Byrne. If there is substance to it all it will be adacious and after watching last nights game felt that Shels are only a few marquee players from being a potential title challanging side. Obviously very well coached but just lacked that depth to really change the match momentum during that key 20 minutes 2nd half when Burke got the bit btween his teeth, or to properly exploit his umpteenth implosion over the last 10 minutes. or so

[ForzaForth]

Not the most hotly contested SE derby in the RSC last night. James Keddy made more changes than expected with his starting XI with Wexford on a good run of form. Waterford started well but Wexford had a decent spell stretching till about half-time but without troubling Sargeant in the Waterford goal. Owen Mason, who's a good shot-stopper, made one decent save before the break to push away a stinging Waterford effort. Waterford were the better side in the second half and Mason knocked away a shot at his near post which you'd probably have expected him to keep out. Later on, Mason had an even better save when he stretched to keep out a low effort by Waterford's Ronan Coughlan which was going into the corner. For Wexford, Luka Lovic unfortunately seemed to do his hamstring. Wexford probably came for a point and got it.

[RealJohn91]

It must be concerning for shels fans that their 1st team manager appears to be so out of the loop on future financial plans for his own club,when the dogs on the street know his club have been actively trying to entice a number of Rovers, Pat's & boez player's over to tolka pk for next season,all with decent packages. From Rovers I've heard it was Byrne, Gaffney and O'Neill, from Pat's it was Redmond and one other,and from boez it is Coote and Affolabi. Shels/Hull are paying big wages for Woods & Cabral,and the turkish Simon Cowell seems very ambitious. Maybe he just doesn't view duffer as a viable manager to get them success.
Not sure about those other names but Afolabi has another year on his deal so unless they're willing to give us a record fee between league of Ireland clubs I doubt that's happening.

[placid casual]

I think this turkish guy is willing to spend money,and buy players out of their contract's if needs be,so Affolabi is not safe just because of his contract.

[RealJohn91]

I think this turkish guy is willing to spend money,and buy players out of their contract's if needs be,so Affolabi is not safe just because of his contract.
Never said he was safe, I fully expect there to be bids from the UK for him especially with the likes of Mata and Keena who imo he's better than getting moves there recently. Just don't think Shels will be willing to offer as much as a club from over there will but we'll see I suppose.

[ger121]

I think this turkish guy is willing to spend money,and buy players out of their contract's if needs be,so Affolabi is not safe just because of his contract.

Safer than Byrne or Gaffney but money always talks.

[joey B]

Bradley at 2.30 “It’s hard enough to win, and it’s even harder to win when certain people are trying to stop you winning.” about his own board,must be a good chance he’ll leave in November….

1708149714670215241

[Calcio Jack]

I’ve huge time and appreciation for Bradley and what he’s done for the club… but think it is very wrong of him to be ‘spinning’ against the Board in such a public manner…. Difficult to see how that won’t end in years at season end or sometime in the near future….. tbh if the club is not able to provide finance he’s looking for and are currently running the club at a loss then a plague on them for allowing that to occur…. Especially as Dermot Desmond was allowed to put his ‘people’ in to run the club.

If on the other hand Bradley is looking for a major increase on current budget then it might be a case that some of the board don’t have the appetite to take on the financial risk involved….. might be time for the Members club to call an egm to allow a vote on which way we want the club decide…..

[2 Year Contract]

I think this turkish guy is willing to spend money,and buy players out of their contract's if needs be,so Affolabi is not safe just because of his contract.
Redmond has several years left on his contract and considering Kelleher turned down this Turkish lad’s plea to invest in pats before shels accepted, there’s next to no chance he’d sell him his club captain

[joey B]

Treaty still in with a shout of the play offs after beating Longford,still looks difficult with their last 2 fixtures…..
The incident in Kerry seems to have completely derailed Longford,they had won 4 out of 5 before that but have lost 3 in a row since and dropped out of contention…

[da bishop]

Treaty still in with a shout of the play offs after beating Longford,still looks difficult with their last 2 fixtures…..
The incident in Kerry seems to have completely derailed Longford,they had won 4 out of 5 before that but have lost 3 in a row since and dropped out of contention…Correct on Longford they seem to have completely lost their way and tonights display especially at the back was a shambles,Treaty the better team and deserved the win.

[Shearer]

Handy win for Treaty only made difficult by some poor goalkeeping by Corey Chambers.

[legendz]

If Treaty and Bray win next weekend, Treaty will be 2 points behind Athlone. Not over yet!

[pineapple stu]

If on the other hand Bradley is looking for a major increase on current budget then
then he might like to not lose home and away to sides from Iceland/Estonia?

[Kingswood Rover]

I’ve huge time and appreciation for Bradley and what he’s done for the club… but think it is very wrong of him to be ‘spinning’ against the Board in such a public manner…. Difficult to see how that won’t end in years at season end or sometime in the near future….. tbh if the club is not able to provide finance he’s looking for and are currently running the club at a loss then a plague on them for allowing that to occur…. Especially as Dermot Desmond was allowed to put his ‘people’ in to run the club.

If on the other hand Bradley is looking for a major increase on current budget then it might be a case that some of the board don’t have the appetite to take on the financial risk involved….. might be time for the Members club to call an egm to allow a vote on which way we want the club decide…..
Not a member but it seems that there is a lot of bickering behind the scenes with the members with 2 opposing camps

[sbgawa]

then he might like to not lose home and away to sides from Iceland/Estonia?

Harsh but true.
No club can ignore the finances to keep the manager happy. Personally I'm glad to hear the board aren't being reckless.

[Shearer]

An utterly bizarre piece of chat by the Longford Co-comm last night describing the night's game and all other fixtures between the two sides as Treaty's biggest of the season and of their history.

Not sure what that's about.

[ger121]

Harsh but true.
No club can ignore the finances to keep the manager happy. Personally I'm glad to hear the board aren't being reckless.

If part of the Rovers model is to win the league every year, then you can’t finalise the budget for the next year, until you have won the league. That the league is not wrapped up is probably delaying the ability to offer deals to existing and new players.
I would also think the massive reduction in euro money in 2023 is also a factor, because it is 20% of what was made in 2022. Plus you don’t know if that minimum €800k will be available for 2024,until you win the league.
The whole situation does have shades of the end of O’Neill’s tenure at the club.

[total hoofball]

It must be concerning for shels fans that their 1st team manager appears to be so out of the loop on future financial plans for his own club,when the dogs on the street know his club have been actively trying to entice a number of Rovers, Pat's & boez player's over to tolka pk for next season,all with decent packages. From Rovers I've heard it was Byrne, Gaffney and O'Neill, from Pat's it was Redmond and one other,and from boez it is Coote and Affolabi. Shels/Hull are paying big wages for Woods & Cabral,and the turkish Simon Cowell seems very ambitious. Maybe he just doesn't view duffer as a viable manager to get them success.
You've gotta love of a bit of foot.ie fake news

[Calcio Jack]

If part of the Rovers model is to win the league every year, then you can’t finalise the budget for the next year, until you have won the league. That the league is not wrapped up is probably delaying the ability to offer deals to existing and new players.
I would also think the massive reduction in euro money in 2023 is also a factor, because it is 20% of what was made in 2022. Plus you don’t know if that minimum €800k will be available for 2024,until you win the league.
The whole situation does have shades of the end of O’Neill’s tenure at the club.

Rovers financial plan was the we win the league once every three years and qualify for Europe every second year ( if that’s changed then the membership will be rightly annoyed at the lack of info)

So we had a €1.5m deficit this year ( which in the great scheme of things might be ok) the real question is whether the board (a) wants to reduce the annual budget (b) leave as is and (c) sanction a increase …..

[DCSIL]

You've gotta love of a bit of foot.ie fake news

Sounds like someone is trying to get better deals for said players.

And if there is a gap in Rovers' Finances, maybe get your tickets soon lads?

https://www.finegael.ie/superdraw-2023

[oriel]

Rovers financial plan was the we win the league once every three years and qualify for Europe every second year ( if that’s changed then the membership will be rightly annoyed at the lack of info)

So we had a €1.5m deficit this year ( which in the great scheme of things might be ok) the real question is whether the board (a) wants to reduce the annual budget (b) leave as is and (c) sanction a increase …..

What won't help next year is, the UEFA money from this season will 'only' be just over 1m, a group stage would have got 3.1 so its easy accounting figs to see the gap. Pats too will be 'down' 300k or so as will only get 250k as they exited in R1, and Dundalk another who are down on projections, will 'only' get 550k v 750k (we were favs to beat KA of Iceland) Derry will pick up 750k I think.

Rovers probably still in a good place finance wise, but would be well served to look at their wage bill, that must be very high.

[placid casual]

The outlay on the women's team exceeded expected costs, and combined with the failure this season to garner some euro cash means the budget is less than expected.
It does indeed feel the cycle of sucees is coming to an end,akin to the end of the MON era,and tbh , that doesn't really bother me.
We've had great success for 5 years and the team needs to be overhauled.
Nothing lasts forever.

[Martinho II]

Treaty still in with a shout of the play offs after beating Longford,still looks difficult with their last 2 fixtures…..
The incident in Kerry seems to have completely derailed Longford,they had won 4 out of 5 before that but have lost 3 in a row since and dropped out of contention…

Agreed since that awful press release from club in aftermath of Kerry game season has gone from bad to worst. Club dont accept any critcism from the hardcore that they have to ban a certain Longford Town Fan who was brave enough to confront the writer of that piece and for that was banned from last night from all home games!

[Nesta99]

The outlay on the women's team exceeded expected costs, and combined with the failure this season to garner some euro cash means the budget is less than expected.
It does indeed feel the cycle of sucees is coming to an end,akin to the end of the MON era,and tbh , that doesn't really bother me.
We've had great success for 5 years and the team needs to be overhauled.
Nothing lasts forever.

Considering the rate of knots of (semi?) pro contracts and some big signings were made from more established womens' powerbases tbh thats not a surprise. Its seemed a bit old fashioned 'lets build quickly to win the league to help cover the outlay'. Could still work yet and will robably bear fruit in coming seasons.

Bardley was damn blunt in that interview on 'behind the scenes', blasé from a manager that hold the cards that 4 title in a row brings. Eras do end as Dundalk fans have often been reminded here but damn its worth the many many more years of 'why do I bother?!'.