Updated at 15.30
Goals hard to come by for Drogs
WHILE DUNDALK MARCH on, Drogheda’s freefall continues. They are in a rut but as proved in large parts on Friday – and especially when key men Neil Yadolahi and Sean Thornton are fit – they can be a tough nut to crack. Goalscoring is an issue for Johnny McDonnell, with only Galway United having scored less so far.
Only Daryl Kavanagh is a goalscorer of any kind of repute at United Park. Tiernan Mulvenna has barely played – or scored – for several seasons. The close season loss of Declan O’Brien and Gary O’Neill is already starting to tell.
- Barry Landy
Saints need to stay within touching distance of leaders
There were few, if any, bad challenges during Friday’s game at Richmond Park, but referee Derek Tomney dished out six yellow cards — including the 75th minute dismissal of Lee Desmond, who picked up a second yellow for a tackle on Billy Dennehy. Pat’s manager Liam Buckley wasn’t pleased with the sending-off of his left-back, while Cork City boss John Caulfield seemed unhappy that Pat’s players were — in his opinion — going to ground too easily.
Although it’s still too early to be discussing must-win games, with an eight-point gap between themselves and Dundalk already, St Pat’s could do with a victory at Dalymount Park next week to stay within touching distance of the league leaders. Cork are still unbeaten and they’ve now kept seven consecutive clean sheets in all competitions, but they too could do with a big win on the road to cement their title credentials.
Red card sums up frustrating night for Hoops
Irish international Keith Fahey was shown a second yellow in the dying embers of the game for an apparent dive just outside the Derry penalty area. Referee Paul McLaughlin, who booked him for a petulant kick earlier in the second half, didn’t hesitate in given the frustrated Dubliner his marching orders.
His sending off summed up a frustrating night for Shamrock Rovers who huffed and puffed but couldn’t find a way through a resilient Derry defence on what was a terrible Brandywell surface.
Bohs flying high
Moving up to second in the league shows Bohemians have definitely matured somewhat from last season, and against Longford they rarely looked in trouble. When you look at the spine of their team from Friday’s match, Dean Delany, Roberto Lopes, Keith Buckley and Dean Kelly all played their part in the victory. That being said, their five wins from the opening seven games have been against teams Keith Long would have hoped to be beating at the beginning of the season.
With St Pat’s coming to Dalymount this coming Friday, their credentials will once again be tested, but a win over the current FAI Cup holders would add serious weight to their early season position.
Contentious penalty hands Bit O’Red a first win
Undoubtedly, the main talking point from Sligo’s first league win of the season was the early penalty awarded by referee Neil Doyle. A ball floated in from the right in the fifth minute bobbled its way into the Galway United 18-yard box and when Ger Hanley came to clear with his hands, he crashed into Raf Cretaro, despite getting to the ball.
Bizarrely, the penalty was awarded much to the chagrin of the home fans, a decision that saw United’s bad luck continue – and from the resulting spot-kick Dinny Corcoran got the better of Hanley to score what proved to be the winning goal of the evening. Far from a clear-cut decision, it could prove to be a crucial one come the end of the season as Tommy Dunne’s men slip to the foot of the Premier Division as a result.
Seagulls boss working his Maciej
Bray Wanderers had no points from their first five league games when Maciej Tarnogrodzki was handed the reins on a temporary basis. The Polish caretaker boss has since picked up two victories on the bounce — a 3-1 win over Sligo Rovers and Saturday’s 4-0 hammering of bottom-placed Limerick — to move the Seagulls up to ninth. In contrast, Martin Russell’s side find themselves at the foot of the table and in all sorts of trouble.
- Ben Blake
Originally published at 13.50 on 12 April
