The game, ratings and highlights

OK buckle up and strap yourselves in, here's my ratings on todays game.

What a game! Atmosphere was electric. Ears hurt the noise was so loud in the shed at times.

Highlights were:

1. The Shed calling the players "out" towards the end of the second half when NEC were in our box ( at the far end ).
2. Colin T's tackle just after he was injured resulting in the NEC defender hoofing the ball out for a corner.
3. Fenn smiling at The Shed at a corner when everyone was singing The ******.
4. Singing The ******
5. Devines saave at the end - UNBELIEVABLE!
6. Doyler's goal - carbon copy of Woodsies a few weeks ago - scary!
7. The size of the crowd.
8. Not one City player booked
9. Defence - outstanding again.

Devine - 8 what a save at the end. Nothing else to do.
Lordan - 8 so composed for a kid - frightening.
Dan - 8 colosal - what a turnaround this season for him - delighted for him.
Benno - 8 kept the porn star in his pocket through out the game - class.
C Rebel - 8 Tigerish in everything he did. "Danny's gonna get ya" and he did on several occasions ( to their coloured winger ). Frightened the bejasus out of their winger.
Kearney - 7 gets better and better.
George - 7 class touches, some really gritty tackles towards the end - loved it.
Colin T - 9 his best season by a mile. Made some brilliant interceptions and tackles and bossed the "international stars" in NEC's midfield throughout.
Doyler - 10 great goal, great overall performance - had the $hit kicked out of him for much of the game but kept getting up and playing even better. Obviously singled out for special treatment. Pity he didn't score with the second effort.
Fenn - 9 best first touch on the pitch. Great passes. Standing ovation and well deserved. Made up for the guy.
Flynny - 7 ran his heart out. Great close control. Handfull for their defence. Missed incredible chance just after Doylers goal. Will be lethal when fully fit.

Dolan - 10 got it right yet again.

Fans - 10+ unbelievable atmosphere.

No other ground in Ireland could match this - please don't even try to argue this one.

Fair play to Cork. Best of luck against Nantes

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Originally Posted by Counting Crow

OK buckle up and strap yourselves in, here's my ratings on todays game.

What a game! Atmosphere was electric. Ears hurt the noise was so loud in the shed at times.

Highlights were:

1. The Shed calling the players "out" towards the end of the second half when NEC were in our box ( at the far end ).
2. Colin T's tackle just after he was injured resulting in the NEC defender hoofing the ball out for a corner.
3. Fenn smiling at The Shed at a corner when everyone was singing The ******.
4. Singing The ******
5. Devines saave at the end - UNBELIEVABLE!
6. Doyler's goal - carbon copy of Woodsies a few weeks ago - scary!
7. The size of the crowd.
8. Not one City player booked
9. Defence - outstanding again.

Devine - 8 what a save at the end. Nothing else to do.
Lordan - 8 so composed for a kid - frightening.
Dan - 8 colosal - what a turnaround this season for him - delighted for him.
Benno - 8 kept the porn star in his pocket through out the game - class.
C Rebel - 8 Tigerish in everything he did. "Danny's gonna get ya" and he did on several occasions ( to their coloured winger ). Frightened the bejasus out of their winger.
Kearney - 7 gets better and better.
George - 7 class touches, some really gritty tackles towards the end - loved it.
Colin T - 9 his best season by a mile. Made some brilliant interceptions and tackles and bossed the "international stars" in NEC's midfield throughout.
Doyler - 10 great goal, great overall performance - had the $hit kicked out of him for much of the game but kept getting up and playing even better. Obviously singled out for special treatment. Pity he didn't score with the second effort.
Fenn - 9 best first touch on the pitch. Great passes. Standing ovation and well deserved. Made up for the guy.
Flynny - 7 ran his heart out. Great close control. Handfull for their defence. Missed incredible chance just after Doylers goal. Will be lethal when fully fit.

Dolan - 10 got it right yet again.

Fans - 10+ unbelievable atmosphere.

No other ground in Ireland could match this - please don't even try to argue this one.

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Couldnt agree more CC... Maybe give Flynny a 8! :D According to the official Nec website Georgie got booked! :confused:

Didn't notice Georgie getting a card. If he did then he's out of the game next weekend :mad: 2 yellow cards.

Forgot to add as a highlight:

10. Noel Mooney in The Shed cheering us on. Hoops fans wouldn't like to see that. Fair play to him though. Must have wrecked his head though watching the day unfold in front of him.

a city player did get booked.... not george though

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Originally Posted by eoinh

a city player did get booked.... not george though

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Thought the same .... was it Colin ... cant remember actually :o

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Originally Posted by A face

Thought the same .... was it Colin ... cant remember actually :o

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Twas Cillian, time wasting at a throw in AFAIK

i agree with most of your rating... i thought georgie had a very good game i prob would give him a 8 or 9... i did think fenn played really well tonight but i wouldnt give him a 9 maybe a 7 or 8... otherwise i agree with most of your rating.. the crow was class same next time ;)

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Originally Posted by SÓC

Twas Cillian, time wasting at a throw in AFAIK

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Ya thats right

Amazing performance by everyone, including the manager. The discipline City had to keep their shape and game plan was incredible to watch. There were no more than two or three moments where the shape buckled due to City overcommitting to attack and NEC couldn't move upfield fast enough to take advantage. It doesn't take from Citys performance to say that NEC underperformed and were curiously dispassionate until the last 20 minutes. Its a far cry from the days when Irish teams won european games by grit and "getting stuck in". After the first five minutes, Cork were the better team, the more dangerous team and the ones in control. What a day! I'd give everyone a 9+, but for me Alan Bennett was man of the match. He won every contest with the supposedly dangerous Demouge (sp?) with a clinical efficiency that was beautiful to watch. But all of the team were cool in their approach to what they had to do, believed in the way they set out to play, and I suppose a lot of that has to be credited to the manager. Watching them line up before the game, I was struck by the thought that these players had the opportunity to become legends, possibly even to eclipse the previous generation of Cork heroes, but the likelihood was it would pass them by. They have made their mark big time.

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Originally Posted by Counting Crow

Didn't notice Georgie getting a card. If he did then he's out of the game next weekend :mad: 2 yellow cards.

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I think its 3 yellows in the Intertoto Cup

Lads,
I thought that Fenn was carried by the team for portions of the match. He has a good touch no doubt and made a fool of one or two of the Dutch defenders on one or two occassions, but he rarely got up for any headers when the ball was played forward.
One thing that struck me was that there was no quality striker on the bench that City could bring on -If City want to continue to progress as a club and keep this squad together, they need to strengthen it even more.
I actually thought most City Fans were applauding Fenn to go off rather than for his performance!!!

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Originally Posted by Shelsman

Lads,
I thought that Fenn was carried by the team for portions of the match. He has a good touch no doubt and made a fool of one or two of the Dutch defenders on one or two occassions, but he rarely got up for any headers when the ball was played forward.
One thing that struck me was that there was no quality striker on the bench that City could bring on -If City want to continue to progress as a club and keep this squad together, they need to strengthen it even more.
I actually thought most City Fans were applauding Fenn to go off rather than for his performance!!!

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we signed stephen o flynn from limerick pre season but he broke his leg.. hes training again now and will be excellent cover.. he was top scorer in div 1 last year

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Originally Posted by Shelsman

I actually thought most City Fans were applauding Fenn to go off rather than for his performance!!!

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IMHO Fenn is a class act. His first touch is good, he holds the ball well and causes problems when he has the ball. OK he doesn't charge about the pitch at 150km an hour (thought I'd get metric for the European campaign) but that's not his game and when he gets the ball - especially in or near the penalty area - I always feel that there is something possible. This Cork team has a great diversity about it and that is its great strength. The days of "get the ball to Ollie and let him run" or "hoof it down the park..." are long gone. Having said that I was glad to see a few hoofs down the park in the last minutes of THE GAME :D

i thought fenn did well yesterday. u cant say any player did bad

a great team effort

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Originally Posted by Shelsman

Lads,
I actually thought most City Fans were applauding Fenn to go off rather than for his performance!!!

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Dont think many fans would agree with you there. Thought he played very well. He picked the right pass almost every time, bringing the wingers into the game.

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Originally Posted by one_bounce

we signed stephen o flynn from limerick pre season but he broke his leg.. hes training again now and will be excellent cover.. he was top scorer in div 1 last year

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eh no he wasnt.......he was up there tho..

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Originally Posted by ThaddyQuill

Dont think many fans would agree with you there. Thought he played very well. He picked the right pass almost every time, bringing the wingers into the game.

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agreed there,....he got a great reception from the fans when he was subsituted.twas only tactical and wasted a few more secs towarsd the end..

Fenn was brilliant yesterday, probably the classiest player on the pitch. A turnaround game for him. People might get off his back now. The reason he doesn't jump like a buck rabbit to head high balls is because he has a preference for taking them down on his chest, thigh or instep. Its worth the admission price to watch some of those takes, not to mention the the flicked passes that often follow, leaving defenders bamboozled wondering where the ball went. If only he had another yard of pace...but theres nothing anyone can do about that, and he makes the most of the talents he has.

I think he was good but not great yesterday and I'm one of his bigger fans, but I don't see how you can criticise him for not jumping into headers when you see them amount of ball he brought down on his thigh or chest and laid off to get us going, he won a load of frees of them too.

His trickery around four or five of them at one stage was a joy, actually, you know what, he WAS great yesterday, they all bloody were, let's stop picking holes and just enjoy it.

for the record, I cheered him as he was being subbed

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Originally Posted by NorthoftheLee

eh no he wasnt.......he was up there tho..

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Yes, and a lot of his goals were in fact penalties. Good to know you have a penalty taker though.

Congrats and best of luck against Nantes...

Fly the Irish flag proudly in Europe!!!

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Originally Posted by Schunter Netz

If only he had another yard of pace...but theres nothing anyone can do about that, and he makes the most of the talents he has.

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That's another thing that struck me yesterday, there was no City forward / winger with a magic burst of pace. My friend tells me John O'Flynn used to have that but hasn't regained it since he was injured.
Fair play to the City players anyway, there was only once team out there that wanted to win the games and it sure wasn't those NEC Nancy Boys!!! Another thing, Nantes don't have their first league game until August 7th so I fancy City to create yet another upset!!! If they can avoid defeat away I think they'll have a very good chance in the 2nd leg. I'd love City to get a top Italian or German team in the semis!

Fenn would have got a rating of 7 yesterday. He was good but not great. JOF did a pile of running and put himself about like never before. He missed that sitter all right but he should never have gotten into that position as it was a blatant free! Colin T was my man of the match. All 4 backs would get a rating of 8 as well. Doyle worked his ass off too. Class result and who knows now...if we beat nantes (tall order in fairness), we have either liberc or some other dutch side, and then if we win that one (!!) we will probably have FC Schalke....If carslbeg did Intertoto dreams :D :D

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Originally Posted by Shelsman

... there was only once team out there that wanted to win the games and it sure wasn't those NEC Nancy Boys!!!

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I suppose as a Shels supporter you'd consider the physical side to NEC to be on the soft side :rolleyes:

NEC wanted to win that game, make no mistake about that. Cork City were simply a better footballing team and showed just what they can do away from the thuggery of some of the other eL teams.

Brilliant performance by every player on the pitch yesterday.I think u were your own there shelsman when you were applauding the Fenn sub at the end because I thought he was outstanding again and so did every1 I talked to and he is getting better every time I see him play.Kearney is another player who is really starting to impress me.George was great again and Colin is our player of the season by a mile,the man runs the team and if Dan got injured for any lenght of time I think Colin would get the captians armband and he would be even better with the added responsibity(if it was possible for him to be any better).Talking of Dan,our whole defence was excellent again and Micky didn't put a foot wrong although he had fcuk all to do until the last minute.

Dolan got it right again and I'd say Nantes will be watching our performances against Malmo and Nec very carefully and they will go into the game with a lot of respect for us.

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Originally Posted by eastcork

...if we beat nantes (tall order in fairness), we have either liberc or some other dutch side, and then if we win that one (!!) we will probably have FC Schalke....If carslbeg did Intertoto dreams :D :D

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Beating Nantes and then whooping another Dutch club would be the cream on the cake! A double-dutch for me please!

I German guy I was in college with is a FC Schalke supporter and he is always on about how they are so brilliant and all, so for City to play them and get a good result would shut him up BIG TIME.

Liberec would be tricky so I think drawing ( and beating ) another Dutch club would be fantastic, City really showed up NEC and I think they can do it again. At last Irish Teams have the self-belief to play at their best and believe they can win, the rest of Europe still believes we are part time / amateurs so we have a big advantage and can catch them on the hop. If I had a bit more cash I'd be off the Nantes to support the lads.

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Originally Posted by Shelsman

One thing that struck me was that there was no quality striker on the bench that City could bring on -If City want to continue to progress as a club and keep this squad together, they need to strengthen it even more.

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with doyle on the pitch, all we have to do is push him up front and bring on another midfielder- so its not a problem at all. as for fenn, I thought he was very good. Colin T was the star again, what a player

I think Kevin Nurray deserves 10/10 for his windmill impression.

I have never seen a more comfortable 1-0 win in my life. Great team performance.

Colin really is doing the business at the mo. Best midfielder in the country.

Yesterday was outstanding,great performance,great atmosphere and every Cityfan enjoyed it.Now let's hope that the barstool supporters and the "WE" (premiership) brigage will give Cork City the respect and credit that they deserve.We have a team that play attractive football and at last a chairman who respects the paying supporter and he lets us know what is happening.We have a outstanding manager who wants to improve the structure and facilities of the club.We will always have the knockers who live for sky sports but even they should know now that the standard of football on their own doorstep is better than they thought.The Gaa/Rugby faternity should gives us credit too.l am proud to be a member of the Rebel Army.Roll on Nantes. :)