Matches Friday 29th March to Monday April 1st

Premier Division

Friday 29th (all 19:45)

Drogheda v St Pats
Shelbourne v Dundalk
Waterford v Sligo
Shamrock Rovers v Bohemians
Derry v Galway

Monday 1st April

Dundalk v Drogheda (13:00)
St Pats v Sligo (17:00)
Waterford v Shamrock Rovers (17:00)
Shelbourne v Derry (17:00)
Galway Bohemians (19:45)


First Division

Friday 29th (All 19:45)

Kerry v Wexford
Bray v Cobh
Cork v Athlone
Longford v UCD
Treaty v Finn HArps

Monday April 1st

Wexford v Cork (15:00)
Athlone v Treaty (17:00)
Cobh v Longford (17:00)
Finn Harps v Bray (17:00)
UCD v Kerry (17:00)

Approaching a first full round of fixtures by Monday evening and a couple of wins over the weekend will make a dramatic difference to the "starts" for many clubs.
A couple of wins for Rovers and combined with other result would have us nearly top but on the other hand we could be 16 points behind Monday evening.
If Dundalk lose at Shels on Friday Mondays match with Drogs could start to look like an early relegation 6 pointer.
Shels v Derry on Monday the stand out game with a full Stadium on Friday for Rovers v Bohs the highlight on Friday.

The three straight draws have hopefully taken the "soft three points" reputation off Kerry for the time being - tough ask to get something up in Belfield on the Monday, so could do with a win on the board on Friday to finally get the Wexford hoodoo off our backs.

New manager bounce incoming?ooooh that’d be nice, he couldn’t ask for a better first game anyhow.

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Originally Posted by Dermobohs

New manager bounce incoming?ooooh that’d be nice, he couldn’t ask for a better first game anyhow.

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Agreed. Once the team puts in a good performance I'll be happy. I think if the team is as organised as it was v Derry a win is possible. Either way should be an interesting game and I'll be excited to see what his first starting 11 is because I had thought Devine's selections were questionable at times and he put players in positions they were clearly uncomfortable in.

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Originally Posted by culloty82

The three straight draws have hopefully taken the "soft three points" reputation off Kerry for the time being - tough ask to get something up in Belfield on the Monday, so could do with a win on the board on Friday to finally get the Wexford hoodoo off our backs.

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To be fair, if it weren't for Tuta on Friday, it would have been another loss.
Kerry are difficult to break down, sit very deep and don't allow teams to play any football. They won't concede a huge amount of goals but if they have any ambitions of starting to climb the table they'll need to get a bit more brave in their approach. They can't draw their way through the season.

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Originally Posted by Dermobohs

New manager bounce incoming?ooooh that’d be nice, he couldn’t ask for a better first game anyhow.

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If Rovers play the same 11 we played against Galway id give Bohs every chance. We need some pace back in the team, Clarke was on the bench against Sligo but given we had three keepers and the bench wasnt full i suspect he was there for appearences only. If he is able to play agaisnt Bohs and we have Gary O Neil bak it will be a big help. Byrne or Mc Aneff even off the bench would also be great to see. We have 6 points after 5 games for a reason, we arent that good without Clarke and Farrugia to go past people as an alternative to playing it around in front of teams. Thats where Jack is missed as he can find a pass to break teams down. Either way will be a great ocasion, heading for a 10,000 crowd live on RTE and the new pitchside LEDs look great on TV for the people who cant get there

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Originally Posted by sbgawa

the new pitchside LEDs look great on TV for the people who cant get there

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Probably better suited to the ground improvements thread but I personally hate LED advertisement hoardings at pitch side. I find it very distracting when watching a match on tv having this flicker around the pitch trying to draw attention away from the game. I know it's pretty standard now and they will more than likely be in new Dalymount but if I was given the choice they would be banned.

i think from a TV perspective it makes it look like a "real match" from the bar stoolers perspective who are used to seeing it.
Maybe i shouldnt care but i still would like to convert a few more of them to the LOI.

Youve had your new/no manager bounce against Derry , im hoping it was a dead cat bounce :)

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Originally Posted by sbgawa

i think from a TV perspective it makes it look like a "real match" from the bar stoolers perspective who are used to seeing it.
Maybe i shouldnt care but i still would like to convert a few more of them to the LOI.

Youve had your new/no manager bounce against Derry , im hoping it was a dead cat bounce :)

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Oh yeah completely understand why they are being brought in and it does make it seem more professional. I just hate them because I feel they distract from the actual football on the pitch. But I might be entering my old fogies mindset because I also hate LED screens in cars replacing physical buttons (they cannot be safe) and LED advertisements on the roadside, same argument distracting and just can't be safe.

I prefer them!

Why is Dundalk v Drogs on at 1 bell on Monday?

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Originally Posted by nigel-harps1954

To be fair, if it weren't for Tuta on Friday, it would have been another loss.
Kerry are difficult to break down, sit very deep and don't allow teams to play any football. They won't concede a huge amount of goals but if they have any ambitions of starting to climb the table they'll need to get a bit more brave in their approach. They can't draw their way through the season.

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Walk before they can run. Kerry need to get their defensive setup right first before being braver in their approach.

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Originally Posted by redarmyfaction

Why is Dundalk v Drogs on at 1 bell on Monday?

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April Fool’s went too far.

Treaty and Finn Harps is a massive game, but would be quietly confident we'll have the beating of them.

I think treaty have overacheived on a points for performance basis but now is a chance to stamp a bit of authority on things if they can.

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Originally Posted by Shearer

Treaty and Finn Harps is a massive game, but would be quietly confident we'll have the beating of them.

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I think it’s still very early in the season for talks of massive games,fwiw I think Cork will win the league by about 15 points but god knows what way the playoffs will shake up,we’ll have to be a lot better than we have been in our last few games to take anything on Friday though….

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Originally Posted by redarmyfaction

Why is Dundalk v Drogs on at 1 bell on Monday?

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Garda request. It'll be 1pm for the reverse fixture on the May Bank Holiday too.

Agree way too early ..harps on paper to beat treaty but think it will be a draw . Two good defences it seems . Cork will beat Athlone and go 5 clear

Hoping nobody turns up to see how bad Dundalk are...

Ridiculous time, Presuming its about limiting peoples time boozing prior to the game well those who will get jarred before a game will do it anyway. What would be the difference for a Friday night fixture? Can 3.5k tops not be policed. There have been fixtures with greater potential for issues played later in the day. It can only be to do with the number of Gardaí available in the Louth/Meath district!? Do they think that current league positions are a crowd control issue? Id certainly love to hear the rationale. There may be a surge in LoI attendances but hardly a need to start thinking like UK policing of football. Then again if it were an evening kickoff and some idiots acted up Id probably be saying where was the common sense and should have been an early kick off!