LOI fixtures 17th - 20th April

The Dundalk fans gave it back to Drennan when he missed the sitter :D
If you think he's the new Twigg i have news for you,he isn't!
Dundalk rode a rocky spell for about 15 mins in the 1st half but then it was all Dundalk and Meenan should have fired us ahead but paniced and shot at Hyland.Rovers started getting sloppy at the back and it was no surprise to me when McMillan scored because we had come into the game more.The goal straight after half-time from Finn came about from more Rovers sloppiness at the back and he celebrated it like a King.Then comes the Rogers sending off/pen and the whole game flips.Drennan scored a great goal for his and Rovers second and i thought that we would lose then but we didn't panic and seen the game out for a point that most of us would have settled for before the match.Cracking game of ball played in an atmosphere(2nd half anyway) that only this league can produce.

Delighted with the win but good God, we should have scored 6 or 7. Limerick very poor in first half, improved in second half but can be no argument with the result. Hats off to the traveling support, they sang for the 90 minutes and well after the game, the noisiest and most atmospheric fans we've had in Eamonn Deacy Park this season. Onwards and upwards now, doddle of a game on Monday on the plastic.

Crazy game in Tallaght.

I thought we were going to cruise to victory. Rovers had nothing up front in the first half and were completely toothless.

Then the ref gives them a penalty for a foul that was a yard outside the box and we were down to 10 men and lost our composure for 10 minutes.

Rovers then huffed and puffed for 30 minutes and McMillan nearly scores a winner in the 97th minute.

Who said the LOI is boring?

That's the most fun I've had in Tallaght in years. I'll even accept the odd free goal gifted to the opposition as long as there's some sort of intent to win the game.

Thought Rovers had shaded it marginally until the goal, but once the second went in I expected Dundalk just to pick us off for the rest of the game, but they sat back and Rogers let us back into it. First impression was he fouled Brennan (I think) outside the box but I suppose that's the risk you take with professional fouls. We really should have won it in the end but I don't think we're solid enough to really pressurise teams. Drennan is a diamond.

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Originally Posted by Charlie Darwin

That's the most fun I've had in Tallaght in years. I'll even accept the odd free goal gifted to the opposition as long as there's some sort of intent to win the game.

Thought Rovers had shaded it marginally until the goal, but once the second went in I expected Dundalk just to pick us off for the rest of the game, but they sat back and Rogers let us back into it. First impression was he fouled Brennan (I think) outside the box but I suppose that's the risk you take with professional fouls. We really should have won it in the end but I don't think we're solid enough to really pressurise teams. Drennan is a diamond.

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It was 100% outside the box and footage on Monday will show this. Doyle's performance was disgusting tonight

Apart from that decision I can't think of any glaring bad decisions.

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Originally Posted by Charlie Darwin

Apart from that decision I can't think of any glaring bad decisions.

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Yeah that ONE!
The biggest decision in the match like!! :rolleyes:

Well when you're talking about terrible performances you usually mean the referee did more than one thing wrong.

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Originally Posted by Charlie Darwin

Apart from that decision I can't think of any glaring bad decisions.

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Any 50/50 challenge went Rovers way for a free.
Horgan and Madden went in together Madden jumps on the ground free out. Few minutes later dives the far end looking for a free Doyle waves him up, no yellow card.
Massey jumps straight up in the air, Rovers player back in to him. Free to Rovers.
North jumps up in the air kicks one of the dundalk players in the stomach right in front of ref. Free out no yellow card
Towell wins ball cleanly. Free kick and yellow card.

Those just off the top of my head. Probably a load more. His refereeing is beyond suspect when it comes to Rovers games. Apparently there is footage of him pointing for a free and then awarding the penalty after.

Rovers have quite a soft underbelly. Apart from being easily knocked over and seemingly injured, teams can get at them if they dont sit back. I think we were over confident in our ability to close out a game. If we had continued to push as if it was 0-0 or 1 down when we were 2 to the good we'd have taken the 3 points. Dunno myself why a peno was given, agreed Doyle was bad but there was an awful lot of gamesmanship going on, slowing the match right down at times. Rogers has nearly been caught out a couple of times this season already, I do think he is better overall than Cherrie, but not as much as initially expected. Maybe he will grow in to the season as I would epect the rest of the side to do and improve. Chance now for Sava to put a bit of pressure on the first choice keeper.

Could think of plenty of counter-examples too, like Towell getting away with taking out Cregg after the pass in the first half or playing on after Kenna had been caught with studs, but a game like this will always have loads of 50/50 calls and some wrong decisions. Doyle's an OK ref and it's a big accusation to claim somebody is biased.

As for the penalty, I read that but I was looking at Doyle from the moment Brennan went down and it looked like he pointed straight to the box but the players weren't sure what he was actually indicating.

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Originally Posted by Charlie Darwin

Doyle's an OK ref and it's a big accusation to claim somebody is biased.

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He's a Rovers fan, how can he not be? If I was referring a Dundalk vs Rovers match, it would have been a similar performance as Doyles tonight but in reverse.

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Originally Posted by Charlie Darwin

Could think of plenty of counter-examples too, like Towell getting away with taking out Cregg after the pass in the first half or playing on after Kenna had been caught with studs,

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And Kenna wasn't caught by studs. It was a 50/50 ball and if anything it was an overzealous challenge by Kenna. It was right in front of me. Don't remember the Towell one

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Originally Posted by Calcio Jack

Rovers gifted Duns 2-0 goals a minute either side of ht having shaded proceedings until then.

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Originally Posted by Charlie Darwin

Thought Rovers had shaded it marginally until the goal,

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I think ye are both badly deluded

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Originally Posted by Calcio Jack

Overall when 11 v 11 Dundalk looked a pale shadow of last year and Towell was very poor.

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Before the sending off, Dundalk were strolling at 2-0

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Originally Posted by Louth4sam

He's a Rovers fan, how can he not be? If I was referring a Dundalk vs Rovers match, it would have been a similar performance as Doyles tonight but in reverse.

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Because it's his job.

Kenna looked clear-cut to me. Looked like McMillan had a little push on Webster before the first goal too. Sometimes things that look one-way live look a different way on replay. I think it's absurd to suggest all the decisions went Rovers' way regardless.

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Originally Posted by Louth4sam

It was 100% outside the box and footage on Monday will show this. Doyle's performance was disgusting tonight

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As it was last week when awarding Sligo a ridiculous promo against us, but he still gets a game tonight, and its Rovers as well (considering his 'connection' with the Hoops, previous season ticket holder I think?)

I don't think Doyle is biased; incompetent perhaps, but that is the norm we have come to expect.

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Originally Posted by Calcio Jack

Overall when 11 v 11 Dundalk looked a pale shadow of last year and Towell was very poor.

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You may be doing yourselves a disservice here, if you are comparing Dundalk v Rovers last season as opposed to this seasons. Maybe Fenlon has closed the gap on the quality of the respective sides?

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Originally Posted by Charlie Darwin

Because it's his job.

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And this means he can make a split second decision without prejudice both consciously and subconsciously when he has an emotional attachment on the outcome?

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Originally Posted by Louth4sam

And this means he can make a split second decision without prejudice both consciously and subconsciously when he has an emotional attachment on the outcome?

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Ah would you go away, he's not a superfan like Maxi. Adults are able to put aside their feelings to act impartially all the time in the real world.