Games weekend 1st / 2nd July

[RealJohn91]

Bohs are such an unbelievably frustrating team to watch. We've been conceding the exact same type of goal since the start of 2021 and we can't seem to stop it. Just overload our full backs and you're guaranteed chances. Thank god Harps and UCD are so bad cause in another year we would be closer to the playoff. The player we all know Devoy can be turned up tonight finally and Mullins showed more in 20 minutes than Twardek has all season. Looking forward to seeing our new signings next week but we badly need another three or four on top of the three we've already signed. Junior is so average too, have no idea what type of player is either. Not enough strength to play as a 9, not enough skill or pace to play off the wing. Hoping the word of his "multi-year" contract only being optional for the club is true cause I don't want to see him for another two or three years.

[ToberonaTornado]

Dundalk-
v.poor in First half but came out fresh in second and swept a poor UCD team aside without much fuss.
The games we have in hand are vital now(win all of them) as our direct opponents head into Europe .
Drogs next week will be tough.
Great though that we are 2nd going in to that phase after last year's awful awfulness!
Good days ahead we hope

[Nesta99]

Bohs are such an unbelievably frustrating team to watch. We've been conceding the exact same type of goal since the start of 2021 and we can't seem to stop it. Just overload our full backs and you're guaranteed chances. Thank god Harps and UCD are so bad cause in another year we would be closer to the playoff. The player we all know Devoy can be turned up tonight finally and Mullins showed more in 20 minutes than Twardek has all season. Looking forward to seeing our new signings next week but we badly need another three or four on top of the three we've already signed. Junior is so average too, have no idea what type of player is either. Not enough strength to play as a 9, not enough skill or pace to play off the wing. Hoping the word of his "multi-year" contract only being optional for the club is true cause I don't want to see him for another two or three years.

This basically sums up the current day tactics - high risk, high reward of fullbacks bombing on to overload the opposition. Unless the high press is spot on and cuts off the supply so have to go long in to a 50-50, or your fullbacks are simply better at attacking forcing opposites to sit deeper in fear then there will always be a scramble defence retreating back across the box. Players that like arriving late for a cut back just add to to pressure. The 3 at the back and attacking wing backs is a way to try and attempt to disrupt the patterns above if a manager sways toward the conservative or if there just isnt the quality in key positions to play the riskier 4 at the back with attacking full backs. It's effective and was impressive when Dortmund(?) were the first and able to attack and high press for 90mins, now that everyone is doing some variation its actually forcing a lot more long balls, especially by keepers, than we have seen for years as the short pass out is cut off or closed. I think for managers of a particular vintage it must go against everything the learned eg regroup behind the ball at loss of possession, 2 banks of 4, conserve energy/phased play, single player press in their zone, possession stats meaning damn all really. For older fans its nerve wrecking particularly outside the real world class sides as the quality isnt always there to be really good at todays game all of the time - grand if yer a Man City fan!

There are just gaps in the Bohs squad and Long doesnt seem to abandon his template. You menton Junior, yeah he is a player that is niether one thing or another currently in todays game. A number of years back he would have been a decent central second striker, maybe a bit of a poacher. Its not beyond the possibility that big target men beside a pacey player, and the long ball aerial bombardment at least partially comes back in to fashion to undermine the high press and high defensive line. Which tbh would probably suit a number LoI sides. Sheppard, as an example, is usually very accurate when he goes long giving the point man a good chance of holding the ball up or run on it, also varies to go to wide players too, so could be very key to Dundalk as tactics evolve as I think they will (would mean Caulfield ball was ahead of the curve all these years....)

I noticed in the *2nd half last night in Oriel, I think it was Benson, furiously waving McMillan to press the ball. As the Dundalk player was pushing on, and McMillan hadnt, there was a fairly easy out for the UCD defence. It's hard to know whether McMillan just didnt have the legs any more, whether he was running on empty with limited game time, or whether its still just not fully part of his game yet - he would have closed of certain channels in the past but not 'swarm' forward, leaving a hole and trust that it will be plugged without checking if there is actually someone stepping in. Its was a small detail but imo shows that currently the system can break down if even 1 player is not on script or up to it. I think McMillan will gain with games though. *Was 1st half so scrub the running on empty comment.

Another wee thing that grabbed my attention watching the game back on LoITV was Adrian Taaffe noting the number of players that were involved last night and in UCDs last win over Dundalk in 2013. McMillan scored 2 for UCD and Benson the winner, Hoban got Dundalk's 2. Ward and Boyle played for Dundalk with Mountney, Hoban, O'Donnell also playing in 2013 albeit not last night but at Dundalk. Almost a decade on, implies a stability with the squad yet every one of these lads moved on and then back to Oriel.

[nigel-harps1954]

You could have had Benzema up there tonight and it wouldn’t have mattered,20/30 yard gap from the midfield to the striker he hasn’t a hope,Rovers are a good side but we sat far too deep……

It's really frustrating when you have technically excellent players like Héry, McNamee, Connolly and Mihaljevic, and insist on playing 50 yard passes to a 5'8 lone striker, while keeping ten men behind the ball for 90 minutes.

It's utter puke to watch.

[The Bowler]

It's really frustrating when you have technically excellent players like Héry, McNamee, Connolly and Mihaljevic, and insist on playing 50 yard passes to a 5'8 lone striker, while keeping ten men behind the ball for 90 minutes.

It's utter puke to watch.

Same puke at UCD all year, in our case into Whelan (before his injury) who is about same size, for all his brilliance as a finisher isn't going to survive on that crap. We alternated all year between occasionally going long to Whelan but mostly going long to the opposition, who must think all their dreams have come true when a UCD side rocks up and play the polar opposite to every UCD team since the year dot. Myler out 🤮

[Nesta99]

It was a good bit off what ye expect from UCD (bit of a bogey side for us over the years) - handy, well drilled, pass the ball about and give ye a few headaches. Experience and the additional physicality of older players often got ye over the line against UCD. Even the 1st Division UCD that we played most recently in the 2018 semi-final of the Cup on the way to a league and cup double, it was no banker of a draw and did scare bejaysus out of us and were hanging on a bit for a 1-0 win. That 2018 UCD side had plenty of talent, but regardless UCD tend to play with a free abandon. Last night seemed like damage limitation from the start. UCD are always more a development side so i'm not sure where the merit in being so negative is. Maybe apart from confidence issues if hammered but under Collie O'Neill there were some tough results but kept trying to play. Its fairly obvious what Bowler thinks, but other UCD fans, play regardless of results or be very negative trying to hold on for a nil all, smash and grab?

[joey B]

In fairness to UCD it’s nearly impossible for them to compete when they’re best players are gone in June usually,that’s the model they work with and it has its pros and cons,they’re still well in the mix to finish in the play off and that’s as damming indictment of how rubbish we’ve been/are as anything….

[The Bowler]

It was a good bit off what ye expect from UCD (bit of a bogey side for us over the years) - handy, well drilled, pass the ball about and give ye a few headaches. Experience and the additional physicality of older players often got ye over the line against UCD. Even the 1st Division UCD that we played most recently in the 2018 semi-final of the Cup on the way to a league and cup double, it was no banker of a draw and did scare bejaysus out of us and were hanging on a bit for a 1-0 win. That 2018 UCD side had plenty of talent, but regardless UCD tend to play with a free abandon. Last night seemed like damage limitation from the start. UCD are always more a development side so i'm not sure where the merit in being so negative is. Maybe apart from confidence issues if hammered but under Collie O'Neill there were some tough results but kept trying to play. Its fairly obvious what Bowler thinks, but other UCD fans, play regardless of results or be very negative trying to hold on for a nil all, smash and grab?

Nesta completely agree that UCD has always been a development side, and that's why I'm so negative on current set up. Not a single player in that team is developing. Defenders are told go long every time (will never be asked to that anywhere except Caulfield land maybe), midfielders are watching the ball go over their head all day long, and strikers who aren't big or strong enough been asked to play a game completely alien to them. UCD always thrived on a core philosophy of playing the right way, and in doing so, developed players with no fear of trying to play through teams, not over them. Its incredibly short sighted to abandon this, but when you bring in a fella like OConnor as assistant (who is a very poor man's Ollie Horgan) to support a manager who has abandoned decades of football culture, then you will pay for it down the line. I fear a few years in the wilderness after this season. The 19s are poor, they have picked up one win in the last 10 games or so. Tough times coming. No more rants this weekend, Gardens to be mowed !

[The Bowler]

In fairness to UCD it’s nearly impossible for them to compete when they’re best players are gone in June usually,that’s the model they work with and it has its pros and cons,they’re still well in the mix to finish in the play off and that’s as damming indictment of how rubbish we’ve been/are as anything….

were always losing Kerrigan and Whelan this summer, but them aside, this wasn't supposed to be a year where they shed load of players mid season. But 4 or 5 next gen players have walked out, so that's problematic for the future outlook. And agree Joey, the fact we are still in the mix for the playoffs says a lot about this Harps team, any other year the pair of us would have been long since cut adrift at the bottom of the table

[pineapple stu]

The irony of the current style is that Collie O'Neill said a reason he was shown the door was for adapting a more pragmatic, non-UCD style. But that's what we've done this year too...

[sbgawa]

Shelbourne go ahead in Sligo moving up to sixth and pushing bohs down to 7th.
If they win here they are 7 points behind a stuttering PAts with 2 games in hand.
Duff doing a better job then some people were predicting

Seems like a decent vocal traveling support for Shels

[joey B]

3-1 Sligo,Keena top of the goal charts now aswell ,good result for them to take into the European ties….

[sbgawa]

great result for Sligo, they always seem to be on the edge of getting somewhere, maybe this is a start

[Nah Nah Nah Nah]

Well in control till the last 20 and could easily have lost it. McGinty spilled one that rolled right across the goals on the line and then Shels had 2 goals disallowed for offside. Second one looked fine.

[D24Saint]

great result for Sligo, they always seem to be on the edge of getting somewhere, maybe this is a start

I would have thought they were odds on to beat $hels at home. It’s between ourselves and Sligo I’d say for fourth and pray that one on the top three win the cup. Then Bohs will be lurking behind for any slip ups aswell.

[Knocklyonhoop]

All depends on Bohs new signings working out. If they don’t, not a hope of challenging for 4th

[redarmyfaction]

11/8ish on Betfair at KO and that was not over generous, we are fragile, Shels deserved a draw at least, they fairly peppered us in the latter stages and played some nice ball into the bargain, nice to see cos they had a kind of cynical vibe the last few seasons that I seen them. Decent enough travelling support, 250 or so.

[oriel]

Dundalk need to win and put the pressure on Rovers.
I suspect it will be a weak enough Rovers travelling with Europe in mind especially after the wins over Pats and Bohs.
Bohs v Derry is a big game for Derry after finally getting a win at the weekend and they need to push on if they are to challenge.

Galway v Waterford is a massive game in the first division , Waterford on 8 wins in a row can with a win in Galway make themselves the main challenge to Cork.

Pressure for what ? We won't be winning the league, said many times before, europe was the target pre-season, it still is, now that part is certainly looking good, but it will be neck and neck with Derry to clinch 2nd spot.

If we qualify for europe that will be a super achievement, obviously easier to do that by keeping 2nd place, but 15 games to go.

As for last night, dismal first half, second 45 a little better, the 3rd goal could be important for end of season matters.

[oriel]

I would have thought they were odds on to beat $hels at home. It’s between ourselves and Sligo I’d say for fourth and pray that one on the top three win the cup. Then Bohs will be lurking behind for any slip ups aswell.

I would think Pats should be the better equipped to finish 4th, I don't see either of Dundalk or Derry moving outside the top 3. That said Sligo are on a decent bit of form, doing well and into the right time too for Europe and when the league starts taking a consistent shape.

[sbgawa]

Pressure for what ? We won't be winning the league, said many times before, europe was the target pre-season, it still is, now that part is certainly looking good, but it will be neck and neck with Derry to clinch 2nd spot.

If we qualify for europe that will be a super achievement, obviously easier to do that by keeping 2nd place, but 15 games to go.

As for last night, dismal first half, second 45 a little better, the 3rd goal could be important for end of season matters.

Do you think that's what SOD is saying behind closed doors. "Lads I know if we win our games in hand we are only 4 points behind but we can't win the league rovers are too good "
Baloney he is telling them that rovers are going to be distracted by europe and they have a shout fir the league.
Saying u have no chance of winning the league is just a way of avoiding taking responsibility for what happens