Premier Review

[NY Hoop]

Yes - but the IC isn't a domestic League competition - which must take such a break for the WC.

Wrong there are NO FIFA regulations like that. The league in the States is playing right through the WC despite their national team being in the WC. www.mlsnet.com

While I dont agree with that decision there is no excuse for taking a break when your own national side is not competing.

KOH

[mypost]

there is no excuse for taking a break when your own national side is not competing.

As the Yanks are doing, there is no need to have a break in our game during major tournaments, Ireland taking part or not. Ireland would only play for a few days during it anyway, and as our league games are played on 4 weekend days, I'm sure league games can be accommodated around the Irish schedule, if necessary. This is summer football, and clubs lose out on revenue, and European fitness, because watching games on tv featuring Togo-South Korea, Trinidad-Paraguay, and Ecuador-Costa Rica are perceived to be more important here, than attending our own league games. It's a scandal that shouldn't be allowed to happen.

[NY Hoop]

No chance. If Ireland were in this WC the league should take a break. To suggest otherwise is moronic.


KOH

[manic da hoop]

While I dont agree with that decision there is no excuse for taking a break when your own national side is not competing.

What's truely bizarre about this whole summer break is that the World Cup will only be beginning to get going when our season resumes - some of our matches will clash with the more high-profile knock-out games! I'm actually missing a Rovers match because I'll be in Germany so it's not like the break is doing me and alot of other regulars any convenience.

[mypost]

some of our matches will clash with the more high-profile knock-out games! I'm actually missing a Rovers match because I'll be in Germany so it's not like the break is doing me and alot of other regulars any convenience.

Well, it's already less than a week to go before our "derby" against Kildare. It might actually clash with Argentina-Holland on the box, but they'll both be already through to the next round by then, so our game is clearly more important.

[mypost]

Premier Division Results:

WEEK 13/33:
BOHEMIANS 0-2 SLIGO ROVERS
BRAY WDS. 3-1 WATERFORD UTD.
CORK CITY 1-0 DROGHEDA UTD.
DERRY CITY 3-0 HOME FARM
LONGFORD TOWN - SHELBOURNE
ST. PATS. ATH. 0-0 UCD

They're back! The league returned from it's summer siesta when 10 goals went in from 10 teams this weekend, resulting in 3 home wins, 1 away victory, and a draw. The other game was postponed for Shels' benefit. The game should have been played in midweek of course, but despite the FAI's best efforts, Alan Matthews' side couldn't be persuaded to get off their deck chairs, and cut short their beloved break by a couple of days. He'd prefer to have a fixture pile-up later this season instead.

The "Farrelly Out" army set off to preach at Dalymount this week, where Sligo showed up for the second time this season. Paul McTiernan took advantage of Bohs' charity with a goal in each half on 10' and 67 minutes. Bohs' threat meanwhile, came once again not from their team, but from their disgruntled fans. Well, if you've won the league in the recent past, then suddenly find yourselves behind Home Farm in the table, it does tend to cause unrest. Cork are next up in Dublin 7, where the home fans will no doubt have more to whinge about.

BlueMovie is one of my contenders for fan of the season, as he has witnessed each Waterford disaster this year, and there have been many. 0 wins from 12 games, meant their trip to Bray couldn't really be dressed up, as some tried to, as a relegation "six pointer", but rather as a "home banker". And sure enough their hosts scored all the goals here, although the first one came rather unexpectedly from a Wesley Charles og after 62'. The shocked visitors' honeymoon lead, hit a snag 3 minutes later, when Gavin Doyle was sent-off. The next punishment for them came from Stephen Gifford's equalizer 2 minutes later. Inevitably, the visitors couldn't hold on to their point, as Paul Caffrey and Eamon Zayed went on to seal the win for Bray with 2 goals in the last 20 minutes. Waterford played like the Irish rugby team do this week; i.e. play well for an hour, then collapse for the rest of the game! The win promotes Bray up to 10th, leapfrogging over lazy Longford.

June saw the 5th meeting of Cork and Drogheda already this season. The last time they played at the South Pole, a Cork referee ensured a home win, by sending 2 Drogheda players off. Rico didn't moan that night. The game may have been a top of the table clash, but the wider LOI public couldn't see it, as we had to put up with watching Togo play on the box instead. John O' Flynn scored the winner on the half-hour for Cork, which meant that the champions moved above Drogheda to the top of the league. Rico meanwhile, left his nemesis Ian Stokes alone this time.

Dermot "we're comfortable in the league" Keely, led his bunch of journeymen up to the North Pole to face Derry. Derry were supposed to win the last fixture between the clubs there in October 2004, and were indeed 2-0 up until half time. As title contenders, they were definitely supposed to win the most recent fixture in March, but went home with nothing again. Time for Take 3: They were aided this time by very generous visitors. First, Paul Shiels was sent off for them after 38 minutes. The home side finally broke through on 52' when Conroy's butterfingers, gifted Mark Farren the opener. Mark Rooney was next up at the charity party, putting the ball in the net, i.e. his own, soon afterwards to make it 2-0, and the third present came from Paul Crowley who deflected Gary Beckett's lob into his own net too. Keely's return to the Brandywell ends in a 3-0 walloping, but other results keep them in 7th place, which also explains, why they've played more games than UCD, Longford, and Bray below them.

Pats and UCD came to Dalymount for the derby at Richmond. Both sides were still in summer break mode, as it turned out to be an action replay of the last encounter at Richmond, and finished 0-0. Yes indeed, it would have been better for everyone there if they had settled down for the night to watch Togo on tv!!

[mypost]

Premier Division Results:

WEEK 14/33:
BOHEMIANS 0-0 CORK CITY
DROGHEDA UTD. 2-2 HOME FARM
LONGFORD TOWN 1-0 BRAY WDS.
SHELBOURNE 3-0 ST. PATS. ATH.
SLIGO ROVERS 3-1 DERRY CITY
UCD 2-1 WATERFORD UTD.

Week 14 saw the first scheduled midweek programme played in the other division since the 2004 season. Away teams suffered travel sickness this week, as none of them won. 2 of them managed to grab a point, but the other 4 home sides all won, while the league's strikers dusted down their boots to score 15 goals this week.

With Bohs stuck in mediocrity, and Cork only gaining one victory so far this season, you wouldn't have got odds on their game at Dalymount being a thrill-a-minute affair. Their cause wasn't helped when O' Callaghan walked after half an hour. To be fair, Bohs did put the ball in the net for the first time in ages, but as the goal was ruled out for offside, they may as well have hit the corner flag instead! The 0-0 draw at Dalymount sees Cork knocked off the top of the table, and Bohs do stem the tide, but only to creep up on Home Farm's coat-tails. How the mighty have fallen.

As for Drogheda, they had their chance to re-take the lead at the top of the league, with a handy game against Home Farm. Their cause looked straight-forward, once their goal machine, Declan O' Brien put them in front after an hour. However, Damien Brennan equalised, and when Mark Rooney found the right net this week in injury time for the visitors, Drogheda faced disgrace. They pulled back an equaliser from O' Brien again in the last minute, but with Cork and Derry dropping points on their travels, this result was 2 points dropped for Drogheda.

Longford having played less games than everyone else so far, finally climbed off the sun lounger, and re-started their season at home to Bray. Dave Mooney settled this six-pointer, with 4 minutes to go, a win that sees normal service resumed for the Seagulls, and back to second bottom.

Fresh from Intertoto success, Shels also re-started their league campaign in the Dublin derby at home to Pats, where Jason Byrne continued his scoring spree, by sealing this game before the break with goals on 30 and 45 minutes. Glenn Crowe added the coup de grace from Ollie Cahill's cross with a quarter of an hour to go. Pats meanwhile, are still sleeping off the effects of their win at Waterford, as they have shipped 5 points from 6, in 4 nights.

Sligo-Derry is not a Premier Division fixture that we've seen in the North-West in a while, and the home side flew out of the traps early, scoring through Paul McTiernan after 6 minutes. Derry lost their discipline soon afterwards, when Mc Glynn was sent for a shower on 25'. But, as usual with 10 men, their team score the next goal, as Cillian Brennan fired home the equaliser in first half injury time. But 2 goals in 8 second-half minutes sealed the win for Sligo, from Keith Foy's free-kick, and McTiernan's second of the evening. In this year's North-West Derby series, Sligo claim revenge for their defeat in April, and the score stands at 1 win all, with 1 to play.

Waterford headed back to Dort country to face UCD, and looked for a repeat of their win there in November. With wins in zero supply for them this season, and their last point having come in April, it doesn't seem to matter whether they score first or not, the song at the end of the match remains the same. Unlike last time, the ref ignored the Switzerland-Ukraine WC counter-attraction, and showed up on time, but like last time, Waterford scored first from Paul McCarthy after 8 minutes. However, it's impossible for them to hold on for 90 of them, and sure enough, the defence cracked on 73' when Pat Kavanagh finally equalised. The boat sank completely 5 minutes later, when Brian Shortall headed the winner for the home side. Waterford face Bohs next, although it's hard to call which team are favourites for that one.

[mypost]

Premier Division Results:

WEEK 15/33:
BRAY WDS. 0-1 DROGHEDA UTD.
CORK CITY 1-0 UCD
DERRY CITY - SHELBOURNE
HOME FARM 0-2 LONGFORD TOWN
ST. PATS. ATH. 3-1 SLIGO ROVERS
WATERFORD UTD. 1-3 BOHEMIANS

This week saw 5 games played with Shels excused again, in order to lose heavily in Europe, which meant that Derry lost ground on the leaders, from Cork and Drogheda's wins. 12 goals went in, with 2 home wins, and 3 away ones.

Bray re-arranged their game in order not to clash with the World Cup quarter-finals, where Drogheda were trying to recover some ground after a poor result in their last game. The first half was notable for Declan O'Brien been replaced after suffering a facial injury, which will keep him out for a good while. It didn't affect Drogheda too much this week, as Paul Keegan scored a late winner for them, capitalising from Tresson's awful defensive mistake. Drogheda move to second in the table, while Bray lose late on for the second time in a week.

Cork faced UCD, and the students' Jekyll & Hyde nature, meant that they usually pose problems for Cork, their 5-1 defeat at Belfield twelve months ago being the exception of course. Both sides slugged it out, and Cork had to scrap for the win in the latest tussle, as Dennis Behan bundled the ball home on the hour. It puts them top of the league once again.

With up to 3 games in hand on those above them, Longford have the opportunity to climb into a respectable position in the table, and leave Home Farm behind. They helped their cause when Dave Mooney scored the opener against them after 17'. Steven Paisley sealed the win on 68', to make it 6 points from 6 after their extended summer break. Home Farm meanwhile, are back in their box, in 9th spot, with Longford ganging up on them.

Pats faced Sligo at Richmond and Trevor Molloy struck first for the home side after 18', while Sligo replied through Darren Mansaram, a goal that had Barry Ryan staring at it in a trance. They may have drawn 1-1 in April, but Pats pushed on after the break, as Molloy hit a 20-yard curler into the top corner. Paul Keegan wrapped up the home win on 75', finishing well after a good move. Sligo fans were not many in number, and the club had to cancel a minibus trip to the Friday night game. Their club have decided to begin an experiment with Friday night games next week. Who are they playing? Shels, Cork, Derry? Er no, Home Farm are first up in the experiment to increase the attendance. Where the logic comes from, I don't know.

The poor form clubs met at the Athletic track in Waterford, with Bohs, looking for any sort of result. Well, this week, they came to the right place. First rule of defending a corner is to defend both posts. Second rule is don't allow opponents unchallenged free headers in your own box. Waterford followed neither rule, and Jason Mc Guinness took advantage of both of them to put the visitors 1 up after 10 minutes. But all of a sudden, the home fans had a crumb to cheer when a great free kick from Kristian Lamberski found it's way to the net on the half hour. Bohs then moved into second gear, and took the lead again from Tony Grant tapping home a rebound past a demoralised and disinterested home defence. John Paul Kelly's free kick ensured the win for Bohs, and 4 points from 6 to pacify the "Farrelly Out" crowd for a while.

WEEK 10/33:
UCD 2-2 LONGFORD TOWN

The early kick-off time of this re-arranged fixture, caught Longford on the hop evidently, as 2 goals inside the first 20 minutes put UCD firmly in the driving seat, via Pat McWalter. Dean Fitzgerald gave Longford their alarm call, after half an hour, while UCD were caught out after the break when attack-minded defender Steven Paisley equalised a minute into the second half. The match was brought forward to avoid a clash with World Cup action. If they played it at the usual time, would it have made any difference?

[mypost]

Premier Division Results:

WEEK 16/33:
BOHEMIANS 1-2 DERRY CITY
BRAY WDS. 1-1 UCD
DROGHEDA 2-1 ST. PATS. ATH.
LONGFORD TOWN 0-2 CORK CITY
SHELBOURNE - WATERFORD UTD.
SLIGO ROVERS 2-0 HOME FARM

Cork, Derry, and Drogheda left Shels with a fair bit of work to do after Week 16, as the 3 teams all won their games. Shels, finished their European adventure this week, and now prepare to focus solely on their domestic campaign for the rest of the season. 12 goals went in from 5 games, resulting in 3 happy trips, a Dort Derby Draw, with Pats the sole victims of travel sickness.

Alan Kelly was busy up to his old tricks once again, baffling players, and fans alike at Dalymount, at Bohs-Derry. Beforehand though, Barry Molloy put Derry in front at Bohs in the 21st minute. Vinny Arkins then equalised for Bohs from Farrelly's free-kick just before the break. Obviously not happy with his anonymity, Kelly saw some foul by a Bohs defender in the box, and awarded a penalty to the visitors, which Mark Farren converted on 53'. Kelly then got his favourite card out of his back pocket once again, to send Bohs' Heary for a shower, and ensure an away win. It's Derry's first win in Dublin this season, and their third in a row at Bohs.

At the Dort Derby Part II, Bray went looking for revenge for their earlier defeat to their nearby rivals. The match was re-arranged and put on Sunday, and it turned out to be as exciting as the World Cup final later in the evening. After 60 minutes of scoreless play, Conor Sammon put the visitors in front squeezing a shot past the home 'keeper. By the 90' mark, UCD were busy keeping possession at the corner flag, and were then punished for it, when Bray went down the other end to equalise from Robbie Doyle's free-kick, which UCD 'keeper Quigley fumbled over the line. In Week 2, Bray themselves conceded an equaliser in injury time at Waterford, this week they profited from UCD's bout of corner-itis, as their luck finally evened itself out to take home another point in their pursuit of Home Farm and Longford.

After their 1-0 win results sequence in the early part of the season, there have been some goals to report in recent Drogheda matches. 4 went in at their last home match, and 2 more went in in the first quarter-hour against a hot-and-cold Pats side. Jason Gavin delivered the first blow after 2 minutes heading in from Robinson's corner. New signing Eamonn Zayed is Drogheda's new weapon upfront, and he duly put them 2 up after 13 minutes. Pats limited the damage to 2 at the break, and replied themselves 10 minutes after it from Alan Reilly's penalty. It wasn't enough though to prevent another home victory, and keep Drogheda in touch with the leaders.

After their last visit, Rico was never going to treat a pre-Euro trip to Longford lightly. His Cork side flew out of the blocks, as Dennis Behan scored twice in the first 15 minutes to hand out justice Rico-style, on Longford. They held out comfortably for the rest of the game to prepare ideally for their European campaign.

The Rovers derby should have taken place this weekend in Sligo, but with Home Farm visiting there on a Friday night instead, not surprisingly resulted in a depressed attendance who had to stomach a boring game for their efforts. Sligo won it of course, scoring first half goals from Fahrudin Kudozovic, and Darren Manzaram. Home Farm meanwhile, celebrated the dizzy heights of seventh place at the end of the first series, by taking the grand total of a single point from their next 5 games. But they have some consolation, as their next 3 games are all at Dalymount, however, with two of them against Bohs and Shels, expect their plummet to continue.

[mypost]

Premier Division results:

WEEK 17/33:
CORK CITY - BRAY WDS.
DERRY CITY 1-0 LONGFORD TOWN
HOME FARM 1-2 SHELBOURNE
ST. PATS. ATH. 0-1 BOHEMIANS
UCD 0-0 DROGHEDA UTD.
WATERFORD UTD. 1-2 SLIGO ROVERS

Week 17 saw the halfway mark reached in the Premier Division. The by now, weekly ritual of a postponed match in the league saw the axe fall on Cork v Bray this week. With Cork heading for Cyprus, Derry took advantage with the only home win in the last match of the weekend against Longford. Home Farm and Waterford fell to their weekly defeats, and 3 visitors took home full points. With the other game finishing 0-0, 8 goals went in around the country this week.

Fresh from winning in Europe, Derry took on Longford the following Sunday evening. The home fans didn't have long to acclaim more success. Steven Paisley scored once again on his travels for Longford, but unlike on his last two visits, this time it was into his own net from Hargan's cross after 13 minutes. Derry dominated until Stephen O' Flynn got himself sent off, for an off-the ball incident, and Longford pressed on for the equaliser. It wasn't enough however, as their miserable run at the Brandywell continues.

Home Farm took on Shelbourne at Dalyer, introducing new signing Lee Roche. Shels meanwhile took advantage of the home side's low confidence, by scoring twice in the opening half, as Bobby Ryan scored from 20 yards after 14'. Half an hour later, it was two, when Joseph Ndo tapped home the rebound from Byrne's free-kick. The floodgates didn't swing open after the break, but Shels claimed the points, despite conceding a goal to the home side's David Freeman midway through the half. It would turn out to be Home Farm's last goal in senior football, as more serious trouble was brewing for the amateurs, of which more anon.

The other derby between Pats and Bohs was a vital one for both sides. Games between these two are frequently tight, low-scoring affairs. Bohs won the last game at Richmond last September, with a goal in the last minute of injury time. This time, they won it in the last minute of the first half, after Gareth Farrelly fired home a free kick just outside the box, into the top corner. That's the way it would stay to the end, after Quigley's second-half penalty for Pats was saved by O'Brien. Bohs' players can head off for a siesta next week.

After the elation of getting an away draw in Helsinki, coming back to Belfield to play UCD must have been a bit of a comedown for Drogheda's players and fans, at the other Sunday fixture. The home side defended better than the Finnish side, and kept Drogheda out for the 90 minutes. They will be happy with their point, while Drogheda have a 11-day break before they travel to Dalymount for the "home" duel with HJK. We'll find out soon enough, whether the extended break does them any good.

Sligo made the long trip South to face Waterford, and expected to claim a facile 3 points. But Waterford's new look side set out to make an impression, and got off to the perfect start when Kenny Browne put them in front from Young's corner after 10'. Trouble with Waterford is though, you have to play well for more than 10 minutes in a football match. The inevitable equaliser came from Adam Hughes on 67'. Nevertheless, Waterford once again threatened to nick a point until Darren Mansaram headed the winner for the visitors with 2 minutes to go. Sligo continue their climb up the league, while Waterford face a trip to Shels next. Oh dear!

WEEK 11/33:
BRAY WDS. 1-2 SLIGO ROVERS
LONGFORD TOWN 2-0 ST. PATS. ATH.

The re-arranged matches from Week 11, saw Bray face Sligo first. Sligo enjoyed their trip to the seaside, dominating the game to open the scoring from Adam Hughes on 58'. Bray looked to Romania for inspiration, and Andrei Georgescu answered his club's call with 9 minuites left to equalise. But Darren Mansaram is Sligo's find of the season, and struck for his side yet again with 4 minutes remaining to eek out another away win for Sligo, and stall Bray's progress for another week.

Pats dominated their re-arranged trip to Longford early on, testing out Longford's low morale from 2 straight defeats. Unlike then however, Longford woke up and took the lead, when Alan Kirby scored from Martin's through ball just after the half hour. Robbie Martin secured the points for the home side midway through the second half, with a diving header from his brother John's, cross. For what it's worth, Longford finally climbed above Home Farm with this victory, while Pats, the odd victory apart, appear to have thrown in the towel in the league already.

WEEK 16/33:
SHELBOURNE 5-1 WATERFORD UTD.

With memories of their horror show, on their last visit to Tolka in September, Waterford had every right to dread this encounter with high-flying Shelbourne. The advice from Manager, Mike Kerley to his boys beforehand, must have been "Whatever you do, don't lose by five tonight lads". It certainly was "Don't be four down by half time again" anyway. Well, initially, his players followed his advice, by only shipping one in by the break, from Bobby Ryan on the stroke of half-time. Shels moved down the gears in the second half last time, however they stepped it up this time, and showed what they're capable of, as Glenn Crowe with 2, Colin Hawkins, and Jason Byrne chipped in during the rout. Michael Casey pulled one back for poor Waterford, as they had let five goals in at Shels again. Shels were made to look good here, encouraging certain pundits in the media to declare them league champions elect later. They temporarily moved top of the league following this win, but still have to play Cork, Derry, and Drogheda twice more this season, and have a lot of work still to do, before they can re-claim the title. Much sterner tests than this lie in wait for Ollie's outfit.


The hafway mark was also reached in the First Division this week, and following Limerick's latest bout of "Rovers Flu" against Athlone, Shamrock Rovers return to the top of the league on goal difference, following a late equaliser in a 1-1 draw at Cobh. Our game was a 3rd v 2nd top of the table encounter, but TV3's piecemeal NL coverage, meant they couldn't be trusted to send a camera from Ballymount to Cobh to cover it. Sums up their treatment of the domestic league in a nutshell.

[mypost]

Most NL clubs have reached the halfway point of the season, but for one club it is already over. Home Farm's sudden withdrawal from League of Ireland football, leaves a gaping hole in the fixture list, and re-arranges the league table. There now remains an 11-team Premier Division. Following the decision by the authorities to exclude Home Farm's results this season, Drogheda now lead the table with 30 points, one point clear of Derry on 29. Shels and Cork are now third and fourth, 1 point further back. The bottom of the table is unchanged, with Waterford still occupying 11th place with 3 points. As another consequence of this development, UCD will finish their season one week early, becoming the first NL club since Waterford United in 2002 to do so. Home Farm's originally scheduled games for the remainder of the season, shall be declared as Void, on the Premier Review.

[pineapple stu]

mypost if anything approaching reasoned fair, comment is beyond, you would you at least, learn how to use a comma, properly!!! It'd make such, a, difference, on the rare occasions, I read, your, posts.

[mypost]

mypost if anything approaching reasoned fair, comment is beyond, you would you at least, learn how to use a comma, properly!

[sligoman]

The Rovers derby should have taken place this weekend in Sligo, but with Home Farm visiting there on a Friday night instead

That's just sad! Dublin City beat you fair and square, get over it!

[mypost]

That's just sad! Dublin City beat you fair and square, get over it!

Yes it is sad, even more so in the light of recent events.

[mypost]

Premier Division Results:

WEEK 18/33:
BOHEMIANS V-V HOME FARM
BRAY WDS. 1-2 ST. PATS. ATH.
DROGHEDA UTD. - DERRY CITY
LONGFORD TOWN 3-0 WATERFORD UTD.
SHELBOURNE 6-0 UCD
SLIGO ROVERS - CORK CITY

After 51 weeks of the Premier Review, we come to the lowest amount of games played on a single weekend in the division. Despite that, 12 goals were scored in the remaining matches, resulting in 3 definitive results, 2 in favour of home teams, and 1 away.

It's the away win where we start, where Bray faced Pats in the last match of the weekend, in contrast to their last meeting, which was the first. Bray's struggles continued when Mark Quigley opened the scoring for Pats after 19 minutes. After the break, Pats went 2-0 up, after their new signing Keith Fahey scored on the hour. Bray did get one back from Andrei Gheorgescu, but it wasn't enough to prevent Pats from claiming the three points. They now have a three-week holiday before they head up to Derry next.

If you're going to pick a side to play for a boost in morale, there's none better than Waterford. The listless bottom of the table outfit, without a win all season, headed up to Longford, who came into this game as the last team to fail to beat them. Would lightning strike twice? Not at all!! Eventually Longford broke through on 35', through Alan Kirby. The crowd then dozed off for a while, until Davy Byrne curled a free-kick in for the home side with 5 minutes to go. Longford sealed their revenge over Waterford by adding the third in injury time when Byrne scored once again from the spot. Longford win their easiest game of the season, while Waterford make the long trip home, wondering what's the point? Even more so when Mike Kerley later resigned, leaving the team coachless to boot.

Ollie & co felt wronged earlier in the week, as Home Farm's demise, meant that his side were dumped off the top of the league, because they had beaten them twice. Someone was going to feel the backlash. Enter UCD to Fortress Tolka. The home rout began on 11 minutes when Glen Crowe put them in front from Ryan's cross. As the score stayed 1-0 until the break, UCD must have felt that they, like Waterford before them, had weathered the Shels storm. Wrong again! Jason Byrne made it 2-0 direct from the re-start, while Joseph Ndo made a mockery of the visitors defence to make it 3-0 soon afterwards. That defence fell to pieces completely in the last 20 minutes, as Byrne, Crowe, and Ollie Cahill helped themselves to another few. Shels win 6-0, and with their rivals busy with their European engagements, head back to the top of the table. Why didn't they play like this against Odense?

[mypost]

Premier Division Results:

WEEK 19/33:
CORK CITY - ST. PATS. ATH.
DERRY CITY 4-0 WATERFORD UTD.
HOME FARM V-V BRAY WDS.
LONGFORD TOWN 0-0 DROGHEDA UTD.
SHELBOURNE 3-0 SLIGO ROVERS
UCD 0-1 BOHEMIANS

Slightly more games were played in the league this week, as of the European representatives, only Cork were given the weekend off. Derry and Shels romped home, while a last-minute penalty gave Bohs the only away goal, and win of the week. 4 matches brought 8 goals this week.

Waterford were not expected to interfere with either their own or Derry's immaculate home record so far this season, but if they did manage to nick a victory, someone would have got lucky, as the visitors were quoted as 16/1 with the bookies to win this one beforehand. But there weren't too many takers, as shown why when the game was in the bag for Derry well before half time. After 18 minutes, Gary Beckett opened the scoring, firing past the sleepy away defence. Then Waterford's 'keeper Spicer fumbled a free kick, which allowed Darren Kelly in for the home side's second soon afterwards. In the second half, Kevin Mc Hugh and Ciaran Martyn completed the rout after the break, as Derry make it 10 home wins from 10, and are second in the table.

Derry and Drogheda both won in Europe in midweek, and while Derry couldn't have picked an easier post-European league game to play, Drogheda had to face Longford. Despite scoring 5 in their last two games, Longford put up the shutters, and goal-shy Drogheda couldn't break them down. Despite having most of the play and chances, Drogheda had to settle for a disappointing draw, which shows that Longford's defence is much harder to break down than HJK Helsinki's!!

Sligo's trip to Tolka Park this week, was their first since their cup replay win at Shels a couple of years ago. Unlike then however, Shels were in the mood to face them this time. Another demolition job by the home side began after 6 minutes when Ollie Cahill opened the scoring. Sligo kept it to 1, until Liam Burns was dismissed for kicking Jason Byrne outside the box 5 minutes after the break. Byrne picked himself up, dusted himself down, and fired home the resultant free-kick. Not content enough with that, he scored again 5 minutes later from close range. Shels stay top of the league after scoring 14 goals in 3 successive home games.

After a brief break, UCD were back playing at home on Saturdays, for their Dublin derby with Bohs. Bohs, fresh from their free week last week, dominated early on, but the game looked destined to finish 0-0 until the visitors were given a harsh penalty when the ball appeared to accidentally strike Tony McDonnell's hand in the box. Dessie Byrne despatched the penalty home to give Bohs the win, and a double over UCD this season.

[mypost]

Premier Division Results:

WEEK 20/33:
BOHEMIANS 0-1 LONGFORD TOWN
BRAY WDS. 2-3 DERRY CITY
DROGHEDA UTD. 1-3 SHELBOURNE
SLIGO ROVERS 0-1 UCD
ST. PATS. ATH. V-V HOME FARM
WATERFORD UTD. 0-0 CORK CITY

Week 20 saw almost a clean sweep for the away sides as 4 out of the 5 of them won their games. Theory suggested that Cork would complete the sequence, but they were playing a Munster Derby. Pre-Europe, Derry and Drogheda played this week, with contrasting results. 11 goals were scored.

Both Bohs and Longford are on a good run lately, as Bohs won their last two games, while Longford had won 2 of their last 3. An Alan Kirby goal settled this game at Dalymount after 36 minutes, to claim their second win there this season, and extend their run. The Bohs fans, growing restless for another chance to get at Farrelly, booed their team off the pitch as soon as the final whistle blew.

Derry warmed up for Europe, or rather Scotland in midweek, by catching a Bray side still snoozing on their summer siesta from last week. When they woke up after half-time, they found themselves 3-0 down to two goals from Kevin McHugh by the 25-minute mark, and another added by Ciaran Martyn in injury time. A refreshed Bray side began to play after the break, as 2 minutes in, Andrei Georgescu pulled one back, and Colm James pulled another one back with 9 minutes left. But they left themselves with too much work to do to rescue a point. Derry win again, and are second to Shels with a game in hand.

Shels themselves travelled up the coast to Drogheda, where early on Drogheda dominated. Following a Shels corner on 33', ref Alan Kelly missed a handball from Drogheda's Webb in the box, but fortunately for Kelly, his linesman saw it, and flagged for a penalty to be given, which Stuart Byrne duly converted to give the visitors the lead. Once again Shels led 1-0 at half time, and once again, they extended their lead in the second half first through Ollie Cahill on 55', following charitable defending by Gavin, and then a third after 75' from Owen Heary's 30-yard rocket, one of the goals of the season. Stephen Bradley pulled back a consolation for Drogheda near the end, but Shels become the first team to do the double over Drogheda this season, and stay top.

At the Showgrounds, UCD made their first trip to Sligo since 2004, and completed their double over Sligo this season through Conor Sammon's header 5 minutes before the break. Sligo missed a penalty in the second half, when Keith Foy's spot-kick was saved by UCD 'keeper Quigley, and their unbeaten run at home this season ended, but both teams sit comfortably in mid-table.

Cork's exit from Europe in midweek in Belgrade, left them to re-focus their attention on retaining their league title. No better pick-me-up then than a visit to Waterford, only this is the Munster derby, and no matter how bad things have been there in the last 2 seasons, Waterford are Cork's nemesis. The game finished 0-0, as Waterford claim a 4th draw with Cork in their last 5 meetings, and their first point in 13 matches. With 2 important league points dropped, Cork suffer a heavy post-European hangover, while Waterford must wonder, why they can't play Cork every week.

[mypost]

Premier Division Results:

WEEK 21/33:
BRAY WDS. 0-3 BOHEMIANS
DERRY CITY 3-1 ST. PATS. ATH.
DROGHEDA UTD. 2-2 SLIGO ROVERS
HOME FARM V-V WATERFORD UTD.
LONGFORD TOWN 0-0 UCD
SHELBOURNE 2-2 CORK CITY

Week 21 saw some excitement this week with an average of 3 goals per game , and an outbreak of corner-itis this time at Drogheda. Derry had no post-European hangover this week, while Alan Kelly made the headlines for the wrong reasons at Bray, so nothing new there...

...where Bohs went to the seaside and were in front early on through Stephen Ward. He was the best player in the first half, as he also hit the woodwork before the break. After half-time, he set up Mark Lynch to score his first goal for Bohs. The third goal came from another Bohs new boy, Paul Devlin scoring from the spot, after Chris Deans collected his second red card this season by handling the ball inside the area. Bohs did score a legitimate fourth goal late on, but Alan Kelly and his linesmen, declared a ball that hit a stantion behind the net, to have gone out of play. Bohs boss Farrelly was sent off again for his subsequent protests. Not content with having dismissed enough people, Kelly handed out another red card to Philip Keogh, to ensure the home side finished with 9 men. Bohs may have won the bottom of the table battle, but a game with Kelly in charge descended into farce once again.

Derry returned from having hammered Scottish minnows Gretna in Europe, to face a Pats team playing their first game for 3 weeks. They may as well have waited another week, as Fortress Brandywell witnessed another facile win. Ken Oman had put Derry 2 up before the break, on 22, and 33 minutes. Despite defender Colm Foley pulling one back for the visitors from Quigley's cross, Derry upped the ante in the second half, and Mark Farren added the third to put Derry top of the table behind Shels on goal difference, with their 11th win from 11 home games.

Unlike Derry, Drogheda returned from Europe on the back of a defeat, and the first half of their game with Sligo was poor. Things eventually picked up in the second half, when Shane Barrett gave the home side an early lead. However Adam Hughes watched Owen Heary's thunderbolt at the same ground the week before, and delivered his own version with another rocket outside the box 15 minutes later to equalise. It would only be level for 3 more minutes though, as Graham Gartland headed home Robinson's free-kick. Winning the game, it was time to go down to the corner flag, as Drogheda tried to play out time, and the punishment came in the 93rd minute when Sligo equalised again as Keith Foy lashed the ball home from 25-yards . 8 goals in two weeks at Drogheda has brought only one point for the title contenders, who slip 6 points behind the leaders after their back-to-back home games.

Longford took on UCD, and even with the best marketing brains in the country, this fixture is always going to be a hard-sell. And the job isn't going to get any easier, following this latest draw between the two. At least the last game between the two had goals!

Meanwhile at the business end of the table, high-flying Shels met struggling Cork, who were determined to make up for last week's disaster at Waterford. They duly took the lead when Dennis Behan scored after 20 minutes. The lead lasted until half time when Jason Byrne's deflected free-kick found it's way past Devine. Unlike previous weeks, Shels struggled to put away the opposition this week, and went behind again when Heary handled the ball in his box following a corner, and Ray O'Donovan converted the spot kick just past the hour. A fine move brought Shels the equaliser on 78', when Cahill set up Glenn Crowe to slide home from close range to make it 2-2. Joe Gambled on a late tackle, and lost out when he was dismissed for a second bookable offence, by another Dublin referee Damien Hancock. What Rico made of the dismissal was, fortunately for his own sake, not reported.

[mypost]

Premier Division Results:

WEEK 22/33:
BOHEMIANS 2-1 SHELBOURNE
CORK CITY 1-1 DERRY CITY
SLIGO ROVERS 2-0 BRAY WDS.
ST. PATS. ATH. 0-0 LONGFORD TOWN
UCD V-V HOME FARM
WATERFORD UTD. 2-3 DROGHEDA UTD.

Week 22 saw the end of the second round of matches, and new leaders after the results. 12 goals were scored in the 5 matches, from 2 home wins and 2 draws, and 1 away win at the usual place.

Shels made the 2 mile journey to face Bohs, and needed to claim 3 points to keep them clear of Derry. They looked on course when Glen Crowe gave them the lead on 57', only for Bohs to equalise 5 minutes later as Fergal Harkin fired the ball home, after his own corner wasn't properly cleared. Bohs would go on to win it, when Stephen Caffrey headed home from McGuinness' cross with 15 minutes to go. Bohs' win was clouded over Jason McGuinness' eligibility, and the threat of a replay from Ollie Byrne, so their rare win over Shels, remains subject to whatever action the FAI take on the matter in due course. As of now, Shels lose top spot, and both clubs would later go out of the FAI Cup the following week; Shels to Derry, and Bohs to Rovers.

Derry made the long way down to Cork for the only time this season, and Cork badly needed to take 3 points off their title rivals. Ray O' Donovan gave them the lead after an hour, after a goalmouth scramble following Murphy's free-kick. With Derry facing another defeat at the South Pole, salvation arrived with 15 minutes left when Dan Murray put the ball in his own net from Sean Hargan's cross. Derry move to the top of the tree, while Cork's latest post-European points dropped, coupled with no game next week, may well mean their season is now as good as over.

2 early goals would lead to another home win for Sligo over a bereft Bray side at the Showgrounds. Darren Mansaram and Harpal Singh scored in the first half-hour to wrap up the home win, do the double over Bray and hand them their 5th defeat in a row.

At Richmond, Longford visited to pack their defence again. It led to their third goalless draw in 6 unbeaten games, and while Pats league season is mundane, both sides later progressed through the next round of the cup, even if Longford needed 2 games to dispose of Waterford.

Drogheda's patchy form looked set to recover a bit, when they made their annual trek to Waterford. Shane Barrett, and Declan O'Brien helped themselves to a goal each for the visitors before half time, but despite a red card for Waterford's Chambers after 55 minutes, the home side rallied after the break to pull it back to 2-2 following a James Keddy o.g., and a Kenny Browne equaliser from Cawley's corner. However, following Shane Robinson's pass, Keddy redeemed himself by scoring the winner with 3 minutes to go. Drogheda scored a late goal the next week, to win in Europe, only to draw level on aggregate, and then lose on penalties. But they had an eventful week anyway.