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Some comical stuff from both defences today. We were cruising until 5 minutes of defensive madness Griffin got himself hauled off as a result.
I knew when Hale celebrated in front of the shed we were sorted though. Every time someone does that, our lads immediately go down the other side and score. Funnily Sadlier did it for Sligo last year, as well as Burke giving us the 'shhh' for Rovers. Immediate goals every time.
Looks like Drogheda have just nabbed a 90th minute equaliser in Tolka - just like we did last month.
Shels will be annoyed with that; a draw for us v Drogheda next week and we're in a great position
Draw away to shels is a good result for us :) tbh I’d also take a draw on Friday if offered now. In series two we have a lot of away games - hold our own in this series and we will be in a good position in series three with majority home games.Quote:
Originally Posted by pineapple stu
Ye're favourites for sure but it's such a competitive league this year anything can happen. We're back in the mix again now after two crucial wins. We'll probably drop points to Cabo next though.Quote:
Originally Posted by pineapple stu
Actually, we've a tough end to round 2; Drogheda home, Harps away and Longford home. Maybe a win on Friday will be needed to keep us on top with 9 to go.
Cobh v Galway underway now; a Cobh would be great, but probably unlikely given how poor Cobh have been this season
Cobh have picked up a bit lately since Henderson threatened to quit. Wouldn't be surprised if they got something.
Another pathetic performance from Harps. Time for change.
Great to beat the hachetmen from the hills. Another win against Cabo we'll be motoring.
I think the last minute nature of those 4 points dropped papers over that Shels are bang average and uncreative under Heary, only really threatened the goal for the first time when we actually scored and then you have the statue Alan Byrne getting himself sent off for a stupid 2nd yellow 2 minutes laterQuote:
Originally Posted by pineapple stu
Shels players were certain Mark Doyle dived for that penalty, hard to tell from my vantage. Poor game, fair result, if UCD don't go off the rails in the final 12 games they'll win the league
Finished 0-0.Quote:
Originally Posted by pineapple stu
Seems to be between UCD & Drogheda for the title with four other teams in the running for the play off's.
Very exciting 1st div this season.
Cobh 0-0 Galway. There was a real lack of quality in the final third today. Eoin McCormack in particular had a very poor game after finding himself in good positions plenty of times but contriving to make a balls of it each time. Good point for a young Cobh side.
I think it is comparable; There was a whole lot of talk of the league being won by August last year and I'd be pretty sure Caulfield would have wanted to notch up that record especially with the insecurities in Cork of not getting the credit due to them, a vindication of sorts. It was getting nervy and Cork fans were desperate to get it over the line - El Pietro iirc was quite worried prior to the Dundalk game as a Dundalk win and a 20 point gap was down to 7 with 5(?) games to play and Corks form was that of a team where the pressure was getting to them. Dundalk's form wasnt great all season but dropping 5 points to the two Rovers post CL games and prior to the Cork game was really our undoing as much as the slow start especially as Cork were coughing up points. If Cork had been put under serious pressure at that point in July/August it would have gone to the wire as picking up the needed 3 points with draws wouldnt really have done with a 20 point gap down to single figures (Cork with a game in hand) with 4 games to play including Dundalk. It was such an impressive 1st half to the season that when Maguire left and how ropey things got it made Cok look like a one man team and JC would not have liked that observation at all not to have had the team up for it. The draw with Dundalk helped stop the rot as it was much more a when not if after, but even then after the league was won if Dundalk hadnt lost to Bohs the league would have finished with 4 points the gap and that was as much of a story of 2017. I know its if and buts .... but it looks like a spirited fightback from 20 points adrift and that Cork fell over the line and it took the gloss off an incredible season for Cork. There was plenty on the line in August even if it was just an emphasis on how dominant Cork were. All that was missing was a Kevin Keegan like meltdown and Dundalk robbing the title lol. Nobody expected that there would be anything to play for in October but was closer than JC would hav liked i'm sure.Quote:
Originally Posted by micls
This season 6 or 7 points isnt an unassaible lead with so many head to head games and that teams outside of the top two being able to compete and take points. Being top with with a quarter of the season left means little and it will be a nervy finish to the league. Strength in depth of respective squads during and after European games will have a significant bearing on the final table. I hope Cork have a fine run in Europe (including some long trips to the likes of Kazakhstan and Belarus) but likewise Dundalk could have a few European ties. Dundalk will have a bit more saavy in balancing playing on the two fronts I think. The addition of Waterford to the Munster derbies make things a bit harder for Cork though the sooner the 100% record in Turners Cross goes the better for us all:p Derry have really lost their way since the loss to Dundalk in fortress Brandywell and I wouldnt at all mind the same for Cork City. Lets hope there will be no expunging of results for Bray or Limerick as either would change the landscape in the short term at the top of the table beyond the impact for those 2 clubs and the league as a whole. It isnt particularly fair that Dundalk will have played Bray and now Limerick just after both clubs revealed issues with players not being payed. All in all it is shaping up to be the most exciting finish to a season for the last 5 years even considering the last day 2014..... another cup final showdown for a doulbe to keep this rivalry nice and fresh would be fun too!!
I disagree on your assessment of last season, I genuinely think there was no chance of us losing the league after Seani left.
But I agree, being top now means little, although it's nice to be there after a few weeks of listening to people say how it's a one horse race!
Very exciting rest of the season ahead I think, as I said above I can't imagine the drop off that will lead to Dundalk winning by the margin others are mentioning. But I agree that the games around Europe will be key to it, as will the final 2 head to heads.
Also agree on Bray Limerick. Be horrible for it to be decided like that.
Are Galway full time or is that 1st div terrace rumours? If full time then the league position is crazy!Quote:
Originally Posted by El-Pietro
I don’t think they are. Someone, possibly Stephen McGuinness, said in pre season that they were remaining full time but from what Galway fans have said on here they’re part time. They may still have a bigger budget than the rest of us though.
I'm not so sure that is correct in relation to Bray. There was a lot of talk about their injury list prior to the last match in Oriel at the end of May that led some to speculate that these were phantom injuries due to not being paid - but as far as I know both the club and players denied that there was any such payment issues at that time.Quote:
Originally Posted by Nesta99
Limerick shipped an 8-0 defeat on the last visit to Oriel Park - pay or no pay, I don't expect that to be repeated on Friday
That's fair observation, It may not have been true as reported at Bray. If there was any problem it cant but have a negative impact on team morale and performance. While Limerick are poor in general but have lifted the odd performance again its the worst sort of preperation for what would be a difficult game for them with great preperation, Dundalk should win anyway and with Limerick players futures in doubt a comprehensive away win should be expected (watch Dundalk huff and puff to a result now that Ive said that lol).
micls, it was a slim chance that Cork wouldnt have won the league but Cork looked like they had really lost their way from August and September and scraped a couple of draws that were on the lucky side eg late equalisers. Dundalk have struggled against Cork in recent seasons as we know and in the 1-1 in Turners Cross we didnt play at all well yet Cork laboured to that draw; If compared to the 3 nil win in Oriel Park in June it reflects the way the season went with Cork's July/August form. It is a bit of a contradiction to say that Caulfield's teams are always motivated and up for it but let 20 odd points slip to 7. JC wouldnt have calculated things so finely to have the foot taken off the gas as if Dundalk had won in Cork and assuming the 'something to play for' angle applies to Dundalk too and hadnt lost to Bohs in the penultimate game then the winning margin is 2 points. Thats far too close for Caulfield not having his team fully motivated during that spell. If the pints needed where in the bag August/September and then every game was lost for the winning margin to be a few points then nothing to play for stuff fits. Its all academic of course and your unwavering confidence is or was laudable. I cant say that if roles were reversed that some slivers doubt wouldnt have crept in. Maybe its ptsd from 8 years in the 1st division lol.
More on topic -'m surprised that Soccer Republic didnt go near anything on the Lopez tackle in the highlights. Ok McGrath luckily wasnt injured and it was key to the final result but surely it was worthy of a mention. The Maguire interview was good and he has come on leaps and bounds in how he interviews. He comes across as a very relaxed and content lad, comfortable with the attention. Hopefully a good preseason for him with PNE and keeps injury free and we will see him have an impact with Ireland as he had with Cork. Its a pity we didnt see more of him at Dundalk but with David McMillan so well established it was always going to be tough breaking in to the team 1st season. Im sure he gained something from his time in Oriel even if it was just strenght and conditioning.
Just to clarify, of course JC didn't plan for us to do so poorly or anything. I actually remarked yesterday after we scored after letting Derry back into it, that I dunno what our team would do if they were properly favourites for any competition. It works for them and JC to be underdogs, he plays on that. We definitely struggled with the lead. I guess for me, going into that Dundalk game, I wasn't thinking 'we might only be 7 points up after this', I was thinking 'we can win the league tonight'. Our record against you played a big part in that, I wasnt overly worried about losing.
But yes, while I don't think the situations are too similar, especially on the underdogs vs run away leaders motivation sense. We did technically what I said we wouldn't. I just don't think its the same kind of situation. But we'll see!
In a post-match interview, Sheppard revealed that he has had a persistent back injury for a number of weeks. It seems to have cleared up now (hopefully).
Shep definitely wasn't himself in some games in the 2nd series. Had a cracking game yesterday. Hopefully he's back to his best.