Longford 1-1 UCD

[Colie]

Sorry lads I won't be going I'm afraid, due to that game that yee seem to have quite a bit of destain for where you get scores even when the ball goes over the bar :eek: . I'll be in Croke Park. Fair play to yee, I hope the trip goes well & we get the win I think we're gonna get.

[CollegeTillIDie]

We are already 0-1 down :mad:

[Poor Student]

Yessssssssssssssssssssssssssss!!!!! Robbie Martin equaliser in the final minute!!!! Deja vu. God I love this club and it's never say die attitude. If I'm lucky the replay will be in a few weeks, though I doubt it. Another terriblz late aertel update. This time I didn't lose faith even 10 mins after the final whistle. :D

[CollegeTillIDie]

Yessssssssssssssssssssssssssss!!!!! Robbie Martin equaliser in the final minute!!!! Deja vu. God I love this club and it's never say die attitude. If I'm lucky the replay will be in a few weeks, though I doubt it. Another terriblz late aertel update. This time I didn't lose faith even 10 mins after the final whistle. :D

The replays of other ties are scheduled for this coming midweek.
More likely to be either Wednesday or Tuesday.
We've got Shels away in the League on Friday and cannot see them changing their kick off to suit our F.A.I. Cup campaign.

[pineapple stu]

Replay's on Tuesday. Draw's on Monday. Will post a report shortly, but the penalty was poetic justice as the ref had missed a blatant peno fifteen minutes earlier - gave the foul, but outside the box. The players were livid - judging by their reaction (I was up around half-way), it looked an incredible decision. The linesman was right up with play and didn't see anything either. :rolleyes:

[pineapple stu]

Robbie Martin scored in injury time for the second Cup game in five days as UCD kept their FAI Cup dreams alive in this fairly tame encounter in Flancare Park on Saturday.

UCD made two changes from the team which lost to Shamrock Rovers in the last league game - Brian Gannon and Anto Murphy, who had combined to set up the equaliser in the League Cup semi on Monday - came in in place of Stephen Hurley and Aaron McEniff. Mick O'Donnell dropped back to left-back again. Longford were without captain Barry Ferguson and former UCD player Dessie Baker through suspension, and another former UCD player, Alan Cawley, was only on the bench.

Chances were at a relative premium throughout, as befitting two of the most goal-shy teams in the league. Longford were happy to get seven or eight men behind the ball and counter on the break, while Brian Gannon, making his first non-League Cup start of the season, was involved in much of what UCD created, with his surging runs causing the Town defence problems on occasion.

Longford took the lead midway through the first half with a soft enough goal - Andy Myler got his head to a corner, and Paul Keegan nipped in between defender and goalkeeper to turn the ball home from no more than four yards.

The best chance of the half aside from the goal also fell to Town - Darren Quigley justifying his recent call-up to the Ireland U-21 squad with a fine save at his near post from a bullet header. The Town defence was also coping fairly well with any crosses put in to the smaller UCD attack, although UCD did threaten when Brian Gannon was found free at the back post; he took the ball down at put it across the six-yard box, but the Longford defence scrambled the ball away.

UCD came more into the game in the second half - although at the start, the players seemed more interested in the result of the half-time game! - and started to put Longford under a bit more pressure. The College were dealt a blow early in the half, however, when Alan McNally was forced to go off with what appeared to be a hamstring injury; Stephen Hurley came on, with Tony McDonnell moving back to centre-back. While Conor Kenna is recivering well from his injury, he is unlikely to be fit in time for Tuesday's replay, and UCD are looking at having their two first-choice centre-backs out for the game.

Longford were still dangerous when they attacked, though, and were unlucky not to go 2-0 up when number 11 saw a shot crash back off the cross-bar with Quigley beaten. However, they ceded the advantage somewhat when Alan Mathews took off striker Andy Myler and replaced him with Alan Kirby, a winger. UCD's main threats came from free-kicks - Gary Dicker striking the best effort inches wide. They were awarded another free-kick in bizarre circumstances with a quarter of an hour to go when a Robbie Martin cross struck a defender's arm - the ref gave a free kick right on the edge of the area, a decision which incensed the UCD players who were adamant the offence had incurred inside the box. Remarkably, the linesman, who was right up with play, offered no opinion either way and the free, when it was eventually taken, was wasted.

The game looked like it was drifting beyond UCD's grasp, but as on Monday, they salvaged the tie in injury-time. A scramble in the box saw a couple of half-haerted claims for a penalty before Damien Dupuy latched on to a breaking ball and went down under a challenge in the box. This time, the referee did point to the spot. After the protests had died down, Robbie Martin - who missed from the spot when the teams last met two weeks ago - coolly dispatched his third penalty in the last six games. Manager Pete Mahon immediately subbed him off for Aaron McEniff as UCD looked to ride out the remaining two minutes of injury time and take the tie into a replay, to be played this Tuesday in Belfield Park at 7:45pm.

UCD - Quigley; Mahon, O'Donnell, Shortall, McNally (Hurley 55); McDonnell, Gannon, Dicker, McWalter; Murphy (Dupuy 80), Martin (McEniff 90). Subs not used - Gallagher, Sammon

Att - c 500

[Longfordian]

Attendance was closer to 900 than 500. Poor either way but an educated guess would suggest 800-1000

[CollegeTillIDie]

Attendance was closer to 900 than 500. Poor either way but an educated guess would suggest 800-1000

Not wishing to slag ye off or anything, I would have expect four figures for the Cup holders given your nearest rivals Athlone and Sligo are so far away :confused:

[Longfordian]

You'd think so but August is always poor for our crowds plus UCD is always one of our lowest gates. I agree though, i was hoping for more to turn out, hard to know what more can be done, everyone is aware of the game being on, just that a lot don't bother going out to it.

[CollegeTillIDie]

You'd think so but August is always poor for our crowds plus UCD is always one of our lowest gates. I agree though, i was hoping for more to turn out, hard to know what more can be done, everyone is aware of the game being on, just that a lot don't bother going out to it.

But ye are in the top 4 of the League .. that should be worth a couple of hundred arses on seats surely?

[Longfordian]

Crowds were up for a while but seem to have slipped again in the last couple of matches. No new people seem to be coming out any more, plenty of goodwill around and lots walking around in Town gear but when it comes to actually coming out and paying in to the match it seems to be the same people all the time. I think there might be another promotional push planned for the match on Friday against Waterford to try and get bums on seats out there.

[pineapple stu]

Crowd seemed to fill out as the game went on, but at kick-off, we reckoned the main stand was a quarter full (400-ish), with about 100 people in the rest of the ground. That's where the figure's coming from anyway.

[Schumi]

You forgot to mention the amusing sight of Brian Gannon trying to lob Digger with a header. :D

[Longfordian]

Crowd seemed to fill out as the game went on, but at kick-off, we reckoned the main stand was a quarter full (400-ish), with about 100 people in the rest of the ground. That's where the figure's coming from anyway.

We get a good few coming in up to ten or fifteen minutes in for some reason. Definitely was about 800 or 900 based on gate figures I heard

[pineapple stu]

Alan Mathews has a rant about the penalty (http://www.eleven-a-side.com/ucd/irish_soccer_detail.asp?newsid=18896) - curiously, he makes no mention of the penalty we were denied when concluding the referee cost them the match. :rolleyes: I'd be looking more at taking off a forward for a winger when they had us on the ropes.

[CollegeTillIDie]

We get a good few coming in up to ten or fifteen minutes in for some reason. Definitely was about 800 or 900 based on gate figures I heard
Cause Irish people have an aversion to being on time. Punctuality is too Anglo-Saxon a trait :D

[Longfordian]

Alan Mathews has a rant about the penalty (http://www.eleven-a-side.com/ucd/irish_soccer_detail.asp?newsid=18896) - curiously, he makes no mention of the penalty we were denied when concluding the referee cost them the match. :rolleyes: I'd be looking more at taking off a forward for a winger when they had us on the ropes.

He put Kirby on up front. We had no other experienced strikers on the bench.