Team of the Week #10
The Critic
17:20:44
15/05/2007
The tenth eleven-a-side.com Team of the Week is dominated by Bohemians and Sligo Rovers, both of whom produced their best performances of the season with wide-margin victories at the weekend.
While Bohs’ win over a struggling Longford Town side was expected by many, the ease with which they romped to a 5-0 win was breath-taking, considering their relative impotence in front of goal for the first nine games of the campaign.
Sligo’s mauling of a Cork City outfit with pretensions to reclaim the League of Ireland crown came totally out of left-field – none but the most partisan Rovers fan could have foreseen his side’s 4-1 victory, given that the Bit O’Red had fallen to heavy defeats to title contenders St Patrick’s Athletic and Drogheda United already this season.
eleven-a-side.com Team of the Week:
Brian Murphy (Bohemians) - The former Ireland under-21 goalkeeper didn’t need to be at his best against Longford, but a seventh clean sheet in 10 Premier Division appearances means he deserves his place in this week’s side.
Seamus Coleman (Sligo Rovers) - The teenage full back has been one of the most encouraging aspects of Sligo’s season so far, and he was one of the stars as Rovers put Cork to the sword on Saturday night.
Ken Oman (Derry City) - Strong in the air and ferocious in the tackle, Oman stood out in Derry’s win over Shamrock Rovers on Monday night.
Jamie McKenzie (Sligo Rovers) - Named in the eleven-a-side.com Team of the Week for the third time, McKenzie has been a revelation this season, comfortably filling the breach vacated by the departure of captain Michael McNamara.
Conor Powell (Bohemians) - Bohs’ Irish youth international has got his chance at left back following an injury to Des Byrne. Byrne returned against Longford, but had to be content with a left-midfield spot and will do well to dislodge the 19-year-old in the near future.
Stephen Rice (Bohemians) - Another who has rediscovered his best form this season, Rice was strong in the midfield enforcer’s role against Longford and even managed to get forward to score a rare goal late on.
Chris Turner (Sligo Rovers) - Two goals against Cork and a hand in a third, Turner has claims to be the best midfielder in the League on current form. Repeatedly linked with a move to Bohemians, but Sligo supporters will hope the Northern Ireland under-21 star can be persuaded to stay put.
Patrick McCourt (Derry City) - The match-winner as the Candystripes regained the winning thread against Rovers on Monday. And a fine goal it was too, the winger almost untouchable as he darted across the Rovers area before planting a powerful drive outside the reach of Barry Murphy. A real star, despite Derry’s troubles.
Matt Judge (Sligo Rovers) - Judge had been conspicuous by his absence for the first weeks of the season but looked a star in Rovers’ win over Cork. His two goals included one individual effort which must be a candidate for goal of the season so far.
Glen Crowe (Bohemians) - Should we ever have doubted him? Three times the League of Ireland’s top marksman in the past, Crowe bagged a hat-trick in the 5-0 win over Longford Town. And that came on the back of his match-winning brace against Shels in the League Cup. Back where he belongs towards the top of the scorers’ charts.
Mark Quigley (St Patrick’s Athletic) - Reputedly the subject of a scouting report from Leeds manager Dennis Wise on Friday night, Quigley will have impressed his old Millwall boss with a brilliant finish for Saints’ second goal against UCD. The League leaders were caught napping by the resilient Students late on, but Quigley took the eye throughout.
I would have Peers in before McKenzie all though the two of them make a good pairing. Rovers really missed Peers when he was out injured and this was reflected in a few of the score lines too.
