Sligo 1-0 down inside ten minutes
Followed it a bit on the live betting on bet365, Bray were odds on up until Elgin scored also thought Bray missed a pen around the 80th minute turned out the ref awarded it then changed his mind.
Sligo 1-0 down inside ten minutes
1-1 in Sligo
Make that 1-2
Thought both had a shout of getting through, although Sligo got a tougher draw. Bray's result was disappointing, thought they had a good chance of advancing.
That's embarrassing for League of Ireland football.
https://kesslereffect.bandcamp.com/album/kepler - New music. It's not that bad.
Manager: Fergal, have you your boots with ya?
Fergal: Ya, I have them here.
Manager: Ah good stuff, well give them to this man so, he forgot his!
I would safely imagine thats it not that long ago that Falkirk were in the top flight?
Gary Cronin is he the right man to manage Longford Town?
Hibs were in the Scottish Championship last season, banking home crowds of up to 15,000 for each game and taking quite a few away, so you can't treat that league average as in any way indicative of the norm. Clubs like Dumbarton get crowds around Bray's level usually. You'll see a substantially lower league wide average this year.
Both fair enough alright. But then other factors - TV deals; potential Cup matches against Old Firm - would be an extra boost worst considering.
Still think the idea that the LoI clubs should be looking to win the tournament outright is a bit much. Even if two first-round defeats is a bit surprising.
The Bray result was awful. God knows what happened there.
Sligo were always going to face a difficult challenge, but home advantage should have helped them.
I think we've not been helped by the fact that of the 2 teams entered into the Irn Bru this year on the basis of performances last year, one has since been racked by turmoil whilst the other is in a relegation struggle. I think Rovers and Derry would have been better reps in hindsight, though that would've had the potential to cause Euro issues.
There's definitely more money in the Scottish Championship than in the LOI, but that doesn't necessarily make it of a higher standard. There's probably no country in Europe equal to or bigger than Ireland who's league doesn't offer more money than the LOI - even in poorer countries.
Only a number of years of participation in the Irn Bru Cup would give an accurate reflection of the comparative standards. Let's not forget that Linfield won the first ever Setanta Cup at a time when they weren't even IL champions, so it took the following years to see a truer reflection of where the LOI and IL were via that competition.
It was a pretty even game. Of course I'm biased but a draw probably would have been a fairer result. We gifted them the first goal when we were playing well - Sharkey came across for a ball, slipped and they scored. We didn't start Schlingerman or Russell either. Talking to their fans it was their first team out too. Dundalk would wipe the floor with them.
Last edited by redobit; 03/09/2017 at 9:23 PM.
Manager: Fergal, have you your boots with ya?
Fergal: Ya, I have them here.
Manager: Ah good stuff, well give them to this man so, he forgot his!
Would win any tournament for 'most complete waste of time' tournament.
Travel aside, t's no less a waste of time than the Setanta Cup was IMO. It's certainly more competitive anyway. And like the Setanta, it has some value in scoping out whether there is potential in cross-jurisdiction competitions. A European Super League is probably an inevitability in football at some point, so it would be helpful for the smaller leagues in this corner of the continent to have some sense of how would be the best way to respond to that if it happened.
I agree EYG but given the likelihood that LOI teams in general won't make the group stages of Europe you'd have to wonder would we not be better off letting Cork and Dundalk play in it next year.
It would be a better reflection of the league.
If one of the Irish clubs won or went close to winning this it might provide a bit of a boost to the perception of the game here but clubs exiting early will make very little impact, if any. I doubt it's a competition that has made much of an impression on the public imagination.
It's not a bad idea though and I'd love to see Harps in it some year just for the laugh and chance to get a spin to Scotland for a game.
#NeverStopNotGivingUp
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