THE AIRTRICITY LEAGUE’S flagship highlights programme returned last night after the opening weekend of the Airtricity League season.
Con Murphy may be gone with Peter Collins taking his place but the silver-haired presenter isn’t too far way and will no doubt be keeping an eye on how the lads get on without him throughout the year.
Limerick FC, back in the big leagues for the first time in 19 years, saw their Sunday afternoon Munster derby with Cork City make it to top spot on the running order.
There may not have been any goals to report but we did learn a few things.
First off, Brian Kerr, co-commentating on the day, is clearly a big Beverly Hills Cop fan. The ex-Ireland and Pat’s boss referred to Limerick’s new Belgian attacker Axel Bossekota as Axel Foley – Eddie Murphy’s character in the 80s cop movie.
Decent film, ridiculously catchy theme tune.
Munster fans, who Limerick sharing Thomond with this season, have already got their own Axel Foley…
Coverage of the first game was a little Limerick heavy and this Cork fan expressed his discontent on Twitter.
We move on. Recent arrival Anthony Elding scored the only goal of the game during Sligo’s 1-0 win over Derry City at the Brandywell as the league champions took on the FAI Cup winners. The big frontman (remind anyone else of Jon Walters) has been brought in to fill Mark Quigley’s shoes and got off to a flyer in his Airtricity League debut.
One of the main talking points was referee Neil Doyle’s decision to award Derry with a corner and not a penalty after Michael Rafter was brought down by Gary Doherty. It looked a foul to me and wasn’t the only contentious decision regarding the awarding of penalties last weekend.
At Oriel Park, Dundalk gave an excellent account of themselves by holding Shamrock Rovers to a draw. The visitors were awarded a spot-kick in the second half when Dane Massey took Billy Dennehy’s legs but having watched the replay it looked outside the area.
No matter, as Gary McCabe lost his footing in the run-up and Peter Cherrie made a super save.
Stephen Kenny will take positives after an encouraging performance against his former club with a number of new players shining. Kurtis Byrne has come in from Ross County and could be one of the finds of the season if first impressions are anything to go by.
Next up was Pat’s v Drogheda, which ended in a 1-0 win to the Saints thanks to returning man Shane McFaul’s strike. Here are the highlights:
YouTube credit: UnitedParkDrogheda
Shelbourne’s meeting with Bray saw the Seagulls earn victory with a combination of youth and experience. Kieran Marty Walters was one of their main threats last season and Jason Byrne met his cross to head in his 194th League of Ireland goal.
Paul Crowley was also shown red for this horror tackle. The ex-Drogheda midfielder can have no complaints.
In the final Premier Division game, there was no sentimentality from Chris Lyons who scored from the penalty spot against his old side UCD and went against the recent trend of not celebrating.
Panelist Stewie Byrne had strong words to say about St Patrick’s Athletic, explaining that he doesn’t think Liam Buckley is the man to bring them forward to the next level. Richie Sadlier, meanwhile, warned Shelbourne about their indiscipline and mentioned that UCD are often patronised by followers of the league.
The lads were then joined by Bohs stalwart Owen Heary, who talked about the changes he has witnessed in the league over the years. ”It was all back to front whereas nowadays it’s all about getting the ball down and playing,” Heary said before adding a few words about how players look after themselves a lot better these days.
Unsurprisingly, the defender’s favourite moment from his distinguished career was playing Deportivo La Coruna for Shels in the 2004 Champions League qualifiers.
The FAI Junior Cup draw followed and that was the first episode back wrapped up.
What did you make of last night’s MNS and what are your thoughts on the weekend’s Airtricity League football? Let us know below.
