THE LEAGUE OF IRELAND occasionally fails to ignite on a Friday night, and series three, sadly, was one of those weekends, with just six goals in five Premier Division games.
Three of the quintet of games ended scoreless, with just three teams out of 10 registering goals. And apart from the entertaining 2-2 draw at Hunky Dory Park, it was an uninspiring weekend.
Goals were expected at Oriel Park where Dundalk hosted Bohemians. If the Gypsies are to take any honours this year it’ll be Pat Fenlon who deserves the plaudits, because while the squad is far weaker than recent years at Dalymount Park, his tactical astuteness has given Bohs an extra dimension, and it was evident again in Louth.
Undoubtedly Bohs earned an ugly draw, but the way Fenlon set out his side meant that while far from aesthetically pleasing for those that paid money to watch it, there must have been something very satisfying about the point for the manager. Bohs stifled Dundalk in midfield, and knowing the potency of their attack so well – Jason Byrne and Mark Quigley both played under him in Phibsboro – Bohs did a great job of shutting out Dundalk.
There might have been a slight element of luck to the draw too, as Aidan Price got away with taking Daniel Kearns down five minutes from time, with the bulk of the Dundalk support crying for a penalty that wasn’t given by Damien Hancock.
Graham Rusk missed a penalty for UCD away to a dull Galway United, as it finished scoreless at Terryland Park, while Sligo Rovers were held away to Bray in a disappointing result for Paul Cook’s side.
Hoop Dreams
Of course, that all capped off another great weekend for the champions. Shamrock Rovers came out of a sticky test at home to St Pat’s with ease in front of a bumper crowd of almost 6,000 at Tallaght. An early Chris Turner goal got them off to a terrific start and despite another missed penalty, from Gary McCabe on the verge of half-time, Ken Oman turned up nine minutes from the end to move them two points clear of Bohs and five clear of the rest.
The other game at least saw goals scored, Drogheda United coming back from two goals down to get their first point of the season at home to Derry City, although Stephen Kenny was quite unhappy with how sloppy his team were in closing out the game; Eamon Zayed and Gareth McGlynn had given them a comfortable lead.
Colin O’Brien netted Drogheda’s first goal of the season just after the hour mark, before David Freeman struck the equaliser two minutes later from the penalty spot to send the bulk of the measly crowd of 900 home satisfied.
There was no dosage of boredom served up in the First Division though, with goals in all five games as Cork City moved out on top early on by the narrowest of margins thanks to Derek O’Brien’s first half goal which defeated Limerick.
Shelbourne were quite impressive going forward at home to Wexford Youths, winning 4-2, and they moved just a point behind Cork with a game in hand, while Mervue United suffered their first defeat of the season away to Longford Town, despite leading until the 77th minute, as Eric Browne hit his second own goal in the space of eight days.
At Finn Park, Kevin McHugh and Eric Foley swapped a brace of goals each, where Monaghan United brought a 2-2 draw back from Donegal against a sturdy Finn Harps, while Salthill Devon rounded off the weekend with a 1-1 draw against ten-man Athlone Town.
Goals were expected at Oriel Park, where Dundalk hosted Bohemians. If the Gypsies are to take any honours this year, then it’ll be Pat Fenlon who deserves the plaudits, because while the squad is far weaker than recent years at Dalymount Park, his tactical astuteness has given Bohs an extra dimension, and it was evident again in Louth.
Undoubtedly Bohs got an ugly draw, but the way Fenlon set his side out meant that while far from aesthetically pleasing for those that paid money to watch it, there must have been something very satisfying about the point for the manager. Bohs stifled Dundalk in the midfield, and knowing the potency of their attack so well – Jason Byrne and Mark Quigley both played under him in Phibsboro – Bohs did a great job of shutting Dundalk out.
There might have been a slight element of luck to the draw too, as Aidan Price got away with taking Daniel Kearns down five minutes from time, with the bulk of the Dundalk support crying for a penalty that wasn’t given by Damien Hancock.
Graham Rusk missed a penalty for UCD away to a dull Galway United, as it finished scoreless at Terryland Park, while Sligo Rovers were held away to Bray in a disappointing result for Paul Cook’s side.
Of course, that all capped off another great weekend for the champions. Shamrock Rovers came out of a sticky test at home to St Pat’s with ease in front of a bumper crowd of almost 6,000 at Tallaght. An early Chris Turner goal got them off to a terrific start and despite another missed penalty, from Gary McCabe on the verge of half-time, Ken Oman turned up nine minutes from the end to move them two points clear of Bohs and five clear of the rest.
The other game at least saw goals scored, Drogheda United coming back from two goals down to get their first point of the season at home to Derry City, although Stephen Kenny was quite unhappy with how sloppy his team were in closing out the game, after Eamon Zayed and Gareth McGlynn had given them a comfortable lead.
Colin O’Brien netted Drogheda’s first goal of the season just after the hour mark, before David Freeman struck the equaliser two minutes later from the penalty spot to send the bulk of the measly crowd of 900 home satisfied.
There was no dosage of boredom served up in the First Division though, with goals in all five games as Cork City moved out on top early on by the narrowest of margins thanks to Derek O’Brien’s first half goal which defeated Limerick.
Shelbourne were quite impressive going forward at home to Wexford Youths, winning 4-2, and they moved just a point behind Cork with a game in hand, while Mervue United suffered their first defeat of the season away to Longford Town, despite leading until the 77th minute, as Eric Browne hit his second own goal in the space of eight days.
At Finn Park, Kevin McHugh and Eric Foley swapped a brace of goals each, where Monaghan United brought a 2-2 draw back from Donegal against a sturdy Finn Harps, while Salthill Devon rounded off the weekend with a 1-1 draw against ten-man Athlone Town.
