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I think that's the sort of situation Dundalk and Rovers would have had no bother dealing with, even pats too, Rovers would have won 1-0, pats and Dundalk would likely have exploited the space and gotten another you'd hope.
Not sure the result is totally indicative of Irish football, more so JC.
Some more "Stats for Nerds" after this weeks games: [*Cork City includes data from its previous incarnation]
Cork City
Cork City's last 7 European games: LDLDLDL
The last time Cork City scored an away goal was also in Iceland against Valur [ISL] in 2007.
Not too much more really!
Shamrock Rovers
The last time Shamrock Rovers scored at least 3 goals in European competition was in 1998 against Altay [TUR] in a 3-2 win. But the last time they won by at least 3 goals was in 1982, in a 4-0 win against Fram [ISL]. 6th occasion that they have scored 3 or more goals in a game in Europe. Also the 35th time a LOI side has scored at least 3 goals in match.
Shamrock Rovers' first win in Europe since their famous victory in Belgrade against Partizan [SRB] in 2011. [10 games since then] Also, their first win in Tallaght since 2011 aswell this time against Flora [EST]. [7 games since then]
Shamrock Rovers now hold the record for most goals scored at HOME for LOI side, they overtook Bohemians' total of 30 by now totalling 32 themselves after their 3-0 victory over Progrés.
It will be the first time Shamrock Rovers will play a team from Norway.
P W D L F A LOI v Norway 15 3 2 10 12 28
St. Patrick's Athletic
St. Pats now on a run of 8 consecutive European matches without a win, 2 draws and 6 defeats. They played sides from Germany, Lithuania, Poland and Lativa.
Last 4 HOME games for St Pats has seen 4 defeats, 1 goal and conceded 12. Before this run, they only lost 2 HOME games from 14 games conceding 9.
UCD
First time UCD have progressed to the next round of an European competition and in doing so also become the first Irish 2nd Tier side to qualify for the next round.
Despite conceding 2 goals, UCD concede on average 1.00 goals per game [6 goals in 6 games], the best average among all LOI sides in European competition history.
UCD become the first Irish side to lose a team from Luxembourg, HOME or AWAY.
Now that UCD are playing a Slovan Bratislava, it will be the 4th occasion that UCD will play a team from a country whose home jersey is predominately white. [England, Bulgaria, Luxembourg, Slovakia]
P W D L F A LOI v Slovakia 4 0 1 3 5 9 LOI v Slovan Bratislava 2 0 0 2 3 5
Other
LOI sides are now 4 matches in a row without winning against an Icelandic team despite the fact that LOI sides have scored at least 1 goal in each of those matches. Last win by LOI side was in 2011 when St. Pats defeated IBV [ISL] by 2 goals to 0.
After UCD's and Cork City's 2-1 loss, it means that LOI sides have now lost by that scoreline more times AWAY [18] than at HOME [17]
I used this stat last week but just to refresh, everytime a Latvian side defeated a LOI side in either the first or second leg, they went through on all occasions and it continued after Skonto's [LVA] progression.
Biggest margin of defeat for LOI side against Latvian opposition [2-0].
F91 Dudelange's first goal v UCD was the 1,000th goal conceded by a LOI side in Europe. English sides scored the most with 96!
I have had the absolute p**s taken out of me this morning on live radio after confidently predicting that we'd have 4 teams in the next round of qualifiers. I said Cork would nick a goal and win. The UCD would draw (at worst) and go through. And that while it would be tough, Pats just needed a goal. Sat up watching the Cork match and they looked absolutely scared stiff. I know we can be hard on the manager, players etc, but before half-time it was already looking very ominous.
Proud of both Rovers and UCD, hope that Dundalk will at least keep the tie alive to the 2nd leg (but it will be tough) and that at least 1 of the 3 gets another round out of them.
To think that many fans thought that it would be UCD who would embarrass the league.
Pats may have lost but Cork were embarrassing.
I only saw the second half of the Cork game, but the lack of speed in their play was just awful. I was screaming out for a central MF guy to win the ball, then play it out to the wings and for the side to advance into attack, at one stage with 15 mins left they were on an attack and not a single player was close to KR's box.
No urgency at any time for the 75 mins I saw and they got what they deserved, nothing. Real shame, as this could have been one of the bigger European nights for an Irish side if they had got a good draw in the next round with a close to full house at Turners Cross.
Based on last night, it is indeed amazing to see how they are 2nd in the league.
Massive congrats again to UCD, as for Pats, they seemded to have been beaten fair and square over the two legs and just came up too short, however I would have expected a better fight.
On to next week now, with 3 more in action and Dundalk entering the fray on Wed night away to BATE, a mix of very worried and a wee bit hopeful for our chances.
The mini rebel army were brilliant, unfortunately their team Cork City played with a spineless, gutless philosophy. This is not about football talent, this is about the way they were set up to play. After O'Sullivan brilliantly set himself up to score a fortunate goal and KR deservedly down to 10, not playing well with hardly a chance created, who would have thought what would happen next.
In the end it was just desserts for the locals who put in a serious shift to totally dominated the rest of the game, with 10 men for 75 minutes and utter dismay at Cork's feeble efforts to play football.
goal celebration
http://img.visir.is/apps/pbcsi.dll/s...1.jpg?maxw=649a
http://www.mbl.is/tncache/frimg/dimg.../23/823231.jpg
Everybody who has any experience of League of Ireland football.Quote:
Originally Posted by geysir
Thanks Geysir for putting up those pics - made me smile.
Won't be doing much of that today.
Fair play to the Rebel Army who sat through the game in Iceland.
Caulfield and the players should club together and refund the money it cost them.
Ahh the highs & lows of football , sadly a soul destroying night we we poor over both legs and deserved what we got, both refs were shocking but that's a minor gripe as we just didn't show up last night bar a spell in the first half.
Quote:
Originally Posted by White Horse
Caulfield should assume full responsibility for the muck that was on display in Iceland last night and issue an apology to every fan that travelled. The players can only do what their told really, and it was clear that even they were frustrated with how things were going.
Just getting back my senses now after a half decent sleep. That 4 hours, and a bit, early train back to Basel from Lux this morning was a killer!
But it was worth all the effort. The moment the ref blew the final whistle was fantastic, great craic, immense joy and what a relief. That was a very long second half, plus the 5 added on as well!
Cracking start for UCD, but the game plan went astray once Coyne was sent off. His tackle was a bit reckless, but I think a red card was very harsh. With him UCD would have coasted this game, without him it was a struggle
Both goals near the end of the first half were very disappointing. The first Dudelange goal was like in slow motion, he got so much space and got to pick his spot, the second was comical, from a throw in where everyone for UCD fell asleep, a simple free header.
Wasnt looking good for the second half.
But they held out, I dont know how they did, but they did.
The UCD support was great too, for a small bunch they made a lot of noise.
Would love to go to Slovakia, but 1) wife would kill me, and 2) a tall ask to get more time off work!
But I will have a quick look for Bratislava or Odd to at least see if its doable!:)
Edit: some photos
http://www.footballfans.eu/img?f=5400731&w=600&h=275http://www.footballfans.eu/img?f=5400739&w=1410&h=714
Delighted for UCD.
The less said about Pats the better
Cork were just awful. 1 nil up against ten men. Terrible management, only started to play in second half of extra time when they should have been well beaten at that stage. It was an embarrassment for the league. Negative, hopeless tactics, horrible defending. I was sorry to have sat through it. They owe the fans who travelled an apology. Bennet & Murray were brutal.
Obviously one of two of the players were nowhere near match fit. You take boys like Healy & Garnor out of that team & it is a pretty ordinary team. You could through the Dennehy's in their but we wont go into that. O'Sullivan & Morrisey worth a mention too.
Well that's life I suppose cestlavie.Quote:
Originally Posted by cestlavie
Ahh lads this is very good.
http://www.extratime.ie/newsdesk/art...to-luxembourg/
Also congrats to UCD boss Collie O'Neill who made it back to Holles Strret hospital at 5am in time to see his son born.What a day that man had.
Quote:
Collie @collieoneill 17h17 hours ago
Carl O'Neill born at 5:40am, so good of my wife to hold on till I got back from Luxembourg
This has made the BBC now:Quote:
Originally Posted by Dunny
http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/33482889
Dont know what t make of this BATE lot. 5-0 up then collapsed, ended 5-3 but they could have chucked that lead away compeletly.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HV2AqgFVJRw
Oh really? Made the BBC you say?Quote:
Originally Posted by osarusan
https://c1.staticflickr.com/7/6167/6...8b4890d8_b.jpg
https://41.media.tumblr.com/93efb13c...ho1_r1_540.jpg
Made an auld UCD thing for the week that's in it..
Will tickets for the UCD game go on general sale.
Students and lecturers only.Quote:
Originally Posted by D24Saint
Just home in the last hour or so.
At 1-0 up, with an away goal in the bag, and the opposition down to ten men we were through. At half time we had it in the bag, and I was glad I had told my dad to book my flights to Norway if it came to it. Sure they were better than us, but they had 10 men and had to chase the game. Thats the easiest situation in the world to face. Get the ball down, pass it wide and stretch them while looking for a second goal to kill the tie completely. Then, even if they do get a goal back you have them run ragged and getting the winner should be easier.
I don't know did he sent them out to sit on the edge of the box, is that what they heard, or are they ignoring him but in all three scenarios John Caulfield is responsible.
Its devastating, and we were all extremely angry on Thursday. Still, its an improvement on our last away trip....
A few thoughts from the game. We were vocal for most of the game, and spent that time supporting our team, occasionally asking the home support if they were going to wake up and do the same. Gary Martin however seemed to take this personally and decided to celebrate their winner vehemently right in front of us for no real reason. It was as if we had spent the previous 2 hours berating him. We were all perplexed as to where this vitriol had come from but never mind.
It must be extremely easy to support KR. They have 26 titles and 4 cups. They were as silent as any team I've come across, bar the occasional chant, and a minute or two of noise after each goal. Yet despite this lack of support, the home players gave them a standing ovation after the final (final) whistle. Odd.
Edit: I'm the bearded idiot in the puffin hat in the second picture. I think I'm lying on the ground with my foot stuck in a seat in the first. Ended up 5 or 6 rows forward of my starting position.
Very honest summing up EL P, you said it, these guys were indeed there for the taking and your manager has to take full responsibility for not dealing with the situation, never mind exploiting it. Very disappointing.
When 10 Scandinavians act professional and respectful always trust the Englishman to let the side down.Quote:
Originally Posted by El-Pietro
Very good summing up of the game El P.Quote:
Originally Posted by El-Pietro
It was soul destroying watching it.
I felt very sorry for the fans who made such a great effort to get there to support the team.
They must feel rightly let down.
Martin has probably waited for the chance to celebrate a goal in front of English or Irish fans since he left Middlesbrough.
He has the typical story that a lot of young professionals in the UK could tell. Plenty of money & too much time on their hands.
He's had an excellent scoring record since moving to Iceland. Over 50 goals in 90 games.Wish we had someone like that.
Voted best foreign player in Iceland last season.
He claims the KR fitness coach is a genius.
I think that showed the other night.
So much talk about being JC fit :rolleyes:
Just back in the door from Luxembourg now.
I don't think any post as yet has captured the sheer impossibility of what we achieved on Thursday.
Almost a dream start - booking for them for a foul on the edge of the box in the first minute; could even have been a red. But we skied the free.
On 15, our keeper had a brain fart - came for a through ball and then retreated. F91 rounded him, and rolled the ball right along the face of goal, narrowly missing both posts. A minute later, we were ahead.
Coyne's challenge was silly - a bad touch and he lost possession, then went in too recklessly to make amends. Didn't see the ref had any choice. Up to then, it had been similar to the first leg - they were better, but we were ahead and coping well.
Off comes a mid, on comes a defender. Sit and clench for an hour. Then they seemed to elbow Langtry in the face - only a yellow. Team furious. I thought it might have been accidental and maybe a yellow was correct - but they were a physical team, shall we say. There was another potential red card for them later in the half.
To concede two goals just short of half time - 42nd and 47th minute - was sickening. First a 30-yard thunderbolt. Then we collapsed. Long throws into the box were bouncing in the area. We couldn't clear our lines. A second came with a short-range header. Half time and still ahead - but clearly we weren't going to score, and clearly they were. All over really.
They hit the bar on 50, and then just kept coming at us in waves. We had literally no outlet up front. Heck, we could barely reach their half. Our clearances were rushed and panicky. But Corbet in nets was playing an absolute blinder. Saving everything that came his way. One of their players was even giving out about it. Told him he was too good; should be a professional. Though he got booked on 52 for time-wasting. It started early!
But it was attack v defence. Literally. We'd clear - Swan flicked on to nobody, and they started again. We had nothing. It was utterly incessant. But around 65/70 minutes, we suddenly saw the end. And they were running out of ideas. Their crosses were awful - we cleared everything. Their shots were all from distance - and Corbet was on fire. They split the defence once and once only - Corbet saved one-on-one. There was scrambles and blocks and everything you could imagine - but no goal.
Then disaster - we won a corner. Got a bit ahead of ourselves; put people up for it. Boyle got a header, put it wide, injured himself. I think Dudelange should actually have kicked the ball out for a corner just to entice us forward and create a chance of a counter. And we spent about five minutes of the second half down to nine men - injuries to Boyle, Leahy and Swan. Swan went off with cramp - ran himself into the ground. Leahy went off after being cleaned out by a Dudelange player again.
But by 80 minutes, some of the locals were cheering for us. There was a growing sense in the whole ground that this was an exceptional performance. It was still attack v defence, but every time we cleared, a cheer went up. Every time they shot wide, it was like a goal. We actually got forward a slight bit more, but we were playing a 6-3-0 formation - both wingers were basically full-backs.
5 minutes of injury time - got through them safely. Then a sixth. They got past both our left backs and pulled a shot back - shot was blocked, scrambled and eventually cleared. Final whistle.
Never seen a game like that. Ever. We were dead and buried after they scored twice just before half-time. Yet we won. That 62 v 38 possession stat is nonsense btw. At least 80 v 20 in the second leg. And 90 v 10 in the second half of the second leg. Not exaggerating.
The maddest thing is that their budget is €2m a year. Their top-paid player is on €7,500 a week. There's no way we should have been able to get a draw off them in either leg, let alone knock them out with 10 players.
Looking at Slovan - and they ain't great. 1500 average crowds. Easily beaten by BATE last year. Beat Rovers' record for the worst ever Europa League group stage performance last season. Finished third in the league with a GS of +7 and 20-odd points off the top. There's a lot harder draws we could have gotten. You never know. :)
Sometimes fairy tales come true & guts & bravery are rewarded.
All I can say is very well done & good luck in the next round.
I wish we had the same application in our games against KR.
There's a huge difference between defending because you have to as against defending because your manager wants to.
In case people are wondering, BATE v Dundalk (Wednesday, July 15) will be shown Live on БЕЛАРУСЬ 5 (Belarus 5), coverage starts at 18:25
What channel is that on UPC?Quote:
Originally Posted by TheBoss
Last few seconds of the Dudelange game on Thursday.
Includes one last chance for them, after which the final whistle goes.
Second leg of Slovan v UCD confirmed for the UCD Bowl with a 6pm kick off - maybe to avoid using floodlights?
First leg this Thursday at 8:15 local time.
I'd be surprised if Setanta didn't pick up the Dundalk game from local TV.
Probably to guarantee the use of the Bowl, floodlights might not meet UEFA standard for this round. Tickets available for the second leg? At a 6pm kick-off, I may make a trip up to that.Quote:
Originally Posted by pineapple stu
Were the floodlights used in the 1st round? The ground requirements are the same for the first two rounds in Europe. It only changes from the 3rd round.Quote:
Originally Posted by nigel-harps1954
Just shut up.Quote:
Originally Posted by Yossarian
Well if its not to do with floodlights it may have Slovak TV in mind, which might earn an extra few quid for UCD? Bratislava is an hour ahead so maybe.
As an aside I see that Slovan were beaten by BATE is the CL play-off round last season.
No need to be narky, it was a genuine question.Quote:
Originally Posted by nigel-harps1954