Games Weekend - Fri 03 Apr

[legendz]

FIRST DIVISION 19:45
Athlone v UCD
Harps v Cork
Kerry v Cobh
Treaty v Longford
Wexford v Bray

PREMIER 19:45
Drogs v Bohs
Shels v Dundalk
Pat's v Sligo
Waterford v Shams
Galway v Derry (20:00)

[legendz]

Bray are the best I've seen so far ahead of the tough games expected against Cobh and Cork. Kerry are making bad mistakes. The experience players signed were to cut out that sloppiness. Longford, Kerry, Cobh and Treaty all need wins after last week to avoid a mini separation from the playoffs. Two playoff 6 pointers at this early stage.

Sligo and Waterford have tough assignments after the international break. Galway v Derry will prevent the gap from widening too much. Shels v Dundalk something of an early European 6 pointer in pursuit of the league's top 3.

[outspoken]

We need to be taking at least 3-4 points from games against Treaty and Athlone or it could be another long season

[osarusan]

We need to be taking at least 3-4 points from games against Treaty and Athlone or it could be another long season

I think it's going to be a long season regardless...Cork and possibly Bray aside, the first division looks grim.

Every year it looks worse.

[outspoken]

I think it's going to be a long season regardless...Cork and possibly Bray aside, the first division looks grim.

Every year it looks worse.

We were looking competitive until Saturday, woeful performance.

[nigel-harps1954]

I think it's going to be a long season regardless...Cork and possibly Bray aside, the first division looks grim.

Every year it looks worse.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

We only got 7 weeks into the season before the traditional labelling of the First Division as the worst one yet. Is this a new record?

[Nesta99]

Well as far as Im concerned every season that Dundalk didnt top the league they are in it was the worst standard ever, I mean when Rovers were winning leagues it was an awful standard, Shels, totally rubbish. Last years 1st Division was by contrast one of the best standards ever seen! Id just state that as a given in preseason....

[sbgawa]

hoping Rovers can pick up the 3 points tonight , Waterford are increasingly desperate for a result though so i wouldnt be taking anything for granted.

[brendy_éire]

hoping Rovers can pick up the 3 points tonight , Waterford are increasingly desperate for a result though so i wouldnt be taking anything for granted.

Waterford are leaking goals. If you only scoreess two, it would be a positive for Waterford. Probably too late for Daly either way though.

Perhaps the same could be said of Lynch? Galway away tonight. For what usually brings a decent Derry crowd, I'm not going, and only know three people who are.
We can't keep a clean sheet, so expecting a score draw.

Don't know what it needs to Lynch to change people's minds, but four points from this weekend (Sligo away on Monday) would be positive.

[Nesta99]

Well that was a a bunch of pretty surprising results across the board. Dundalk probably the biggest win of the night, only over the Galway result because well its Derry. Pats a good win, not unexpected but maybe scoring 4 a little bit. Good and important result for Waterford but is it just postponing change? Important result for Drogheda as they were looking a bit more vulnerable so keep the top side locked out is a boost even if the small pitch at home should always mean defence should be on top.

11 points clear of automatic relegation, have to be happy with it, the late own goal winner helps make up for late dropped points. St Pats might win more than preseason.

[Bohtastic]

Perhaps the same could be said of Lynch? Galway away tonight. For what usually brings a decent Derry crowd, I'm not going, and only know three people who are.
We can't keep a clean sheet, so expecting a score draw.

Don't know what it needs to Lynch to change people's minds, but four points from this weekend (Sligo away on Monday) would be positive.

Jaysus... there's poor form and then there's this..
Both McCleans out of the squad altogether? Coincidental injuries or Lynch gambling on not playing the marquee signing. Either way that gamble didn't pay off. Lynch under serious pressure you think. Fair dues to Dundalk, serious result, is O Brien under the microscope?
Pats looking strong, but run of Dundalk, Sligo, Shamrock and Bohs will test their credentials.

[2 Year Contract]

Looked men against boys in Inchicore tonight. Pats won that comfortably without getting out of second gear. Could’ve been a few more if it wasn’t for some excellent saves from Sargeant

[osarusan]

With the exception of a superb Jack Brady save from a nicely worked Longford attack very late on tonight, that has to be one of the worst football matches I've ever seen. Longford had some mild attacking threat about them, but I don't think I've ever seen any LOI side less attack-minded than this Treaty side.

[nigel-harps1954]

Cork fans will probably disagree, but that was a fairly entertaining 0-0 in Finn Park.

Harps sat back and defended for large parts of the game, but it was a good enough game all things considered.

[outspoken]

Weird game in Drogheda. Drogs could have been 3-0 up after 15 minutes. Then Bohs missed two sitters before half time.

Second half Drogheda certainly weren't as good as they were first. Massive scare for everyone with the Farrell incident and understandably Drogheda just wanted the final whistle then so Bohs ended the game the stronger but felt they were very poor for most of it.

[cláirseach]

Doherty's praise of the ref for prioritising player safety and immediately identifying a difficult situation for a player was well earned and in contrast to the ref in Tolka tonight who was very dismissive and condescending to players after Minogue was accidentally booted in the face early on. I was standing there thinking of what a dereliction of duty his reaction was, even after the game was stopped at the lino's behest, and finding out about Drogheda tonight only solidifies it. It wasn't remotely a major incident, but the same flags were there and I couldn't believe how condescending he was before and after. It was as if the player (person) was a tool of the game and not a human. Player health should not be left in the like of Lucas Keating's hands. An embarrassment to the FAI.

[Jack B]

Absolutely night and day from Pats this season thus far vs last. Happy to eat some humble pie on that one after what seemed a questionable pre-season and opening two games. I think the swap of Mulraney for Nugent encapsulates the change, swapping a talented player that will ultimately always flatter to deceive for a lad that will run himself into the ground.

[Neish]

Hard fought point from Harps last night where we defend as a unit for most of the game had a few chance ourselves but lacked the killer touch up front, Lorenzo made 2 or 3 great save to keep Harps in it. One of if not the best team display I've seen from Harps this season. Ref was crazy with the yellow cards

[total hoofball]

Dundalk fully deserved to beat Shels last night in the end, they completely outclassed Shels on every aspect in that first half their 2-0 lead was absolutely deserved, the effort put in from some of the Shels players was pathetic. Shels finally woke up at 60 minutes that there was a game of football to be played pulling the goals back to equalise and should have taken the lead before yet another late Shels capitulation with the late own goal

Doubts are definitely creeping in from some of the Shels fanbase about whether O'Brien has the chops for the job, I'm on the fence as Duff was also struggling early last season to get Shels going. I can see some of our recruitment/transfer policies have been horrendous for two years now which is not all on O'Brien and we have alot of injuries but O'Brien is not helping himself so far this season how he is setting us up team selections or on in-game tactical adjustments. Shamrock Rovers away in Tallaght on Easter Monday is now turning into massive game for our season

[legendz]

Kerry have changed too much too soon on current results and performances. Can't identify with many of the starting XI. They are not delivering performances to build a connection with supporters. Reluctant to name names but Cantwell and Häkkinen have been disappoints so far. The midfield then is non existent. Teahan, Crowe and Mujaguzi gone from last year.
McGrath was silently removed as captain, replaced by Cantwell without any prior announcement a few weeks back. The previous manager was moved to the back benches. Interesting decisions to say the least.
Cork's draw with Harps is bad news. Kerry travel to the Cork Senior League FA Turners Cross on Monday. Likely to be a repeat of the preseason result. Uafásach.

[Nesta99]

What happened with Farrell? He clashed with Senan Mullin, presume a clash of heads. Was treated and game resumed and then he collapsed after, resulting in the scare, is that the gist of it? Couple of questions have to follow if this is what happened, did physio/medic miss something. Curiosity has me wanting to know what the injury ultimately was, did he faint, why the delayed collapse, did he manage to get past checks by the medical staff so was he being silly and sucking up feeling unsteady, could it have been an internal injury that bombed BP - that'd be nasty! Initially I didnt hear there was a collision when it happened, just a player went down with nobody around which always frightens and not baring to think of the serious possibilities. It is so important for refs to respond quickly to such incidents, its why I think players have a duty of care to each other not to feign BS injuries as it can make a ref not stop when its needed, sometimes missing a head injury, but in general too so slowing response times.

[osarusan]

Treaty Longford was one of the worst games I've ever seen from a Treaty perspecitve. No attacking threat whatsoever, from anywhere on the pitch.

Longford marginally more purposeful in attack, and it needed a genuinely superb save from Brady late on to get the point.

[trevy]

Much better performance from Waterford last night and a deserved point even though we were under pressure near the end. Good few changes to the starting line up some due to players out injured and it seemed to work and Kevin Long had a good debut at the back. Harsh penalty given to give Rovers the equaliser as not sure what Dempsey could have done to get his arm out of the way of a ball hit from a few metres away.

[Shinkicker]

Bohs were the better team and still could have lost this game. Missed two 1 v 1 opportunities and had to clear one off the line. They were certainly on top and looked like the only team going to score when the Drogheda player went down. That took away the momentum, but understandably player safety comes first. I hope he's makes a speedy recovery. I don't know where goals will come from for Bohs 3 goals in 6 games is worrying. We need to see DJT soon to help Whelan.

[Buckett]

Derry had more possession, hit the post and missed a couple of chances but Galway Utd still deserved the win. We missed some big chances ourselves but scored two lovely goals, particularly Hurley's volley. Great crowd too, 4, 611. We have a bit of depth in the squad to rotate for Monday's away game at Drogheda.
Sometimes, there's more to football than misery.

[sessylU]

Sometimes, there's more to football than misery.

True, but you only get to play Derry three more times.

[pineapple stu]

Rovers' stagnation in recent years looks like it might catch up with them again this season. Failing to break 70 points the last two seasons was poor stuff and it cost them the 2024 title. They're on target for that again so far, but with Pat's on 2024 form (and no European distraction), mid-60s won't be close to a title this year. Be an interesting season.

[Kiki Balboa]

Average Points per Game after Round 1 2026:

Pats: 2.22
Bohs: 2.11
Rovers: 1.77
Dundalk: 1.55
Shels: 1.44
Galway: 1.22
Drogheda: 1.11
Derry: 1
Sligo: 0.44
Waterford: 0.33

2025 Final table Average Points for Comparison:

Rovers: 1.83
Derry: 1.75
Shels: 1.63
Bohs: 1.5
Pats: 1.44
Drogheda: 1.42
Sligo: 1.13
Glaway: 1.08
Waterford: 1.08
Cork: 0.66

[Kiki Balboa]

Average Points per Game after Round 1 2026:

Pats: 2.22
Bohs: 2.11
Rovers: 1.77
Dundalk: 1.55
Shels: 1.44
Galway: 1.22
Drogheda: 1.11
Derry: 1
Sligo: 0.44
Waterford: 0.33

2025 Final table Average Points for Comparison:

Rovers: 1.83
Derry: 1.75
Shels: 1.63
Bohs: 1.5
Pats: 1.44
Drogheda: 1.42
Sligo: 1.13
Glaway: 1.08
Waterford: 1.08
Cork: 0.66

Surprising that Waterford and Sligo are picking up less Points per game than Cork last year, who were effectively relegated by the summer.

Didn't realise how low Rovers point total was either.

[outspoken]

Kerry have changed too much too soon on current results and performances. Can't identify with many of the starting XI. They are not delivering performances to build a connection with supporters. Reluctant to name names but Cantwell and Häkkinen have been disappoints so far. The midfield then is non existent. Teahan, Crowe and Mujaguzi gone from last year.
McGrath was silently removed as captain, replaced by Cantwell without any prior announcement a few weeks back. The previous manager was moved to the back benches. Interesting decisions to say the least.
Cork's draw with Harps is bad news. Kerry travel to the Cork Senior League FA Turners Cross on Monday. Likely to be a repeat of the preseason result. Uafásach.

That was always stone mad having the previous manager on the staff. I found it extremely strange watching a debrief after a game in Longford with 3 or 4 lads all having their say in a little huddle. Got the feeling there must be a lot of mixed messaging going on.

[brendy_éire]

Derry had more possession, hit the post and missed a couple of chances but Galway Utd still deserved the win.

Yep, agree with that.

Missed Mickey Duffy big time last night. Hope he's not out for too long.
Usual maddening subs from Lynch last night, refusing to change things up, even for the last five minutes.
Playing Dipo (or Thomas) up front by himself hasn't worked, and isn't going to work. Can't understand why he's sticking with it.

Five points off Sligo in the playoff spot, who we have away on Monday. Lynch is done.

[da bishop]

I have had poor nights going to senior games under whatever guise senior football found itself in Limerick...you get used to them down the years,under this manager ive had loads and last night added to that list,a non event ,no football,barely a shot on target,players looking lost,no plan and a smug arrogant manager giving an interview afterwards[,whose team have one win ,bottom of a sh-te league playing brutal football,] having a laugh aligned with the usual list of by now exhausting excuses with an equally smug arrogant local sports presenter who wont call it out as hes interviewing his pal....imagine going on about all his injured defenders when the lads that played just kept a clean sheet....biggest bluffer ever to manage a senior team in this city.btw a very young Longford deserved their point if not more.

[TonyD]

Absolutely night and day from Pats this season thus far vs last. Happy to eat some humble pie on that one after what seemed a questionable pre-season and opening two games. I think the swap of Mulraney for Nugent encapsulates the change, swapping a talented player that will ultimately always flatter to deceive for a lad that will run himself into the ground.

I think I said at the time that the doom and gloom among the Pats supporters in pre season and after the first two games was way ott. I always thought we have enough good players in the squad to at least be competitive for the top 3. Great spread of goals around the team, which helps.We have been very good in recent weeks, and were excellent again last night (though I thought Sligo were pretty good first half). Having said that, its early days, so we'll wait and see.

[Martinho II]

I have had poor nights going to senior games under whatever guise senior football found itself in Limerick...you get used to them down the years,under this manager ive had loads and last night added to that list,a non event ,no football,barely a shot on target,players looking lost,no plan and a smug arrogant manager giving an interview afterwards[,whose team have one win ,bottom of a sh-te league playing brutal football,] having a laugh aligned with the usual list of by now exhausting excuses with an equally smug arrogant local sports presenter who wont call it out as hes interviewing his pal....imagine going on about all his injured defenders when the lads that played just kept a clean sheet....biggest bluffer ever to manage a senior team in this city.btw a very young Longford deserved their point if not more.

have to agree. I was behind the goal when JB made his superb save! He still has it!

[Budgie]

I’m not Barrett’s biggest fan but calling him arrogant and worst manager in limerick senior football is obviously very personal. Never comes across as arrogant always has time for fans and kids at the ground and will do every interview . Not a thing last year when they got the play off final . The usual knock your own local limerick attitude . He had is run at it and great days and 3 playoffs and a semi final of a cup is a good record particularly with the players he has had at his disposal but definitely has gone stale this year injuries or not . I think he is on borrowed time but who do you get in .Morris would do a good job there, knows the league and could attract players from around the league that are badly needed . **** game last night Longford slightly edged it . Some very good players , dominant back 5 especially against Treatys front 3 who had scored 6 in the last 3 games . Handy game for Cobh Monday unless something changes quick , someone give morris a call quick

[ger121]

Average Points per Game after Round 1 2026:

Pats: 2.22
Bohs: 2.11
Rovers: 1.77
Dundalk: 1.55
Shels: 1.44
Galway: 1.22
Drogheda: 1.11
Derry: 1
Sligo: 0.44
Waterford: 0.33

2025 Final table Average Points for Comparison:

Rovers: 1.83
Derry: 1.75
Shels: 1.63
Bohs: 1.5
Pats: 1.44
Drogheda: 1.42
Sligo: 1.13
Glaway: 1.08
Waterford: 1.08
Cork: 0.66

Interesting stats Kiki.

Based on the previous post by PS, 70+ points may be needed to win the league in 2026. Which would be need an average points of over 2.00 per game. Somebody could do that so Rovers will need to up their game if they hope to retain their title.

[MoydowMonty]

I’m not Barrett’s biggest fan but calling him arrogant and worst manager in limerick senior football is obviously very personal. Never comes across as arrogant always has time for fans and kids at the ground and will do every interview . Not a thing last year when they got the play off final . The usual knock your own local limerick attitude . He had is run at it and great days and 3 playoffs and a semi final of a cup is a good record particularly with the players he has had at his disposal but definitely has gone stale this year injuries or not . I think he is on borrowed time but who do you get in .Morris would do a good job there, knows the league and could attract players from around the league that are badly needed . **** game last night Longford slightly edged it . Some very good players , dominant back 5 especially against Treatys front 3 who had scored 6 in the last 3 games . Handy game for Cobh Monday unless something changes quick , someone give morris a call quick

I think fans wanting Barrett sacked are absolutely mad.
That being said, would you take Stephen Henderson? He's based in Cork like. I know the Longford experiment didn't go great but think he said he wants to give it another crack at some stage, and Treaty would be relatively near. I really can't think of many more who you'd get in