IT WAS JUST before two o’clock in the early hours of this morning – 12 hours after heading on the road for Belfast – when The Beat made it back to bed after watching Shelbourne deliver a masterclass against Linfield in Windsor Park.
It was a routine victory of historic proportions.
Qualification to the league phase of the Uefa Conference League was secured in emphatic fashion.
Watching the Shels players, staff and management celebrate together below the 1,200 travelling supporters housed in the second tier of the stand above was a moment of glorious connection.
The club’s decision to lay on an additional two buses to the 10 in the official party to ensure those that made their own way up for the game could get back to Dublin was welcomed. Small gestures like that make a big difference for match-going fans.
Once those history makers in red shirts took all of the acclaim it was time for their evergreen kitman to savour the moment with a jig on the Windsor Park pitch. From the depths of the First Division and close to financial ruin to the millions – €3.8m at least – now on offer in European club competition, Johnny Watson has seen it all.
For the next few minutes those supporters sang in unison. ‘There’s only one Johnny Watson.’
That was echoing around this corner of Belfast because he is one of their own. A man of dedication and lifelong loyalty and a willingness to suffer through the anguish in the hope of experiencing any kind of moments like this. Not justification for the toil, but a reward to revitalise the spirit.
There is not a football fan who cannot relate, and it was those same traits, not to mention a few others, that encapsulated the essence of Ollie Horgan, and why his passing led to a united front throughout the League of Ireland to pay their respects in the hours before kick off as news of his death emerged.
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So many stories were shared, and examples of his unflinching devotion to the game in this country pored out. He was the type of coach and manager that would travel the ends of the earth to find a player and then go even further to make them feel at home, that they belonged. As Finn Harps manager, he was once prepared to venture to Madagascar to secure the signing of Bastien Hery as he had been informed by a player that that French-born midfielder was staying his father there. Logistics were made easier when it turned out Hery actually lived in Bray with his partner.
Getting to watch Ollie Horgan in action up close during a Galway United training session ahead of last season was a joy, commanding the 11 v 11 game and covering every blade of grass with a whistle in his mouth and beanie hat on his head.
He encouraged, he cajoled and he provided the Galway players with clear and concise instruction about where exactly they needed to be once in and out of possession.
It was meticulous.
Once the Shels dressing room had begun to wind down their celebrations, Joey O’Brien spoke with decency about Ollie Horgan’s legacy.
“It’s a magical night, touching on Ollie passing away, I think it’s a real fitting night for Irish football, and maybe a fitting night for him and a fitting tribute to him as well. I’ve had a few texts with him over the last few weeks. Such a great man. Please God his family are all right. Maybe he’s smiling down.”
Thoughts of the other element of this historic night for League of Ireland football were never far away.
The fact Shamrock Rovers’ playoff with Santa Clara kicked off 15 minutes after Shels in Belfast meant there was some anxious refreshing of news feeds until the final score was confirmed.
Unbeaten against Santa Clara – who finished fifth in Portugal last season – with a goalless draw in Tallaght after a 2-1 win in Azores, ensured that two teams would progress together to today’s draw (midday). It’s a shared achievement that makes the league once derided as Irish football’s problem child by former FAI CEO John Delaney stand proud and tall among peers throughout Europe.
He may now be an outcast in Irish football, but the after affects of his tenure were evident again this week with the FAI – €40 million in debt – announcing voluntary redundancies for staff while also looking to finalise the appoint of former Rovers CEO John Martin as its new chief football officer to replace Marc Canham, as revealed by The 42.
An audit of League of Ireland academies on Wednesday also laid bare the vast work that needs to be done to simply catch up with countries ranked 55th to 100 by FIFA when it comes to player development.
And yet. Shels and Rovers delivered on the pitch to highlight how much more could be possible for the sustained growth of the professional game in this country should an injection of funding in October’s budget be forthcoming and utilised with the kind of precision that was laid out by LOI Academy Manager Will Clarke.
The Hoops, also on the cusp of a fifth Premier Division title in sixth years, will compete in back to back editions of the Conference League and for the third time in four seasons.
Stephen Bradley has transformed the club and moulded the squad into one of impressive pedigree. They are smart and patient and backboned by quality as well as total belief in their principles of play.
This has all been achieved during a time of immense personal struggle for the manager, one which saw an emotional release of that pressure when his 11-year-old son Josh rang the bell in Crumlin Children’s Hospital to signal the successful end of his cancer treatment before the first leg with Santa Clara.
Josh celebrated with his father at full time in Tallaght after making sure he was under no illusions of the demands.
“Josh said to me beforehand ‘you better win cos I want to go on the pitch and celebrate with the fans’,” Bradley said.
His story is already one of the most endearing in modern Irish sport. Signed by Arsenal as a teenager, a vicious attack during a burglary on his home sped up his exit after already losing the fire to make the most of his talents. He returned to the League of Ireland and retired in his late 20s. He could have disappeared from sight but instead sought to make everyone see what the future could hold for the game in this country.
Bradley is only 40 so there should be so much more to come.
He knows that life is delicate and precious, but where there is hope and endeavour there can also be nights like this one to keep you believing of the better days to come for Irish football.
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League of Ireland provides inspiration and hope for a better future
IT WAS JUST before two o’clock in the early hours of this morning – 12 hours after heading on the road for Belfast – when The Beat made it back to bed after watching Shelbourne deliver a masterclass against Linfield in Windsor Park.
It was a routine victory of historic proportions.
Qualification to the league phase of the Uefa Conference League was secured in emphatic fashion.
Watching the Shels players, staff and management celebrate together below the 1,200 travelling supporters housed in the second tier of the stand above was a moment of glorious connection.
The club’s decision to lay on an additional two buses to the 10 in the official party to ensure those that made their own way up for the game could get back to Dublin was welcomed. Small gestures like that make a big difference for match-going fans.
Once those history makers in red shirts took all of the acclaim it was time for their evergreen kitman to savour the moment with a jig on the Windsor Park pitch. From the depths of the First Division and close to financial ruin to the millions – €3.8m at least – now on offer in European club competition, Johnny Watson has seen it all.
For the next few minutes those supporters sang in unison. ‘There’s only one Johnny Watson.’
That was echoing around this corner of Belfast because he is one of their own. A man of dedication and lifelong loyalty and a willingness to suffer through the anguish in the hope of experiencing any kind of moments like this. Not justification for the toil, but a reward to revitalise the spirit.
There is not a football fan who cannot relate, and it was those same traits, not to mention a few others, that encapsulated the essence of Ollie Horgan, and why his passing led to a united front throughout the League of Ireland to pay their respects in the hours before kick off as news of his death emerged.
So many stories were shared, and examples of his unflinching devotion to the game in this country pored out. He was the type of coach and manager that would travel the ends of the earth to find a player and then go even further to make them feel at home, that they belonged. As Finn Harps manager, he was once prepared to venture to Madagascar to secure the signing of Bastien Hery as he had been informed by a player that that French-born midfielder was staying his father there. Logistics were made easier when it turned out Hery actually lived in Bray with his partner.
Getting to watch Ollie Horgan in action up close during a Galway United training session ahead of last season was a joy, commanding the 11 v 11 game and covering every blade of grass with a whistle in his mouth and beanie hat on his head.
He encouraged, he cajoled and he provided the Galway players with clear and concise instruction about where exactly they needed to be once in and out of possession.
It was meticulous.
Once the Shels dressing room had begun to wind down their celebrations, Joey O’Brien spoke with decency about Ollie Horgan’s legacy.
“It’s a magical night, touching on Ollie passing away, I think it’s a real fitting night for Irish football, and maybe a fitting night for him and a fitting tribute to him as well. I’ve had a few texts with him over the last few weeks. Such a great man. Please God his family are all right. Maybe he’s smiling down.”
Thoughts of the other element of this historic night for League of Ireland football were never far away.
The fact Shamrock Rovers’ playoff with Santa Clara kicked off 15 minutes after Shels in Belfast meant there was some anxious refreshing of news feeds until the final score was confirmed.
Unbeaten against Santa Clara – who finished fifth in Portugal last season – with a goalless draw in Tallaght after a 2-1 win in Azores, ensured that two teams would progress together to today’s draw (midday). It’s a shared achievement that makes the league once derided as Irish football’s problem child by former FAI CEO John Delaney stand proud and tall among peers throughout Europe.
He may now be an outcast in Irish football, but the after affects of his tenure were evident again this week with the FAI – €40 million in debt – announcing voluntary redundancies for staff while also looking to finalise the appoint of former Rovers CEO John Martin as its new chief football officer to replace Marc Canham, as revealed by The 42.
An audit of League of Ireland academies on Wednesday also laid bare the vast work that needs to be done to simply catch up with countries ranked 55th to 100 by FIFA when it comes to player development.
And yet. Shels and Rovers delivered on the pitch to highlight how much more could be possible for the sustained growth of the professional game in this country should an injection of funding in October’s budget be forthcoming and utilised with the kind of precision that was laid out by LOI Academy Manager Will Clarke.
The Hoops, also on the cusp of a fifth Premier Division title in sixth years, will compete in back to back editions of the Conference League and for the third time in four seasons.
Stephen Bradley has transformed the club and moulded the squad into one of impressive pedigree. They are smart and patient and backboned by quality as well as total belief in their principles of play.
This has all been achieved during a time of immense personal struggle for the manager, one which saw an emotional release of that pressure when his 11-year-old son Josh rang the bell in Crumlin Children’s Hospital to signal the successful end of his cancer treatment before the first leg with Santa Clara.
Josh celebrated with his father at full time in Tallaght after making sure he was under no illusions of the demands.
“Josh said to me beforehand ‘you better win cos I want to go on the pitch and celebrate with the fans’,” Bradley said.
His story is already one of the most endearing in modern Irish sport. Signed by Arsenal as a teenager, a vicious attack during a burglary on his home sped up his exit after already losing the fire to make the most of his talents. He returned to the League of Ireland and retired in his late 20s. He could have disappeared from sight but instead sought to make everyone see what the future could hold for the game in this country.
Bradley is only 40 so there should be so much more to come.
He knows that life is delicate and precious, but where there is hope and endeavour there can also be nights like this one to keep you believing of the better days to come for Irish football.
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League of Ireland LOI Shamrock Rovers Shelbourne Stephen Bradley THE BEAT Uefa conference league