Cork AUL 2006/07

[KrocBoy]

It is a hard call to make at the minute,watched kinsale a few times this season,their big and tough but to be honest I thought they have some decent players but a lot of ordinary players and a bit boring to watch,their gettin old as a team and have nothin coming through .

Grattan can be either bad ( v coachford) or superberb (v maymount) they need to be a bit more consistant to win the league but have a great squad when everyone is fit.My own feeling is if Grattan can get their noses in front of Kinsale or leeside then i fancy them to win it because their young and hungry for success, Kinsale and Leeside can battle it out for 2nd and 3rd.

Leeside will only do damage if the above 2 throw it away,the rest don't offer much.Has anyone seen these 3 play this year ,what do you think,any dark horse that could sneak in.

Kinsale are a bit sore on the eye but their very effective and consistent,
I think if you compare the top 3 teams player for player then Kinsale look the weaker of the 3,
but they are a very organised unit and are tougher mentally than the other 2.

Grattan seem to blow very hot and cold not just from one game to another but during games too, they were
2 down in the Maymount game with barely 5 mins on the clock and looked to be all over the place.
However when they get their act together I think they have the beatins of the other 2 easily.

Leeside are a nice side to watch, they play some great football but are lackin a bit of bite in their game I think,
sometimes overplay the ball in the backline too and this nearly cost them a few goals last sunday.

Can't see any other side makin a realistic title challenge.

I'll stick with my original prediction of Grattan 1st Leeside 2nd and Kinsale 3rd.

The relegation battle seems to be heatin up big time, Villa and Coachford are playin very well, Macroom and Glenthorn are lookin in trouble now after a bad few results. Togher's win last week keeps them in touch also.

I think Togher and Macroom will go down.

[littleman]

leeside played kinsale on the tuesday and the limerick crowd on the sunday,i agree it was a bit harsh but they were supposed to play grattan the tuesday after their mjc semi so it could have been worse.

It ain't the Aul's fault, the MFA and the FAI did nothing for any Cork side that tried to do well in the big competitions,the Aul post fixtures and then the FAI and MFA just dump their fixtures on top and they don't care how you are doin in your own league,they come first and your supposed to lump it.

With regards to Maymount in the semis against Pike,Grattan beat Maymount 5/2 Tuesday,they beat Pike on penos after a 3 all draw,can't see Maymount gettin a result.Pike are a class act all over the pitch but you never know on the day.

[littleman]

Another tough one to call,Macroom started well but have died a death,Togher have struggled all season and i was surprised with Villa,thought they would make more of a fight towards the top.Glenthorn are not up to it and i know that they are tryin hard to encrease the size of their pitch and credit is due to them for that but t'is a joke that you have to play Premier games on it.Coachford will fight their way out.

I think kroc might be right,Togher and Macroom to go.....

Park have taken good advantage of Leeside,Kinsale and the Gratts bein envolved in the FAI and MJC cup by putin points on the board early on.Maymount will take points off of teams ok but nothin major.They try to mix it but just dont have it to mix bar one or two lads,and when things go against them they lose the plot with each other.Their seems to be to big a gap standard wise between the top3 and the rest,Village,Ballypheane,Blarney Street or Leeds are probably better than a lot of whats in the PREM

[Shilts]

The AUL Prem is starting to heat up now with the big 3 all dropping points recently. Grattan down 2, Kinsale down 4 and Leeside down 5pts.

Grattan's 5-2 win against Maymount certainly makes them the favourites of these 3 as Kinsale struggled to a 0-0 with Maymount at the weekend (and Kinsale beat Leeside the week before).

A lot of games still need to be played between the main contenders so its hard to call it for certain.

The AOH semis and final over the next 2 weeks will be a good indication.
Any news on the semi-final draw? Everybody will be trying to avoid Grattan.
Any news on Maymount's MJCup semi-final opponents or when it will be played?

[KrocBoy]

The AUL Prem is starting to heat up now with the big 3 all dropping points recently. Grattan down 2, Kinsale down 4 and Leeside down 5pts.

Grattan's 5-2 win against Maymount certainly makes them the favourites of these 3 as Kinsale struggled to a 0-0 with Maymount at the weekend (and Kinsale beat Leeside the week before).

A lot of games still need to be played between the main contenders so its hard to call it for certain.

The AOH semis and final over the next 2 weeks will be a good indication.
Any news on the semi-final draw? Everybody will be trying to avoid Grattan.
Any news on Maymount's MJCup semi-final opponents or when it will be played?


With the big 3 avoiding one another in the earlier rounds of the aoh there will be some cracking semi final matches this year alright, Leeside and Kinsale are through to the semi finals already i think.

Grattan are at home to Ballyphehane Celtic in the 1/4 finals tonight, and i think Coachford are at home to Villa in the 1/4 finals tonight aswell.

Coachford and Villa drew 2-2 recently in the league so this will be a very close game but Coachford should edge this one with home advantage.
Grattan lost to Ballyphehane in the semi's of the Linnane League Cup on pens earlier in the season so this should be a close game too but on the back of their good result against Maymount its hard to see Grattan not progressing to the semi's.

Haven't heard anything on the the draw for the semi's but they are due to be played next tuesday, i think i read somewhere that the draw will be on fridays evening echo but i'm not 100% sure on that!!

[littleman]

:ball: Grattan to beat Bally : revenge for the mossie
coachford to lose to villa : expect a few reds

Plum draw for Kinsale or Leeside is eirther villa or coacford,worst the gratts.If they beat Ballypheane i think we could see the double being done.I really cant see anyone gettin near the gratts if they hit full steam,but that has been there problem all season tryin to play 90 mins properly .

Maymount play their semi on the 6th of May ,dinner time ko i think.They have to play Pike Rovers unless Clonmel's appeal is won,which i very much doubt.Either way it dosent look good for Maymount.Pike were the best so called ''junior team '' i have ever seen play in terms of ability and technique.Grattan beat them on peno's after a 3 all draw down to the gratts fightin for their lives on the day and playin out of there skins.

Grattan did exactly the same for about 65 mins against Maymount, and Maymount were blown away.Grattan playin on full steam were just about better than Pike,just.With all due respect to Maymount this is a case of David and Goliath so Chalky better bring big stones.Maymount have quite a small squad height wise,O'Sullivan at the back,Philpot and Long are their only real big players,Pike are huge across the deck,bigger than Kinsale with plenty of ability to match the brawn.Pike need to win a trophy to make somethin of their season and expext them to have massive support,they brought nearly 300 to the grattan game.As i said Chalky needs to bring a big bag of stones for this one.

[allab]

is maymounts semi in the munster fixed for the 6th of may os is that the divisional cup??

[littleman]

6th May Turners Cross,k'o is 2:30 Maymount V Pike.

[littleman]

the gratts beat bally correct
coachford beat villa aet wrong
coahford V villa a few sent off correct


The Gratts rode their luck at times but as i have already said you never know what grattan side will turn up.They were down 1/0,equalised 1/1,Bally missed a peno,Grattan got a peno 2/1 and then scored again and should have killed the game, Bally at 3/1 down could have conceeded 2 or 3 if it was'nt for th lunatic they have on goal,he was brilliant but the Gratts fell asleep again.In the last 5 and Bally got a goal;3/2.Free to Bally last kick of the game,they hit the crossbar.What a game.Their were times at this game when Grattan looked totally crap and times they looked untouchable,they played rings around Bally on the counter attack.Defended like kids at times(for the Bally goals and penos) and then were also rock solid in defense.Anyone who plays Grattan should be prepared,they can score 3,4 or 5 in as many minutes,then leave in 2 or 3.They are unbeliveable,brillant then poor,brillant again.

I challange any one to show me a more complete striker than Grattan striker John Paul O'Sullivan . It is just a pity that he and John 'FIGO' Kelleher didnt get to have a proper go together because they playin together would have made a mockery of who ever they had to play.I havent seen a better 2 up front all season or for that matter for a few seasons.He single handedly tore Bally apart.An unbeliveabe hat trick,his 3rd in 6 games.I know Alan Healy is bangin them in but anyone who saw JP play tonite saw somthin special that the Aul has'nt had for a very long time,pure talent in full flow.:ball:

KINSALE drew with MAYMOUNT 1/1
LEESIDE BEAT GLENTHORN 4/1

.

[Shilts]

AOH Cup 2007 Semi-Final Draw
Leeside v Kinsale
Grattan Utd v Coachford

I think that they're both on next tuesday. I don't know the venues. 2 cracking games ahead if their recent league games are anything to go by. What money on a repeat of last years final Leeside - Coachford?

[Innishvilla]

AOH Cup 2007 Semi-Final Draw
Leeside v Kinsale
Grattan Utd v Coachford

I think that they're both on next tuesday. I don't know the venues. 2 cracking games ahead if their recent league games are anything to go by. What money on a repeat of last years final Leeside - Coachford?

Grattan v Coachford; O'Neill Park; Gene Stephens
Leeside v Kinsale; Little Island; Pat Murphy

Both games on Tuesday 1st May 6.45pm

It is a pity that the semi's are on a day that there seems to be a pretty full AUL fixture list because the Leeside v Kinsale is a mouthwatering encounter and as said above Coachford drew 2:2 with Grattan recently...
I fancy a Grattan v Kinsale final, as leeside have had a string of very tough games recently...
Kinsale travel to Macroom on Saturday before game and I guess Leeside and Grattan will have some players on the AUL team v Dublin on the Sunday. Do Coachford have any players on AUL side?

[littleman]

Grattan V Coachford.............Grattan win,with a few goals to spare plus a few reds.

The recent league game finished 2 apeice and was a dire affair.Coachford came to do two jobs,scrap for every ball and kick the living daylights out of Grattan.They took and early lead against Grattan,doubled it and when Grattans manager got them to half time 2/1 down he let fly and sorted out his ship.Grattan were gifted a somewhat soft peno to level things but then missed 3 gilt edge chances and then nearly gifted Coachford a winner.Terrible Grattan turned up for that game.One thing about the semi that will play a major part is having linesmen.Some of the off the ball stuff that Coachford got up to was a disgrace,expect the Gratts to put Coachford to the sword.The only thing that could go against the Gratts is if the players they have on AUL duty pick up injuries.

Leeside V Kinsale................kinsale win in a tight game.

Kinsale beat Leeside 1/0 recently and you would have to fancy Kinsale this time around again.Kinsale have the experience to get them through plus the physcial edge that Leeside dont have.Derek Delea has been one of the best strikers in the Aul over the last 3 or 4 years but if Leeside are using him in midfield and they hav'nt been bangin goals in, something is'nt right.The other Derek,Varian (Kinsale)that is looks a class act and if he can run at leeside like he was allowed to do in the first half against Maymount then i fancy Leesides lumbering backline to conceed a peno.Kinsale might not be the force they were but they are still a hell of a lot better than most of the Prem.As with the other semi the AUL players Leeside have on duty could prove their downfall.

Thoughts anyone ??????????????//

[KrocBoy]

I argree can't see Coachford causing an upset and I think Kinsale will get the better of Leeside but that game should be very close might even be decided by penos.

With the Cork AUL playin Sunday it doesn't give the Grattan and Leeside players on that team much time to recover. Why didn't the AUL play these games on a Wednesday night, it would give the players more time to recover and would allow more people to go watch these games, der is alot of fixtures bein played on next tuesday and its a pity cause these should be 2 cracking games.

And is Grattans Jp o sullivan playin for the irish team saturday in dublin then then for the Cork AUL sunday and again for his club tuesday!! I'm sure Grattan will not be happy with this, 3 games in 4 days is excessive by any standards.:confused:

And why are the semi finals not bein played in a neutral venue, thought that this was the norm with the AOH, its a big advantage to grattan and leeside to be playin the semi's on their on turf. If the AUL were struggling to find venues for these games they could have just played the Grattan V Coachford game at Leesides pitch and the Kinsale V Leeside game at Coachfords pitch. Both pitches are good enough for important games like AOH semi finals.

Sorry for rantin on but i feel better for it now.:)

[Innishvilla]

And is Grattans Jp o sullivan playin for the irish team saturday in dublin then then for the Cork AUL sunday and again for his club tuesday!! I'm sure Grattan will not be happy with this, 3 games in 4 days is excessive by any standards.





Well it seems the AUL don't really give a damn about teams/players welfare. I know the winter caused some cancellations but our current fixture schedule is a joke. Game last night (Thursday), game Sunday, game Tuesday, game Thursday and then another game on Sunday; that's 5 games in 10/11 days. It is a bit much for a small junior team to play that kind of schedule!:mad:

[littleman]

Look lads,the fixture pile up is bad but you cant blame the AUL for once.Every team has been caught up in this and none of us wants to be playin games in June lookin at pre season a few weeks later.Grattan have 12 league games to play in about 6 weeks and every time the AUL have a game half their team is called up and they have no game,along with Leeside,Togher and a few others.Those clubs could pull out their players but they would then probably be suspended by the AUL.Its the FAI decided to play the Oscar Tryanor on Sunday (theirs 9 Dublin AUL players on the Irish squad by the way) knowin a lot of the players involved had to play a big game on Tuesday,do you honestly think they care about the AOH cup.


The MJC and the FAI,were the ones that threw a spanner in the works with regards to the use of the cross for the semis.The first team out playin at home was because thats how they ran with the previous semi finals this year in the rest of the cups and if they changed it especially for the AOH surely the teams who lost their semis would have a grumble.

JP'O Sullivan plays for his country on Saturday,his county on Sun and the semi of the AOH on Tue.Thats the price he and Grattan pay for success.Grattan have 5 players on AUL duty sunday,Coachford will have a tough league game on Saturday.They also they have a player on AUL duty. Grattan will have the upper hand because the majority of their players will have had a week off.JP will be on a high if he scores on Saturday against Scotland,god help the Dubs (Sunday)and Coachford (Tuesday) goin on his current form.

[Innishvilla]

I do understand your point regarding the winter and cancelled fixtures. I know alot of the things going on are outside the AUL's control, International, Oscar T cup etc...
But we have been rushed to play 5 games in a little over a week. We will be finished our season next Sunday while other teams in our division will have 4 or 5 games left to play...
Now that I've that off my chest I will say that the running of AUL is improving in the last few years and the overall standard throughout all the leagues has increased dramatically.

[rebelrover]

Alright lads,

in fairness ye all seem fairly tuned into things in the Prem Div. Just wanted to add my bit to the Leeside debate.........

Ye are right about Dulea, himself and Craig Donnelly (former Golden Boot winner) are being asked to play in midfied. I think it fair to say Donnelly is far better off up front, he's not a midfielder. As for Dulea, good player, but at the moment he's playing the holding role in Central Midfield, again he's far better off going forward, being the link man between attack and midfield.

Unfortunately the reason they are being played in midfield is because the manager (Eddie O Rourke) insists on playing his son Trevor up front. He's a nice lad Trevor and he's honest and hard-working, its not his fault, but in reality he wouldnt cut it in AUL3B, never mind Prem.

Even though they are a happy camp right now, and the training under the new coach (Eddie O Rourke's other son Paul) has been good, the feeling down there is that the manager's favouritism could derail their title/cup ambitions. The team have a very solid defence, and 4 good midfield players, but the balance of the team isnt right and if the manager doesnt bite the bullet and play his best side, then id be surprised if the players can battle on against the odds for the whole season.

[littleman]

:( A total shock for the Gratts.They were gutted at the final whistle because they thought this was their year and in truth this was probably their best chance and blew it.Coachford in all fairness did their job to a tee.They stoped Grattan from playin ball and were faster and more physcial in every area of the pitch.

They never let Grattan settle and for the most part were very happy to soak up Grattan pressure and attack on the break or from set peices.To be very honest this was a brutal game.No football played of any note.The ball spent more time in the air or in the ditch than on the ground.The referee did'nt help,he was like an off his face 16 year old at a rave the way he blew the whistle so much.The thing is that for all his blowin and the hard challanges that were flyin in I think their was only 2 bookins.Grattan had so much of the ball and did nothin with it that you could actually sense Coachford were goin to score.Grattan gave away stuipid pointless frees time after time.The only player who played well for Grattan was Shenkwin at center half,he played Coachford at their own game and took no prisioners.The goal came 5 mins from the end,another stuipid free by Grattan,a good cross and it looked like a combination of defender and Coachford player headin the ball at the same time,ball in the net and Coachford 1 up.Grattans lack of confidence was summed up in the last seconds of the game when they were awarded a free just outside the box slightly right of the right hand post.John Paul O'Sullivan,International,AUL striker and probably the best striker in the AUL for a fair few years had a look and swung his foot at it,,,,,,,,,,,and crossed it,why oh why instead of goin for goal only he will every know.If you cant raise you game for the semi of the AOH you dont deserve to be in the final,you only get out what you put in,Coachford put it in and the Gratts did'nt,fair result.

Congratulations to Coachford on reachin the final,but I must admit i feel sorry for the Gratts.Every game they have lost this season has been a massive one.The Mossie Linnane semi,the AOH semi,the last 16 of the MJC,and worst of all the Quater finals of the FAI.For a team to take those 4 defeats and try to push on to win the premier,i honestly dont know if they could recover from last nights defeat.That is a terrible pity as they have without doubt been the best junior club in Cork all season and the Cross would have been a better place this season if they had of grace its hallowed turf.

[Innishvilla]

AOH Cup 2007 Semi-Final Draw
Leeside v Kinsale
Grattan Utd v Coachford

I think that they're both on next tuesday. I don't know the venues. 2 cracking games ahead if their recent league games are anything to go by. What money on a repeat of last years final Leeside - Coachford?

Shilts looks like you'd have made some money...
Leeside beat Kinsale 2:1 so final is a repeat of last year!!!

[Innishvilla]

Looks like it is a chance for someone to top Kinsale this year...
Another draw 2:2 against Glenthorn.
Great opportunity for Leeside or Grattan, but still an awful long way to go yet.

[KrocBoy]

Looks like it is a chance for someone to top Kinsale this year...
Another draw 2:2 against Glenthorn.
Great opportunity for Leeside or Grattan, but still an awful long way to go yet.

__________P___W__D___L____Pts
Park Utd___15__10__0___5____30
Kinsale____11___7__4___0____25
Grattan____8___7___1___0____22
Maymount _15__5___6__4_____21
Leeside____8___6___1__1_____19
Glenthorn__17__4___2__11____14
Villa_______12__4___2__6_____14
Togher_____15__4___1__10____13
Macroom___13__3___2__8_____11
Coachford__14__2___5__7_____11


It's not lookin good for Kinsale alright, dats 4 draws on the trot.
Big game for them this sat at home to Grattan, if they lose then dats them out of the title race.

[littleman]

I'd agree with you their kroc,Kinsale have to beat Grattan to have any hope.If Grattan get out of their with a draw it would still be a good point and a point for Kinsale would be a killer blow for them considerin they still have to come up to O'Neill park.Grattans next 3 games are against Kinsale away,Macroom and Park up in O'Neill park,both midweek fixtures.7 points from those 3 games puts them 1 point behind Park with half a dozen games in hand,but thats a big if:rolleyes:

[qwertyui]

Kinsale have thrown it away. Grattan can lose both games to them i think and still win the league. Drawn four in a row? Not good enuf i'm afraid. Leeside will be concentrating on the AOH i'd say but still have to play Grattan twice i think? Theres still a chance for all three but its got to be Grattan-1, Leeside-2, Kinsale-3. JP o'sull to show the posh folk down south what a decent player looks like on sat...:D

[littleman]

This result should kill off Kinsale and leave it between Leeside and Grattan for the league.Kinsale at home, i expected to be physcial but still try to play ball.Did'nt happen.The amount of frees they gave away was unbeliveable.A pale shadow of the team that has won the league for the last 4 seasons. The pitch looked great but was brutal to play on, i'd say the rabbits in Kinsale are huge from the size of the holes they left on the pitch..Kinsale were poor,i expected this to be a cracker but was dissapointed.Bar Varian up front for Kinsale they never really created anything and i mean nothin.The goal came against the run of play,Kinsale got a free just outside the box,shot looked tame and Grattans keeper seemed to catch it and then drop it into the net under no pressure.Then it was all Grattan again.John Paul O'Sullivan ran Kinsale ragged and to be fair the Kinsale keeper Quim,made 3 or 4 terrific saves before Grattan scored.Goldsmith with the header from one of Grattans 12 corners in the second half alone.

Grattan should have won it but with Kinsale down to 10 men for the last 20 they defended with the 10 and only broke on the counter once in a while.Funny thing when the game was nil/nil their were about ten match balls between the 2 teams.Kinsale scored and they suddenly had none,and everytime Grattan through a ball in Kinsale said it was soft and when Grattan scored Kinsales matchballs resurfaced again.Referee was ok but Kinsale were over physcial (which is a nice way of sayin they late for basically every tackle) and should have come down a bit harder on them ,might have helped the game flow.Kinsale lost a man for kickin a player after the ball was gone and had their ex manager thrown out of the ground for stopin a Grattan player takin a quick throw so that sums up their effort on the day.

[qwertyui]

This result should kill off Kinsale and leave it between Leeside and Grattan for the league.Kinsale at home, i expected to be physcial but still try to play ball.Did'nt happen.The amount of frees they gave away was unbeliveable.A pale shadow of the team that has won the league for the last 4 seasons. The pitch looked great but was brutal to play on, i'd say the rabbits in Kinsale are huge from the size of the holes they left on the pitch..Kinsale were poor,i expected this to be a cracker but was dissapointed.Bar Varian up front for Kinsale they never really created anything and i mean nothin.The goal came against the run of play,Kinsale got a free just outside the box,shot looked tame and Grattans keeper seemed to catch it and then drop it into the net under no pressure.Then it was all Grattan again.John Paul O'Sullivan ran Kinsale ragged and to be fair the Kinsale keeper Quim,made 3 or 4 terrific saves before Grattan scored.Goldsmith with the header from one of Grattans 12 corners in the second half alone.

Grattan should have won it but with Kinsale down to 10 men for the last 20 they defended with the 10 and only broke on the counter once in a while.Funny thing when the game was nil/nil their were about ten match balls between the 2 teams.Kinsale scored and they suddenly had none,and everytime Grattan through a ball in Kinsale said it was soft and when Grattan scored Kinsales matchballs resurfaced again.Referee was ok but Kinsale were over physcial (which is a nice way of sayin they late for basically every tackle) and should have come down a bit harder on them ,might have helped the game flow.Kinsale lost a man for kickin a player after the ball was gone and had their ex manager thrown out of the ground for stopin a Grattan player takin a quick throw so that sums up their effort on the day.

Just goes to show how opinions can change from person to person. I was at the game and thought Grattan were lucky to get away with a point. After my previous comment i thought JP wudnt let me down but he ddnt get a sniff. Dont know what game u were watching. Kinsale were well up for this and it showed. Very physical and resulted in a man getting sent off but i thought Finbarr was whistle happy. Gratts cud of had their midfielder sent off after for retaliation?!? Thoughts little man? When Kinsale went down to ten men they tired badly in the middle. Dont have the legs they once did i agree. Neither team looked like scoring but if u were to pick a winner it had to be the seasiders. They were tight at the back. The peno turned down changed the game in Gratts favour- sending off happened straight after. None the less Grattan showed great desire to come back into it. Even their own manager on the line was shouting at them during the second half saying they werent in the game at all...

As for the disappearing and reappearing footballs i think we've all done that no?

[littleman]

I'd agree that kinsale were up for it,considerin the importance of the game you would expct nothin less.But they were physcially up for it,they did'nt want to play football with Grattan.Their center for forward spent his time clatterin and i mean clatterin anyone who came next to him.Indeed the Grattan player Goldsmith,who retaliated could have gone,but show me one player in the face of the kickin he recived from the kinsale players durin the incidient that wouldnt lose it.You must admit Kinsale are no angles and were lucky only to have one player sent off.

Grattan were not in the game because they were not allowed,everytime they got the ball on the deck which was hard considerin the conditions kinsale would give away a foul.How many fouls did John Paul O'Sullivan draw out of the Kinsale back four.A striker dos'nt have to get on the score sheet to play well,JP and the other center forward,Harry kept the Kinsale back line deep in their own half for most of the game.I said i was dissapointed with the Kinsale effort and the game in general.Grattan are a football side,i thought Kinsale were but what i have seen of Kinsale this year is a dissapointment.They are gettin old as a side.Their average age would be 30 i'd say,Grattans about 23.By no means were Grattan the far better side,just the better footballin side who carved out the better chances.The amount of corners conceided by Kinsale surley would show that they were on the back foot for much of the game,maybe happy to soak it up and attack on the break but no team can take so much pressure and hope to get away with it against the best junior side in the AUL.

By the way,the Grattan manager shouts at his players win,lose or draw.Thats just his way,always wants them to do better i guess.

[Shilts]

Don't believe the hype. Grattan are a good side, but not that good, they should've been beaten by Kinsale last saturday. The penalty not given by ref Finbar Murphy was a joke and at 2 nil Gratts would've been buried. Grattan only piled on the pressure/scored after Kinsale went to 10 men (deserved red card) but in my opinion the player who retaliated should've walked also. These 2 decisions swung the game back in Grattan's favour big time.

This was the first time I saw JP O'Sullivan this season and was a bit dissapointed with the junior international after reading rave reviews. Young Varian upfront with Kinsale was far more impressive and dangerous, and he didn't even make the Cork AUL squad. In fact I would also rate Delea with Leeside as a more effective player. But maybe JP just had an off day, or wasn't used properly by his team? As for the title, it looks like it will now be decided between Leeside and Grattan. They must play each other twice. Nothing between them, however I fancy Leeside now to complete the double. I go with them based on their greater experience. Grattan's young guns are a team for the future.

But what do I know anyway? :ball:

[Towelie]

There is a lot more twists and turns to go yet lads.
Leesides season will be decided with 5 games over the next 10 days.
Home to Park tonight,home to Villa thursday,away to kinsale saturday,away to Grattan tuesday and then next thursday away to maymount in what is the biggest rivalry in the premier over the last number of years.
There is no way Leesides Squad is big enough to cope with that kind of fixture pile-up.

[littleman]

Thats why i like postin on this site,you get different views on things from people who know what their on about.

Varian for Kinsale is a great prospect but hes better out on the wing and attackin with the ball rather than an out an out striker.

Delea for Leeside has been one of the best strikers from the AUL over the last few years but Leeside have been playin him in midfield and if thats correct Leeside must be bangin in the goals,which they hav'nt been,so somtin is not right.Also their was a post a few days ago about the Leeside manager havin some hassle with his players because of his son gettin a game ahead of some established Leeside players.Dont know how true it is but theirs no smoke without fire and you need your squad to be a tight unit in a situation like this so it dont look rosy in the Leeside garden.

I think it will boil down to who ever takes the most points from their next 5 games.Grattans next 5 are all at home,all be it against 3 of the top sides,but none the less all at home.I think if they were to get 3 wins and 2 draws(11 points) they would have 4 games left and llokin at the finishin line knowin exactly what they have to do.

[KrocBoy]

__________P___W__D___L____Pts
Park Utd___15__10__0___5____30
Kinsale____12___7__5___0____26
Grattan____9___7___2___0____23
Maymount _15__5___6__4_____21
Leeside____8___6___1__1_____19
Glenthorn__18__5___2__11____17
Villa_______12__4___2__6_____14
Togher_____15__4___1__10____13
Macroom___14__3___2__9_____11
Coachford__14__2___5__7_____11


Still plenty of points to play for yet, so i wouldn't write off kinsale yet but they need to start wining games again startin tonight. All the top 3 will be playin 3 games a week from now on i assume, so it will be a big test for the respective squads.

Tuesday May 15th
Leeside v Park United
Villa United v Kinsale
Grattan United v Macroom

[rebelrover]

fairly tight alrite lads......grattan must be favourites now, followed by leeside, cant write off kinsale though, after all, they've not lost a game.

Leeside's manager seems to have bit the bullet and is now playing his most settled side. Dulea has returned to playing up front, and the midfield has a better balance in the centre too. They dont have more than one winger in the squad however.

I wouldnt have any worries about Leeside playing grattan but as was already made reference too, there has to be question marks over whehter their squad can take the 5 games over the next 9 days.....they only have a squad of 15/16 players, and if im to be brutally honest, their 4 subs are mad up of two players who are full-backs and dont have the pace to play elsewhere in the team, and two average strikers. So they'll need a bit of luck in the run-in with injuries. If they can stay injury free, i fancy them to go on and do the double as the aoh success must have whetted their appetite!!

[Innishvilla]

Kinsale are done and dusted. Drew again last night 2:2 with Villa Utd. They will probably go through the season unbeaten but they've dropped too many points already...
For a team that conceeded f*ck all over the last 3/4 years they seem to be leaking goals this season...

[littleman]

Kinsale V Villa. 2 all draw.

What is happin to Kinsale,2 nil up for the second time in 3 games and gave it away.6 draws in a row, league gone.
Go unbeaten for the season,laughable.
Accordin to some sources they were drag'n fellas off the street in Kinsale for last nights game.Season can't finish quick enough.

Leeside V Park. Leeside won 2.1

Leeside are goin well,2 nil up at half time but Park came at them big time,again this is accordin to a Leeside player ''we were put under feirce pressure for the second half and just shaved it ''.Its seems the physcial sides threaten Leeside the most and they have to play Maymount and Kinsale over the next few games ???????

Grattan V Macroom. Grattan won 5.1

Grattan took the lead in this one early on through John Paul and it took nearly another 50 mins to get a second Harry Goulding with the strike. Macroom pulled one back straight away2/1 .Macroom are not that bad.Guy up front is excellent for them,Polish fella i think.Surprisin to see them where they are.Grattan got number 3 with 15 left.

John 'Figo' Kelleher came on a sub,his first appearence in 5 months due to injury.His first touch put a superb ball across the box which the Macroom defender put against his own bar.His second,from a free kick right hand side of the goal he bent with the outside of his right boot into the top left hand side of the Macroom net.John Paul got number 4 from the other side of the box again from a dead ball(his 2nd) and Darren Geaney rounded it off with number 5.By the way the Grattan manager shouted a lot again,thats what he dose,it works goin on what i saw last night.

Whose my tip for the top now,goin on last nights results it will still be close.But the fact that Grattan have Figo back is a killer blow to Leeside.Thats my own thinkin.Grattan are just to strong.:ball:

[KrocBoy]

__________P___W__D___L____Pts
Park Utd___16__10__0___6____30
Kinsale____13___7__6___0____27
Grattan____10__8___2___0____26
Leeside____9___7___1___1____22
Maymount _15__5___6__4_____21
Glenthorn__18__5___2__11____17
Villa_______13__4___3__6_____15
Togher_____15__4___1__10____13
Macroom___15__3___2__10____11
Coachford__14__2___5__7_____11

Thursday May 17th
Grattan United v Park United (1)
Leeside v Villa United (X)
Coachford v Togher Rovers (1)

[littleman]

__________P___W__D___L____Pts
Park Utd___17__10__0___7____30
Grattan____11__9___2___0____29
Kinsale____13___7__6___0____27
Leeside____10___8___1___1____25
Maymount _15__5___6__4_____21
Glenthorn__18__5___2__11____17
Villa_______14__4___3__7_____15
Togher_____16__4___2__10____14
Coachford__15__2___6__7_____12
Macroom___15__3___2__10____11


Thursday May 17th
Grattan United v Park United (Grattan won 4/0)
Leeside v Villa United (Leeside won 2/1)
Coachford v Togher Rovers (finished 1/1 )

Grattan were 3 nil up at half time,finished 4 nil.John Paul 2,Paul Lynch and Brian O'Sullivan.Leeside scrope through again 2/1.:ball:

[qwertyui]

This is Grattan's league. There winning where Kinsale are drawing.. and winning emphatically going by last tues! Dont think Leeside can do it. Kinsale away tomorrow.. what are the odds on a score draw?? Put your house on that one!

[littleman]

I think tomorros game with Kinsale at home to Leeside could well decide where the title goes.Leeside have to get 3 points in the home of their old foe's and at a time when Kinsale will be lookin to save face in light of recent results and also gain revenge for gettin knocked out of the AOH by Leeside.

Leesides next 3 games are against Grattan,Villa and Coachford.They would have to win all 3 just to be in with a shout come the run in.Idon,t think they are strong enough to do it.

Grattan have a home game against the Villa. A derby game just to add a little spice. Leeside at home and Kinsale at home.Grattan are free scorin at the minute and with John Paul bangin them in for fun and FIGO on the side lines waitin to come on if needed you could be well lookin at the first city based premier winners since Cresent in 1992 as long as they dont lose any of their next 3 games.

:ball: Their last 4 games are away to Macroom,Park,Leeside and Maymount who have one eye on the MJC semi.

Tomorrow

Kinsale to beat Leeside.
Grattan to beat Villa.

By what dos'nt really matter at this stage.3 points is what counts.

[littleman]

Grattan 3 Villa 1. Could have been 33/1 and thats no joke.
Kinsale 5 Leeside 1. Did'nt see that comin.:ball:

The Gratts get another 3 points on the board to finally go top.Kinsale with what has to be a shock result to most people.I think Kinsale have done Grattan a big favour.Leeside now need to beat Grattan Tuesday and also win away to Coachford,Maymount and Villa in their next 4 games just to have a chance.Grattans scorers were Mark O'Sullivan,Decky Gostel and who else John Paul O'Sullivan.

ps,the Grattan manager was his normal shoutin self again.Noisy *******.

[qwertyui]

Grattan are top now and thats where they'll stay. They're just not slipping up and fair play to them. Leeside started well yesterday but their heads went down once the Kinsale goals went in. It was an extremely understrength Kinsale team, even weaker than the teams that they have been fielding recently, no subs on the line, so this result was all the more impressive. How's the golden boot going?

[Pablo Escobar]

Grattan 3 Villa 1. Could have been 33/1 and thats no joke.
They'd be very steep odds for a 2 horse race! :D

[littleman]

To be honest Pablo i don't know much about bettin but i know a donkey when i see one.Villa had a few,on lone from Banna beach or Redbarn i might guess.The last 30 mins was unreal,Grattan had 10 chances inside the 6 yard box but hit the goalies ass,head,post ,upright everything you name it, it got in the way to prevent a Grattan goal.They had 2 stone wall penos but i guess the referees want to keep games tight so their wont be any trouble if their was a cricket score.

The Gratts looked very sharp,fitter and more agressive then anythin else in the league.They have their noses in front and i honestly cant see them bein caught.They are playin as well know as they were duirin their FAI run.

Regardin the Kinsale last 2 results,their are a lot of rumors about at the minute.None good if your a Kinsale supporter.Illeagal players and suspended players bein played.I'd be surprised if the current Champions would pull a stroke like that.

Tue nite games.

Grattan to beat Leeside I think.At least 1 peno for Grattan with either O'Leary the center half or the big full back to give it away and or get sent off.A draw for Leeside is useless as they have to claw points back from the Gratts.

Kinsale against Villa,dodgy game,a couple of sendin off's a few goals and a Kinsale win i think.Ijust ncannot see this game finishin in a 0/0 draw or with 11 men on each side and you can quote me on this,but what di hell do i know,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

[littleman]

Grattan V Leeside. Grattan 2 Leeside 1.

Game of the season,Grattan went 2 nil up within 15 mins through a fantastic lob through from Darren Galvin from 35 yards and a crackin OG from Leesides Jason Keegan. For the next 10 Grattan could have doubled it.Leeside for the remaining 20 pulled one back through another crackin OG AND could have leveled if not gone 4/2 up if it was not for great saves from the Grattan keeper,tackles from the Gratts back line and bad finishin from Leeside.

The second half was fantastic,chances for both sides,shots,balls hittin crossbars and uprights and great defendin by both sides.Penos denied,everything.Best AUL game i've seen for years.

Either team could have won this game as it was that open,free flowin football end to end.You could say their was poor defendin by both sides but their was also some outstandin defendin by both sides and you could see why these 2 are neck and neck for the league.A different class to the rest of the Premier.

Grattan won,just.Leeside lost just.A draw would have been a fair result but a draw was useless result to Leeside.Grattan took the 3 points and thats what counts no matter how you get it.Everything Leeside came up with started from their left back,and he caused Grattan feirce problems by puttin the ball long over the top every chance he got.The Gratts went wide every time they got the ball and tore at Leeside from the wings.Leeside did not have any answer to Decky Gostel on the right for Grattan.The Grattan midfield was physicaly smaller than Leeside but way quicker and more inventive.Leeside did not know what hit them for the first 25 but came back with a bang for the remaining 20 of the first half.

Leeside are big and well drilled but cumbersome.Another referee may have not looked upon the treatment dished out to Mark and John Paul O'Sullivan so lightly. The yellow card count 5 for Leeside and 2 for Grattan tells its own story.5 yellows for tackles dished out to those 2 plus Decky Gostel.I thought,and this my own opinion that their were a few terrible challanges from behind from the Leeside players on those 2 players and also young Decky Gostle who tore Leeside to peices in the last 15 mins again that is just my view.The only sour note durin the game came when Gettings was subbed,the player comin on when to shake his hand and Gettings refused then made personal remark directly to the player I would not be allowed post on this site.Took the shine off of what was a very sportin Leeside team.

Top marks to Grattan and Leeside

Kinsale V Villa Kinsale 5 Villla 1

Kinsale started with 10 men and won 5/1,Villa had no keeper.Must have gone back to Banna.I was kind of right though,Kinsale won,it was'nt a draw and Kinsale finished with 10 men.I could have made a fortune if i went to the bookies Pablo.:)

[Towelie]

I find it very hard to believe that Ricky would behave like this under any circumstances, littleman.Anyone who knows him would find it hard to believe too.

[littleman]

Alright lads,

in fairness ye all seem fairly tuned into things in the Prem Div. Just wanted to add my bit to the Leeside debate.........

Ye are right about Dulea, himself and Craig Donnelly (former Golden Boot winner) are being asked to play in midfied. I think it fair to say Donnelly is far better off up front, he's not a midfielder. As for Dulea, good player, but at the moment he's playing the holding role in Central Midfield, again he's far better off going forward, being the link man between attack and midfield.

Unfortunately the reason they are being played in midfield is because the manager (Eddie O Rourke) insists on playing his son Trevor up front. He's a nice lad Trevor and he's honest and hard-working, its not his fault, but in reality he wouldnt cut it in AUL3B, never mind Prem.

Even though they are a happy camp right now, and the training under the new coach (Eddie O Rourke's other son Paul) has been good, the feeling down there is that the manager's favouritism could derail their title/cup ambitions. The team have a very solid defence, and 4 good midfield players, but the balance of the team isnt right and if the manager doesnt bite the bullet and play his best side, then id be surprised if the players can battle on against the odds for the whole season.

I dont know the lad myself,other than bein told his name by a guy on the line I would'nt have known who he was.He might just have been a bit ticked off at havin to come off in such a big game.
Just was a strange thing to do,but in light of this recent post it might explain a few things.

[Towelie]

He might just have been a bit ticked off at havin to come off in such a big game.


He said he missed a few chances so whatever he said was probably directed at himself.Funnily enough some of the Leeside players still think they can win it.Surely its done and dusted though.I think Grattan will slip up at least once in their remaining games but i think Leeside wont capitalise

[littleman]

I think Leeside really put it up to the Gratts last night.Played really well and deserved a point but the luck went to the team who won.I think Leeside are right to keep pluggin away,but i must admit i dont think Grattan are goin to slip up before they have it in the bag. A fair result would have been about 6 all if iI was to be honest.;)

The Gratts have Kinsale at O'Neill Park on Thursday night and Macroom Saturday away (who are bascially relegated)and then Maymount (who have the MJC semi the week later).

Grattan should have had the game dead and buried in the first 25 mins but didnt and gave Leeside a lifeline back into the game when they seemed dead on their feet and fair dues they took it and made a great game of it.

They are 10 points a head of Leeside now but Leeside have a game in hand.Leeside have to play Coachford,Villa and Maymount in their next few games and have it all to play for.At least its still interestin,when was the last time we could say that.

[littleman]

Grattan to beat kinsale
maymount to beat leeside:ball:

[littleman]

:confused:Maymount 2 Leeside 2
Grattan 3 Kinsale 3.

Kinsale wer'nt even in this game.They were poor bar Varian again.Grattan ran the game for 75 mins and then fell apart.Referees can cost you points,the bounce of a ball or the conditions even the pitch this one falls under not playin your best side against the champions for 90 mins.


Disapointin result for Grattan because in last nights game they actually deserved to beat Kinsaleand did fantastic work for the majority of the game.The records will show that they won the Premier,but were unable to beat the Champions home or away...............

[Shilts]

Very good game last nite between two good sides. Kinsale looked to be very understrength again but at least they had 11, unlike last tue when they beat Villa (5-1) with 9men I heard.

Grattan had most of the ball but didn't create much. (No shots on target in the 2nd half outside of the pens). The 2 pens for Grattan (1st one looked harsh for handball) were well taken by our junior international JP, who although tried hard had another poor game against the Kinsale defence.

Kinsale were 3-1 down to Grattan with under 10 left and had a man sent off and then sent a pen wide. All other teams in the league would've let their heads drop but not Kinsale. They showed how they've collected league medals for fun over the last few years by coming back when buried to preserve their unbeaten season.

The result didn't matter for either team as Grattan will win the league and Kinsale won't, but at least Kinsale gave 100% in a nothing game for them unlike what lot of other teams have been doing at this time of the year. If all teams did this then the league would be a lot more competitive. :ball:

[littleman]

Kinsale showed exactly why they have been champions for so long last night.Grattan could learn a thing or two from them.

I actually thought Grattan had the beatens of Kinsale last night but their manager maybe learned a costly lesson.

As for Kinsales unbeaten season,I think not.The Villa objection looks rock solid and that means their season might end on a sour note.:o