League of Ireland in Europe 2019

[paul_oshea]

Why does the stuff keep flying up when they get the foot stuck in though? And the ball clearly bobbles. Thankfully yer players seem to be able to play enough to control it but it causes issues in attack positions

[Nesta99]

Why does the stuff keep flying up when they get the foot stuck in though? And the ball clearly bobbles. Thankfully yer players seem to be able to play enough to control it but it causes issues in attack positions

The black rubber infill was probably topped up prior to the game and the pitch brushed and watered. While there is an extensive thread on the pitch, the black infill is cheaper than the green coloured variety and looks a lot worse than pitches where the coloured stuff is used. As with most Dundalk fans grass would be preferred, the artificial pitch served a purpose in the mid 2000s when first installed and was invaluable income and savings. That said if an average grass pitch was watched closely sand and loose soil would kick up also. As for the ball bobbling about, I didnt notice it any more than usual or even any more than many grass pitches during a dry spell. The pitch in Tallaght is exceptional. The one in Cork gets so much use that it is probably a real headache to keep right. The only people that can really assess the pitch is the players that use it most often albeit we know their preference. It would be interesting to hear their honest assessment of the Oriel pitch and the one in the Brandywell. As for 'the seriousness of the club in Europe' many clubs in Europe have artificial surfaces. The Luzhnky for one hosted international qualifiers and artificial surfaces are or were allowed up to CL semi finals. That many rugby clubs for example have opted for artificial surfaces without concern for injury etc and in Municipal Stadium developments its quite possible they will be opted for especially if multiuse, we will see more of them in the league over time. I'd take it if Louth CoCo were building a ground we could use!!!

[swinfordfc]

Dundalk in the final third was poor and it could have cost them a place in the next round. Riga are no mugs but teams now at this level shouldn't be ... There still have a chance but Riga are favourites now for sure.

[Nesta99]

I dont know, its 50/50 now imo. Riga have had rough patches domestically, they dont score a whole lot of goals considering their relative budget. Even their average gate would be lower than Dundalk's. They are well organised undoubtedly, really graft, and their main threat will be from the set piece so if everyone keeps switched on the set piece can be managed. We do though have to improve and get our own strengths working like the creative ability of McEleney and McGrath. The threat on the wings from Duffy and poissbly Kelly coming in and full back overlapping. I can see Massey getting the nod over Jarvis. Boyle and Cleary have the pace to scramble if we get caught with the fullbacks pushed up though Hoare was solid in centre defence. Benson could be fit for a start now and can dictate the pace. Hopefully Shields is ok to play so there is no temptation to play Hoare in midfield. Flores is definitely out and Murray is still carrying niggling injuries. They will go with Hoban in belief he will have more space and that we can get behind them. If he doesnt perform then Kelly should be getting a starting berth and Hoban could be on the move - THE hatstand Rovers are after albeit a very expensive one by all accounts.

[pineapple stu]

Probably the main worry for Dundalk out of that has to be the next round.

Win and it's Partizani or Qarabag - 0-0 after the first leg in Albania, but EL/CL group stage regulars (Qarabag) won't fear what they saw last night. Lose and it's BATE/Piast - 1-1 after the first leg in Belarus - and again, that's a tough draw.

Of course if Dundalk do beat Riga but lose to Qarabag, then there'd be another round in the EL. And Dundalk started off 2016 by scraping past FH on away goals before coming good against BATE.

But you'd wonder what Peak6 are looking for out of this campaign.

[sbgawa]

I dont know, its 50/50 now imo. Riga have had rough patches domestically, they dont score a whole lot of goals considering their relative budget. Even their average gate would be lower than Dundalk's. They are well organised undoubtedly, really graft, and their main threat will be from the set piece so if everyone keeps switched on the set piece can be managed. We do though have to improve and get our own strengths working like the creative ability of McEleney and McGrath. The threat on the wings from Duffy and poissbly Kelly coming in and full back overlapping. I can see Massey getting the nod over Jarvis. Boyle and Cleary have the pace to scramble if we get caught with the fullbacks pushed up though Hoare was solid in centre defence. Benson could be fit for a start now and can dictate the pace. Hopefully Shields is ok to play so there is no temptation to play Hoare in midfield. Flores is definitely out and Murray is still carrying niggling injuries. They will go with Hoban in belief he will have more space and that we can get behind them. If he doesnt perform then Kelly should be getting a starting berth and Hoban could be on the move - THE hatstand Rovers are after albeit a very expensive one by all accounts.

Rovers couldn't pay the wages Hoban is looking for.
Based on his current form I'm not surprised dfc are calling his bluff on contract. No loi club will outbid dfc and will an English club pay more for a guy who failed spectacularly over there before and who has 5 goals from play this season for the team that are clear at the top.

[bennocelt]

Bought my Basel V PSV tkt today, 18 euros, ultra tickets were only 13 euros.

Dundalk still very much alive, not letting in an away goal was crucial, now all to play for in the away leg, with more freedom and hopefully not another silly plastic pitch

[sbgawa]

I'd say the mangt at dundalk were happy enough with nil nil.
Riga aren't that good that you could see them scoring 2 or 3 goals at home.
Sneak an away goal and that could be enough

[oriel]

Broken record time but you'd think if Dundalk were serious about Europe they would install a grass pitch.

This was my initial thought leaving the ground, would a grass pitch have suited better, but UEFA ordered additional rubber to be laid on the pitch to make it heavier, plus as always the rain makes it worse. I think overall Dundalk didn’t do enough to win in, disappointed with that, the bonus though is the clean sheet, and I think we will score over there, hopefully it will be enough. This might have shades of the 2016 campaign, that started even worse with a 1-1 home draw v FH. That was the only game from the 12 that season that we were favs, and still didn’t win it.

Another post asked about what P6’s expectation would be, I would say they will be looking to play in 3 rounds, most likely route for that would be to beat Riga, then prob lose CLr2 (most likely to Qarabag), then that will get them into ELr3 v one of the other losers of a CL r2 tie, that could be as far as they’ll go. If they lose to Riga, its into EL r2, with no lifeline left after that.

Still fairly confident we can get the job done, will need to play a lot better next week though.

[oriel]

Dundalk in the final third was poor and it could have cost them a place in the next round. Riga are no mugs but teams now at this level shouldn't be ... There still have a chance but Riga are favourites now for sure.

Checking prices this am, and PP have both neck and neck to qualify for next round Riga 10/11 and Dundalk 4/5

[Ezeikial]

Rovers couldn't pay the wages Hoban is looking for.
Based on his current form I'm not surprised dfc are calling his bluff on contract. No loi club will outbid dfc and will an English club pay more for a guy who failed spectacularly over there before and who has 5 goals from play this season for the team that are clear at the top.

Pat Hoban's value continues to fall with each passing poor performance; although his 6th goal from open play against Derry last week was very welcome.

It may even get to the stage where the current contract offer is withdrawn if Dundalk agree a deal with a replacement striker

[Ezeikial]

Dundalk still very much alive, not letting in an away goal was crucial, now all to play for in the away leg, with more freedom and hopefully not another silly plastic pitch

While it was disappointing not to score last night, not conceding a goal was even more critical (certainly in a better position going in to the 2nd leg at 0-0 as opposed to 1-1).

Dundalk can certainly play much better, it remains to be seen if Riga can.

There might be many possible reasons why Dundalk did not play to their full potential last night, but the pitch is likely to be well down near the bottom of that list

[D24Saint]

Have that weird feeling called optimism today a feeling often crushed by the loi. I’m hopeful of at least a draw tonight.

[DFCForever]

We're definitely a better side than Riga, we just struggled to break them down. I think we could have more success in that regard in the second leg because Riga will have to attack more to try and win. Obviously a win would have been preferable but I still think we'll do the job.

[disgruntled]

If that was Riga at their best then Dundalk still have a decent chance but they need to have Shields fit.
Really surprised that Dundalk with their resources didn't seem to have a ready made replacement for Shields but there may be reasons for that ?
Dundalk had a couple of chances but Rogers made a couple of fine saves which balanced that out.
Benson made a big difference when he came on.

Riga are no mugs, are well able to kick when they need to but it will be interesting if they play any different at home.
Dundalk will have to watch Bopesu who although all legs is a decent player & showed glimpses of genuine skill last night.
Referee was excellent which is not always the case in Europe.

The less said about the pitch & the stadium the better but that's for another day.

Anyone get the attendance for the game last night ?

[oriel]

The line up was also a little surprising last night, I would have started Massey instead of Jarvis and Boyle ahead of Cleary.

MF were missing Fores (injured), Benson is only 2 weeks back, and Murray also prob a week away, the latter two would have made a difference if fit.

Hoban was not good, the contract thing is clearly effecting his form, needs to sort that out.

Attendance not given, but most seats seemed to have been taken, I think that’s 3,200 (not 3,500) as may have been mentioned before.

[EatYerGreens]

Broken record time but you'd think if Dundalk were serious about Europe they would install a grass pitch.

Why ? Surely an artificial surface that they're used to gives them an advantage when hosting teams who aren't used to it ? Grass offers no-one any such advantage (unless it's a terrible surface).

Not to mention the revenue uplift they presumably get from being able to hire out an artificial pitch continuously. It costs money to get into Europe in the first place, and more still to advance once there.

So why would grass be the way for them to progress in Europe ?

[EatYerGreens]

Poor enough game. I was surprised by Riga they clearly showed they are no mugs and that tie is very well balanced ahead of the second leg.

Very few chances for either side in the game. It was such a poor spectacle that I fell asleep twice during it

[Real ale Madrid]

Why ? Surely an artificial surface that they're used to gives them an advantage when hosting teams who aren't used to it ? Grass offers no-one any such advantage (unless it's a terrible surface).

Not to mention the revenue uplift they presumably get from being able to hire out an artificial pitch continuously. It costs money to get into Europe in the first place, and more still to advance once there.

So why would grass be the way for them to progress in Europe ?

Because they clearly play better on grass. They have been a better team on grass since Kenny took over originally imo. They looked last night to me to be clearly a technically better outfit than Riga but with the slow inconsistant surface they were unable to impose themselves on the game as they wished imo.

The idea that a club, backed to the extent they are by Peak 6 and with millions earned from big wins on a pristine surface in Tallaght against the likes of BATE and Maccabi Tel aviv, get a finanical advantage from renting out thier pitch is laughable.

As someone said already It served its purpose at one time. Its time now for them to move on from it I think.

[D24Saint]

Because they clearly play better on grass. They have been a better team on grass since Kenny took over originally imo. They looked last night to me to be clearly a technically better outfit than Riga but with the slow inconsistant surface they were unable to impose themselves on the game as they wished imo.

The idea that a club, backed to the extent they are by Peak 6 and with millions earned from big wins on a pristine surface in Tallaght against the likes of BATE and Maccabi Tel aviv, get a finanical advantage from renting out thier pitch is laughable.

As someone said already It served its purpose at one time. Its time now for them to move on from it I think.

Is it not just down to the type of artificial surface they are using , I haven't seen many complaints about the branywell pitch.