Good assesment of the day. My only gripe and I may well be in a minority was that Ndo got MOTM. Thought all four centre halves were excellent.
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From my experience, the niggle between supporters of the two Rovers is almost entirely message board-based. And apparently in Super Valu in Sligo town. Great atmosphere of mutual respect between the two sides, although it was a bit flat up where I was with the neutrals and curious observers.
It wasn't a vintage final by any means but I think it was a good advert for our football. Plenty of nerves and heavy touches but Boco, Ndo and Doyle stood out for me in particular - although Boco must have set a new record for shots drilled straight into the first man.
I wouldn't understate the achievement that was the attendance. To get 37k out (my brother tells me RTE put it at 41k - maybe that's including the 4000 stewards) at a game when both Arsenal and Chelsea are on the box is no small feat.
I wouldn't go that far. Sligo are better conditioned for obvious reasons, but they also gave Rovers the run-around for long periods. You see the same when teams play Barcelona and Spain (not suggesting Sligo are in the same league... yet) - Germany at the World Cup were out on their feet. Add to that Rovers have had a more intense run-in, both physically and emotionally, and you can see why this match might have been just one step too far. All credit to Sligo, though - they still had to do the job.
edit: also sincere congratulations to Sligo. I really hope yous hang on to Boco and Ndo stays fit so you can have a real go at the league and Europe next season. Your style of football would be a great advert for our league abroad.
Russell is up there with the best in the league as well. Lovely footballer who has really come into his own this season.
I think Ndo is right that we were blessed not to get too many injuries all year as our squad is tiny really when you compare it to what Shamrock Rovers have.
Hadn't heard Ndo say that, but I think he's right. We were running on fumes by the end of the game, and being without Twigg (who really shouldn't have played, he was left on in case we could fashion a one on one chance he could finish, but wasn't fit enough to really contribute) was just one injury too many. For those who've slagged off how we've played at the end of the season bear in mind that yesterday we were without Dan Murray, Pat Sullivan, Sean O'Connor, Robert Bayly, Aidan Price and had to play with our two front-men half fit (Twigg and Baker). A lot of players there who could have made a big difference, but that's football for you.
Thought Twiggy played very well until the penalty. He physically dominated the Sligo centre halves and won everything in the air.
He put himself about pretty well in the aerial sense but I got the impression he was a guy playing with a few painkilling injections. It's not been many times this season he's failed to have a good chance in a game. MON said pre kick-off that neither he or Price was fit so he couldn't take a risk on playing two such players.
Has anyone ever won the FAI cup before without conceding a goal including with a penalty shoot-out?
Not just because of yesterdays result,but after a 90 min draw would a replay not be the better option.Another big gate,more exposure. Its not as if the league is the main event in a sporting week very often. Why not have seconds if possible.
A brilliant day, great thinking by the FAI, well organised, good energy and two teams giving it a rattle, put a real smile on my face yesterday.
Has anybody mentioned that when Sham's did get the ball, they did try to play a bit.
You're dead right. There would have been huge interest in a replay. The players wages for the extra week could come out of the gate receipts
It was a great occasion. Was saying it just before the penalties about what a great day it was (was resigned to defeat at that stage) and to win it obviously topped it all off. The amount of text messages I got after the game from people that I never thought would even know the game was on let alone would watch it was very surprising but also great to see. I don't expect any of them to start going to matches mind. MNS has done a huge amount to get peoples attention about the league. A great show on a great time (everything the old TV3 version wasn't)
Delighted for Cook and all the lads. Now the 3 or 4 months of worrying whether we can keep the squad together for next season begins
Do/did the teams actually get a cut of the gate receipts?
I'd guess it's the same as the Setanta Cup - gates minus rent for the stadium.
Apologies if this has been spoken of already (the thread is 21 pages long at this stage), but does anyone know of a list of cup final attendances that can be accessed online?