2024 FAI Cup

[Shearer]

That seems a bit of a surprise to me? I know it's pre-season for Pike, but I would have thought Limerick non-league football was stronger than a 7-0 hammering?

The standard of amateur football has never been worse. Pike, while they wouldn't care to admit it, are also playing at a lower level than Kilbarrack (who we played in the previous round) are.

[outspoken]

I watched the first few minutes as I'd got word of some interesting bets over the previous 48 hours, did I hear the commentator saying Pike were missing a few key players? The word was obviously out before the game that these lads were missing. Some of the lads playing didn't look too fit.

[joey B]

I watched the first few minutes as I'd got word of some interesting bets over the previous 48 hours, did I hear the commentator saying Pike were missing a few key players? The word was obviously out before the game that these lads were missing. Some of the lads playing didn't look too fit.

3 Pike Rovers players were called up to train for a Munster team and weren’t allowed to play,which is right on brand for the people who run those kind of teams!

[Shearer]

They were missing two - goalkeeper Gary Neville (not joking) and defender Adam Lipper. There was a third player, Conor Coughlan, but he has left Pike all together. Robbie Williams (Player/Manager) opted just to be the manager on the night, Red Hanlon was on the bench but didn't play.

As it was a training camp there was no grounds to get the game called off, and even if they were playing, it wouldn't have been much if any better on the scoreline.

The Limerick District League started on Thursday night (Pike obviously didn't play), but there can't be any pre-season excuses seeing as the game coincided with their season starting, as well as the fact that Pike had better prep than most with two competitive games against Villa and Midleton in the prior rounds.

No Treaty fan will be getting carried away after that result, but it's nice to soften the cough of certain junior heads.

[brendy_éire]

Don't what it says about the state of the Premier Division is that Derry team is contending for a Championship.

City were by far the better side and will count last night as a missed opportunity.

I think it says more about us than anything else. We're capable of being quite good, but rarely are. That was one of our worst performances of the season, and we were very fortunate to keep a clean sheet. If that was in the PD, we'd have lost by a few.

[oriel]

I have compiled myself this below table of LOI vs Non-League stats for a couple of years now because in recent years it was starting to become so evident the gap growing between the teams, I update it every season so 2024 now included. Results include results after AET but do not include penalty shootout outcomes

3 points for a non-league win, 1 point for a non-league draw etc. with averages for PPG (Points per Game) and GDPG (Goal Difference per Game), all numbers progressively getting worse for the non-league teams with that Maynooth win over Cobh in 2021 standing out as a major outlier

In some defence of the non-league teams the shift of the first round involving LOI teams back in 2017 from May to August and then the next shift in 2021 from August to July has not helped their competitiveness in these fixtures when they are in pre-season

	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	PPG	GDPG
2007	11	1	2	8	8	28	-20	0.45	-1.81
2008	10	1	1	8	4	25	-21	0.40	-2.10
2009	13	1	3	9	7	38	-31	0.46	-2.38
2010	11	0	2	9	6	30	-24	0.18	-2.18
2011	12	1	0	11	10	34	-24	0.25	-2.00
2012	12	1	1	10	10	29	-19	0.33	-1.58
2013	13	1	2	10	11	35	-24	0.38	-1.84
2014	9	0	1	8	4	30	-26	0.11	-2.88
2015	13	3	2	8	13	24	-11	0.85	-0.85
2016	12	1	1	10	6	39	-33	0.33	-2.75
2017	11	2	1	8	10	29	-19	0.63	-1.73
2018	10	0	0	10	7	47	-40	0.00	-4.00
2019	7	0	0	7	4	21	-17	0.00	-2.42
2021	9	1	0	8	5	32	-27	0.33	-3.00
2022	9	0	0	9	0	41	-41	0.00	-4.56
2023	9	0	0	9	2	30	-28	0.00	-3.11
2024	9	0	1	8	2	32	-30	0.11	-3.33

That is some table, and great work on the stats. Just as well its not compiled pre 2002, as Dundalk still have the record I think, 7 defeats by NL clubs in the FAI Cup and some notable ones too.

1983 (as defending League Champs) lost away to Cobh Ram, first round.
1991 (we would be that seasons League Champs) - lost at home to Ashtown Villa, early or first round.
2001 (we would win FAI Cup a year later) - lost away to Malahide Utd, early or first round again, bizarre set up as due to foot and mouth, no away fans allowed, I got in mind !

I'm almost sure no club is even close to the 7 defeats, could be wrong.

[pineapple stu]

Crikey - Sligo, with six wins in their last seven games, are 2-0 down at home to UCD!

Did not see this coming

[joey B]

Wow! The First division showing up this weekend!

[sbgawa]

Kerry for the cup !!

[bohsmug]

Yeah, some of the comments about the first division standard not looking so smart now. Let's not finish 9th Bohs.

[joey B]

I wonder how many the Drogheda/Wexford final will attract!!!

[ger121]

What a win for the students! Could be us gone tomorrow. Whoever finishes 9th in the PD should be a little more worried than they were before the weekend.

[legendz]

Premier Division 1-2 First Division
Derry and Shels will be expected to make the final as long as they avoid each other. There will be at least 4 First Division clubs in the quarter-finals. Athlone and UCD are comfortably 2nd and 3rd. The current playoff structure gives these clubs more leeway to challenge in the cup, without majorly impacting on making the playoffs.
2nd in the First Division beating 3rd from the Premier away and 3rd in the First Division beating 4th from the Premier away are great results against the odds.

[oriel]

What a win for the students! Could be us gone tomorrow. Whoever finishes 9th in the PD should be a little more worried than they were before the weekend.

If that is us, I had already done the homework on Athlone and UCD as the standouts, on a one off game, anything could happen.

To get to the play off, I'd bite the hand off now, but for the actual PO Final, I'd be taking nothing for granted, a glimmer of hope we have never lost one, beat Waterford twice (97 and the later to be 'it didn't matter by FAI in 06 or 07, enter Maxi with a can of petrol), but wouldn't be counting my chickens for sure if we made the final this year.

[oriel]

Crikey - Sligo, with six wins in their last seven games, are 2-0 down at home to UCD!

Did not see this coming

Congrats Stu, that is some win, Ronan Finn rolling back the years.

[Nah Nah Nah Nah]

We were brutal. Missed a couple of great chances in the second half and then UCDs first was a great goal. They were good. Well organised and a thorn in our side like they have been for 45 years.

[placid casual]

That's a shocking result for sligo. The form team in the country, they could have strolled into the final considering who's left in.
Delighted for Finner who's a good bloke.
Unless Bohs meet Sligo or Derry in the final it's going to be sub 15k attendance at the final

[Dermobohs]

That's a shocking result for sligo. The form team in the country, they could have strolled into the final considering who's left in.
Delighted for Finner who's a good bloke.
Unless Bohs meet Sligo or Derry in the final it's going to be sub 15k attendance at the final

Are Sligo appealing then??

[sbgawa]

Are Sligo appealing then??

I've never found sligo even slightly appealing.

[yurt]

I have compiled myself this below table of LOI vs Non-League stats for a couple of years now because in recent years it was starting to become so evident the gap growing between the teams, I update it every season so 2024 now included. Results include results after AET but do not include penalty shootout outcomes

3 points for a non-league win, 1 point for a non-league draw etc. with averages for PPG (Points per Game) and GDPG (Goal Difference per Game), all numbers progressively getting worse for the non-league teams with that Maynooth win over Cobh in 2021 standing out as a major outlier

In some defence of the non-league teams the shift of the first round involving LOI teams back in 2017 from May to August and then the next shift in 2021 from August to July has not helped their competitiveness in these fixtures when they are in pre-season

	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	PPG	GDPG
2007	11	1	2	8	8	28	-20	0.45	-1.81
2008	10	1	1	8	4	25	-21	0.40	-2.10
2009	13	1	3	9	7	38	-31	0.46	-2.38
2010	11	0	2	9	6	30	-24	0.18	-2.18
2011	12	1	0	11	10	34	-24	0.25	-2.00
2012	12	1	1	10	10	29	-19	0.33	-1.58
2013	13	1	2	10	11	35	-24	0.38	-1.84
2014	9	0	1	8	4	30	-26	0.11	-2.88
2015	13	3	2	8	13	24	-11	0.85	-0.85
2016	12	1	1	10	6	39	-33	0.33	-2.75
2017	11	2	1	8	10	29	-19	0.63	-1.73
2018	10	0	0	10	7	47	-40	0.00	-4.00
2019	7	0	0	7	4	21	-17	0.00	-2.42
2021	9	1	0	8	5	32	-27	0.33	-3.00
2022	9	0	0	9	0	41	-41	0.00	-4.56
2023	9	0	0	9	2	30	-28	0.00	-3.11
2024	9	0	1	8	2	32	-30	0.11	-3.33

That table is exactly the data I wanted when I was saying that we could do with re-jigging the cup structure to try and engineer more FD vs NL ties in round one and two. I think the numbers here would have a chance of increasing if all 9 of these ties in each of the past 3 years were against FD instead of PD clubs.

Results in the Waterford and Sligo games has made the shootout loss to Shels much tougher in retrospect.
Draw will be very interesting because if any of Shels, Derry and Bohs* draw each other there's a lot of other teams who'll suddenly fancy there chances of making the semis.