Games weekend September 5th

[culloty82]

Premier Division:
Shelbourne vs Galway United (Sun)

First Division (all Friday 19:45):
Bray Wanderers vs Athlone Town
Kerry FC vs Cobh Ramblers
Longford Town vs Finn Harps
Treaty United vs UCD
Wexford FC vs Dundalk

[culloty82]

Must-win game for the champions if they're to have any prospect of European football in 2026, while for the Tribesmen, the tight battle with Sligo over the relegation playoff continues.

In the First, should be a relatively routine win for Dundalk, given Wexford's wretched form of late, while Cobh's visit to Tralee could be tricky, with the visitors aiming to close the title gap, but the Kingdom still have ambitions of overtaking Wexford and possibly Treaty. Harps are now firm favourites to finish fifth, but Bishopsgate is a tricky venue for any First Division visitors. Finally, Treaty vs UCD looks an evenly balanced tie, but form narrowly suggests the Students may have the edge.

[sbgawa]

Fancy Shels to win they will be on a serious high with all the Moola coming their way now
Treaty need a result like a drowning man needs a lifebelt, UCD are better away then at home not a great combination for them.

[Nesta99]

Dundalk will be missing underage internationals, 4 or 5 I think currently. Dont think we are carrying injuries. The way we are relying on the better young players its a big miss and an opportunity for Wexford even with sketchy form and some pressure on Dundalk after dropping 2 points. Can Cobh make an opportunity count or can Kerry disrupt like they did last Friday.

[2 Year Contract]

Dundalk will be missing underage internationals, 4 or 5 I think currently. Dont think we are carrying injuries. The way we are relying on the better young players its a big miss and an opportunity for Wexford even with sketchy form and some pressure on Dundalk after dropping 2 points. Can Cobh make an opportunity count or can Kerry disrupt like they did last Friday.

I saw Kilduff’s comments about the inability to get the game postponed because they’re a first division side. Ridiculous stuff and that rule needs to be changed asap by the FAI

[total hoofball]

First Division games have been previously postponed before due to International call-ups. Is Dundalk's problem because they are getting hit with underage U17 and U19 call ups when the criteria for postponement has been two call-ups for either ROI or NI at U21 or Senior levels?

https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/...-40719111.html

https://www.leagueofireland.ie/news/...irst-division/

[nigel-harps1954]

First Division games have been previously postponed before due to International call-ups. Is Dundalk's problem because they are getting hit with underage U17 and U19 call ups when the criteria for postponement has been two call-ups for either ROI or NI at U21 or Senior levels?

https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/...-40719111.html

That's precisely the issue. Harps have the same problem this weekend with Gavin McAteer, Josh Cullen and Corey Sheridan all missing Fridays game away to Longford due to international callups. McAteer and Cullen would likely have been starting, and with Oisin Cooney gone to Burnley, we're left with under-20 sub keeper Ryan McConnell filling the bench now in the goalkeeper department.

[total hoofball]

That's a tough one with First Division teams getting younger and younger but then if you start postponing LOI games for U17/U19 call-ups then what's to stop Premier Division clubs in poor form requesting sham postponements for fringe squad players getting underage call ups

[Nesta99]

Im sure that the rules could include some common sense - players that have x amount of 1st team appearances or registered eg. Or just llow an individual case be heard, it'd be obvious if a club is messing compared to a club who can show that they have 2 1st team regulars called up. The FAI would be sensible about it!!

[Onapointoforder]

Must-win game for the champions if they're to have any prospect of European football in 2026, while for the Tribesmen, the tight battle with Sligo over the relegation playoff continues.

In the First, should be a relatively routine win for Dundalk, given Wexford's wretched form of late, while Cobh's visit to Tralee could be tricky, with the visitors aiming to close the title gap, but the Kingdom still have ambitions of overtaking Wexford and possibly Treaty. Harps are now firm favourites to finish fifth, but Bishopsgate is a tricky venue for any First Division visitors. Finally, Treaty vs UCD looks an evenly balanced tie, but form narrowly suggests the Students may have the edge.

Wexford a shadow of last season’s team…

[nr637]

Sign all the shadows back!

[sbgawa]

Toddling along to Bray tonight to see if the Yanks are putting on a half time show (from North Korea to the USA in one leap)
One of the guys (Goldstein) runs an agency specialising in Soth American players so maybe they are planning on doing an Irish version of Santa Clara and Bray will soon have a dozen Brazilians lining out for them.
Considering how Baltic Bray is at times with the winf blowing in off the sea we can confidently expect to see plenty of gloves and snoods.
Be gas altogether is Bray start the playoffs with a half dozen out of contract Brazilians, 9th spot in the Prem shpould be worried

[dundalkfc10]

Toddling along to Bray tonight to see if the Yanks are putting on a half time show (from North Korea to the USA in one leap)
One of the guys (Goldstein) runs an agency specialising in Soth American players so maybe they are planning on doing an Irish version of Santa Clara and Bray will soon have a dozen Brazilians lining out for them.
Considering how Baltic Bray is at times with the winf blowing in off the sea we can confidently expect to see plenty of gloves and snoods.
Be gas altogether is Bray start the playoffs with a half dozen out of contract Brazilians, 9th spot in the Prem shpould be worried

Just on the weather in Bray, I've been following Dundalk for over 30 years now and must have been in Bray upto 50 times
When we played there recently it was an absolute sorcher of a day, and the beach front was full of Dundalk fans from early afternoon drinking cans

It's the only time I've ever had shorts and a t-shirt on in the Carlisle Grounds, and not about 4 layers of clothing

I must also said the bar behind the goals is a great job, and whoever is getting the profit from it made some money that night

[Onapointoforder]

[QUOTE=nr637;2230430]Sign all the shadows back![/QUOTE
Yeah, it wouldn’t do any harm…think they’d be comfortably in the play-off positions??

[culloty82]

The one thing we do know so far tonight is that Athlone's mathematical window to avoid the basement is growing ever narrower.

[Onapointoforder]

The one thing we do know so far tonight is that Athlone's mathematical window to avoid the basement is growing ever narrower.

But they’ll avoid the drop !!! There’s certainly been no ‘new manager’ bounce at Athlone… has Ian Ryan just given up?… or is he just waiting for a clean slate for next season? His star has fallen further than Athlone !
!

[joey B]

Really bad ending in both games for us,playoffs back out to a long shot …..

[brendy_éire]

Watched Longford-Harps tonight, and despite some of the poor moments, I actually enjoyed the game.
Should have been a goal or two in that first half, and maybe a sending off for Bradley-Walsh.
Harps finally got a goal on after 70 odd minutes, but fair play to Longford who kept plugging away to get the equaliser. It doesn't do them much good though, they needed to win that.
Harps will be raging to give up that lead late on, and then moreso to see Treaty get a late winner against UCD.

Dundalk drop points away to Wexford, Cobh do the same away to Kerry. Dundalk will stumble over the line in this league, it seems, with Cobh, who have had enough chances to close the gap, to get dumped out in the playoffs by the PD team.

[nigel-harps1954]

Really bad ending in both games for us,playoffs back out to a long shot …..

We're only three points behind.

Really rubbish game in Longford and a poor Harps performance. Really missing the young lads away on international duty and the experience of Conor Tourish at the back was a huge loss too.

On a plus side, we're now six unbeaten and only one loss in the last nine games. Late goals a real achilles heel though. 85th minute winner by Wexford, 98th minute equaliser by Bray, and now an 87th minute equaliser by Longford. Five points dropped late in games over the last month.

[culloty82]

Consecutive draws against the top two for Kerry, and only one defeat in the last seven matches, so slowly, but surely, Healy is building his project. It may be too late for any meaningful league impact this season (though Wexford are within reach), but based on the current form, the playoffs very much have to be the target for 2026.