Cup final

[MMVIII]

I feel so ****. Never felt this bad.

We threw it away. So ****ing close

[avvenalaf]

just want to say that sligo fans were a credit to the club today and i can only hope the someday fingal will get such support. extra time would probably have been fairer to both teams who at least attempted to play football and it really could have gone either way. until next season

Cheers for that, Boris. Readers here will know that I flagged the difficulty we would have in beating SF. I really hope that this will be a major help in the building of your club as Liam Buckley is one of the good guys and your team try top play the way I feel it should be played. I am really distraught. You have all your history before you. We may have ours behind us. Anyway, keep plugging away in Fingal. Any team that can beat Shams in Tallaght has both my gratitude and admiration.

[Shedzer]

Keane and Doyle were very good...Blinky tried hard and Peers made a mighty tackle its worth mentioning

Maybe the occasion got to a few of them, Cook included. As i said in my long pre match post, Cash and Ryan arent up to the standard, it was inevitable that Cash would go off for Morrison, only a matter of when and Ryan isnt even worth mentioning to be honest.

When Raf got injured i thought we went way to defensive, Marshall/Turner or Doyle could have played upfront with Blinkhorn and stayed with 4-4-2 rather than got 4-5-1. Thats not to say Meehan did badly, he didnt, he ran more in 20 minutes than Ryan did all day. I think if Raf and Ryan had of came off when Raf was injured, put Meehan in the centre and Marshall up front we would have kept shape. Meehan and Marshall are young lads, hungry to play, id keep them and work with them and let an other two who started go free in the close season.

Was really gutted, this defeat was bad enough but will also have financial knock on effects.

Great support, **** day, decent game, poor performance, bad result...

[Blowin_Rover]

We were in the North Face(sorry i mean stand!)and was the coldest i have ever been at a match, but the support was absouletly amazing,the Sligo Flag going up and down the main stand was awesome! I dont think we can be too harsh on the lads the conditions were brutal for both teams.Just wish we had a few more shots in the first half as the ball was swirling all over the place,but how cruel this game can be the highs are great but the lows are a hard pill to swallow,but lets take a positive out of this and next season press for a top finish.

[SligoBrewer]

Just the fact in meant nothing to the Fingal "fans". Like absolutely nothing.

It could have been a day of celebration for 7000+ people, now the winners don't even care and 7000+ people are desolate.

The world is such a load of ******** its unreal.

[sligofan4ever]

Keane and Doyle were very good...Blinky tried hard and Peers made a mighty tackle its worth mentioning

Maybe the occasion got to a few of them, Cook included. As i said in my long pre match post, Cash and Ryan arent up to the standard, it was inevitable that Cash would go off for Morrison, only a matter of when and Ryan isnt even worth mentioning to be honest.

When Raf got injured i thought we went way to defensive, Marshall/Turner or Doyle could have played upfront with Blinkhorn and stayed with 4-4-2 rather than got 4-5-1. Thats not to say Meehan did badly, he didnt, he ran more in 20 minutes than Ryan did all day. I think if Raf and Ryan had of came off when Raf was injured, put Meehan in the centre and Marshall up front we would have kept shape. Meehan and Marshall are young lads, hungry to play, id keep them and work with them and let an other two who started go free in the close season.

Was really gutted, this defeat was bad enough but will also have financial knock on effects.

Great support, **** day, decent game, poor performance, bad result...

*Cue Ireland supporter who dosen't support a LoI club to read this and not understand why Shedzer is praising Keane and Doyle in the FAI Cup Final*

Did anyone notice over at the apartments/Hotel, whatever it was, 2 lads tried to see if the camera would notice their banner which read "un-fair play F.I.F.A.,Wheres our Replay ?"

[Shedzer]

*Cue Ireland supporter who dosen't support a LoI club to read this and not understand why Shedzer is praising Keane and Doyle in the FAI Cup Final* ++++

++++ *Cue Stevie Wonder*

[SligoBrewer]

Doyle was brilliant and deserved MOTM.

Peers, Boco, and Blinkhorn were their usual brilliant selves.
Trying to analyse this game is impossible.

[prodsc]

Gutted for the club and the great crowd today.
Thought the team didn't use the wind in the first half to their advantage, thought Doyle was poor first half, leaving Kendrick very exposed, much better 2nd half performance. Danny was very poor, we so missed C'oG's leadership. Ryan no comment. Raf disappointing again- his ego and mouthing don't belong. Sitting back defending a 1-0 lead with a team that show great hunger towards the end baffles me.

Well done Sporting Fingal for your hunger and spirit.

[Jeebus]

I haven't read any of this thread. I'm 27 years following rovers (i'm 31) and i'm struggling to get over today. I think my da summed it up in the maldron after, he said that u should know well that with rovers we have to take the rough with the smooth. thats 4 cup finals he's seen us lose. I've seen alot of downs with my club, and there will probably be alot more between now and the day i die. But we'll always be there. This whole season was a rollercoaster. Albania was definitely the highlight for me tho. At least tho i know i am, i'm sure i am. I'm rovers till i die!

[d rovers]

The day after and still gutted. We have had some great days with the rovers but yesterday was as low as i have ever felt. We left it behind us. I'm not going to get into the analysis of who played well/who didn't, cos it is still hard to be objective. All i know is in a few months time we will be back for more drama, heartache and some great days. Its all part of following the rovers, we never do it easy. Very proud of the whole club yesterday, the supporters were immense as usual. When we win a bit of silverware yesterdays experience will make us appreciate it all the more.

[Scram]

WELL DONE FINGAL!!!

A well deserved win for a tactically and technically better team. Great for the game especially for the supporters coming from real footballing areas.

Good to hear the Shamrock Rovers fans in attendance at their home ground still shouting “Rovers” .

[MarkyH]

So disappointed this morning. So near and yet so far. I don't think we played as well as we could, especially in the 1st half. When we scored I felt we would need a 2nd, but it looked like we were closing the game out.

6 mins to go and Keane's only mistake all day and then Zayed was through to win the pen. I have seen it a couple of times on TV and feel we were somewhat unlucky. Kelly wasn't even looking at Zayed he was trying to reach the ball and Zayed fell over his trailing leg. I don't even think the ref was 100% convinced it was a pen, as why didn't he book/send off Kelly?

Kelly's head was gone then and he started flapping at everything. He was rooted to his line for the 2nd goal when o'neill headin in from 5 or 6 yards out. Fair play to SF as they did look the most likely to win it at that stage and played right to the end.

It's hard to get over now, but it's the heartache of days like these that make any success we do get all the sweeter when it does come along. My grandad followed the rovers for over 40 years and never say them win anything, while my dad has seen us lose 4 finals.

It's been a real rollercoster of a season. Real highs and lows. Who would have thought we would have played 8 games in the cup, including beating cork, derry and bohs and then fall short 6 mins from the end. But come march we will have re-grouped and be ready to go through it all again

[Brian Boru]

Ireland have the best supporters in international football. We have the best supporters in Ireland. Rovers till we die!

At the game I didn't think it was a penalty. Ref took a while to award it. He wasn't certain. I checked out the RTE player and I do not think it was a penalty! Zayeed ran into Kelly; not vice versa. My brother said at the game that the only way Kelly could have avoided the clash was if he ran in the opposite direction! That wasn't an option. Kelly was very unlucky. It was not a penalty. Don't look at the replays lads you'll just get even more disappointed. However, it does provide closure on the Thierry Henry incident. Injustices are part of football. We'll just have to get over it.

[Captain2007]

Sligo were very good for 85 mins, Boco, Doyle, Cretaro, Blinkhorn, Peers were all excellent, Fingal got a break with the penalty and there was only ever going to be one winner after that and that was Fingal,must be gut-wrenching stuff for Sligo players and staff having dominated for so long.Credit to Gary O Neill thought he was Fingal's best player always looked dangerous and took his chance very well.

[mint sauce]

other than the score a great day,

arrived in dublin just before midday, few sligo shirts at time floating about busarus, o'connell street, and having the breakfast in the cafes and bars (including my self seeking the cure from the night before).

made way up to tallaght about 1 pm to meet the other lads, the square shopping centre and the maldron hotel were like a subsitute team head quaters, sligo shirts everywhere, bumping into so many people i knew, there was a great buzz and a sence of ocassion about the place

tallaght stadium, not a bad place, the county council made a good job of it, sitting beside the signing section, you guys done a brilliant job, never stopped signing through out the match, really gets behind the team, loved the new chants, loved the colour, especailly the huge flag that floated over the crowd at the start, mum if you were watching i was under that some where

unfortunate about the score, it would have created the perfect day, all the wind and the rain would have been worth it, well done to all those in the north stand who endured it

fingal, you were deserved winners, you may not have many fans (yet), can see good things from you in 2010

roll on 2010 as well for the bit o red, keep the flag flying, see you back at the showgies in the new year, with hopefully some new fans as well

and as the crowd said theres only one f**king rovers

[Rover'n'out]

Could not believe it yesterday. I was still reeling from the Ireland v France shambles on wednesday. Two major disappointments in quick succession is hard to take.

To be honest we were not the same after Raf went off. Not saying he had his best day for Rovers but he was a threat they had to be aware of. Then tactics were all wrong sorry. Ok try and hold what we have, but leaving Blinkhorn alone up front by himself absolutely gave them the initiative and allowed them on to us and eventually that leads to conceding goals. Also I thought some of the lads seemed very nervous on the day (certainly last 15 - 20 minutes) as if they were afraid of trying to advance, kept giving the ball away etc, ok yes I know the conditions were not great but Sporting Fingal seemed at least able to string a few passes together in the last 15 mins.

Great support. well done everybody, i was proud to be from Sligo, but I am afraid to say that was the best chance we had in 15 years and those chances dont come around too often.....

[rovers100%]

all i will say is shocking. ryan is **** and danny forza ventre ! captain. pure sh1te. a lot of players should be ashamed after that

[sligofan4ever]

all i will say is shocking. ryan is **** and danny forza ventre ! captain. pure sh1te. a lot of players should be ashamed after that

Ventre struggled without O' Grady, Ryan did little or nothing to help him, O' Grady would help Ventre close down a player and get himself into position for passes. Ryan offered nothing for Ventre to work with going forward, when you're supplying fprwards you need to be looking for the passes rather than forcing Ventre to pass it out wide.

[dong]

all i will say is shocking. ryan is **** and danny forza ventre ! captain. pure sh1te. a lot of players should be ashamed after that

Absolutely. The point has been made on here that Doyle had a good game. He did okay. None of them put in a great performance. I'm thinking of performances like Harry McLoughlin and Stenny in 1983, Gavin Dykes or Gerry Carr in 1994. Performances worthy of winning a cup final.

Any news on Raf's health? Looked like a dislocated shoulder maybe?