THE LEAGUE TABLE doesn’t lie.
But it doesn’t tell the full story either. Not right now, at least, as most players begin to enjoy some time off at the beginning of the mid-season break.
Shamrock Rovers are on course for a four-in-a-row of Premier Division titles and UCD are 15 points adrift at the bottom.
Derry City are the Hoops’ closest challengers in second while newly-promoted Cork City find themseleves in the promotion/relegation play-off spot.
It’s exactly as most would have predicted at this point, but it has been far from straightforward.
…
Shamrock Rovers
The champions have a six-point cushion at the top thanks to a three-game winning run which coincided with Derry losing two and drawing two of their last four.
But Stephen Bradley’s side also tasted defeat in back-to-back games in May at home to Drogheda United and away to Cork City.
Not to mention six draws and a third defeat.
The game in Cork saw them have three men sent off in a bizarre encounter at Turner’s Cross – they’ve had seven men sent off in total this term – and the nature of some of these slip ups would suggest there could be more twists to come.
Derry City
After they won the FAI Cup last season, owner Philip O’Doherty said the league title was next in their sights.
At no stage have they been able to maintain any form of consistency to show they are a stronger and more cohesive unit than 2022.
Injuries to key men have played their part while manager Ruaidhrí Higgins has also had to deal with a tragic family bereavement following the death of his brother.
Derry went one-point clear at the top in May when they trounced UCD 4-1 but since then have managed just one goal in four games and that was a consolation in a defeat to St Patrick’s Athletic by the same score line.
If they don’t find consistency then they stand no chance.
St Patrick’s Athletic
Half a season that can be split in two. Under Tim Clancy the Saints struggled to find form and were laboured. Since his departure, they have looked a different side.
His former No.2, Jon Daly, got the job permanently after overseeing an upturn in form but a defeat to Drogheda just before the break is a reminder of old vulnerabilities.
Chris Forrester has 10 goals for the season which has him top of the overall charts, but it does feel that finishing in the top three and delivering a good Cup run will be the height of this team’s capabilities.
Bohemians
Declan Devine gave Bohs fans reason to be giddy over the course of the first couple of months.
They were top of the table and had rediscovered the kind of form and positivity that made them so difficult to play against under Keith Long.
Their form, and results, have tailed off and they are now closer to sixth place Shelbourne (four points clear) than the top (eight adrift).
They are well in the mix for the European fight, though, and the right reinforcements in the summer could prove key to lasting the pace.
Dundalk
Stephen O’Donnell’s side are nine points worse off at this stage as they were in 2022.
Had the Lilywhites’ manager been able to stay on a par with last season’s form, they would be just one point off the league leaders.
Instead, with a leaky defence and a vulnerable midfield, Dundalk are in fifth.
They conceded 30 goals in the whole of last season but are already on 28 this time around.
Question marks over new signings – and the manager from some sections – persist.
Pat Hoban needs one more goal to become the club’s all-time top scorer. He is still their most influential presence and that burden of responsibility will remain in the second part of this campaign.
Shelbourne
A defining moment in the club’s history might just have taken place following last Friday’s announcement of Acun Ilicali’s takeover.
Now part of the Turkish millionaire’s portfolio which includes English Championship side Hull City, Shels are set to be reinvigorated.
Damien Duff’s side team have the best defence in the Premier Division with just 14 goals conceded, but 20 in the ‘for’ column means they have four fewer than second-bottom Cork.
The return of last season’s top scorer, Sean Boyd, will be a huge boost and finding the quality to make the difference in the final third will be the difference.
Drogheda United
They are not a one-man team but one man has still made a significant difference.
Freddie Draper’s eight goals, and ability to lead the line in attack, has proved crucial for manager Kevin Doherty.
The on-loan striker is set to return to Lincoln City when the League One club begin their pre-season schedule in July.
It would be a considerable blow to lose their talisman, especially when they are only two points clear of the relegation/promotion play-off spot so by no means safe.
Sligo Rovers
In the eight games leading to the break, the Bit O’Red managed just two wins.
From May 1 to 9 June they also only managed to score three times.
That is not the kind of form that can continue for boss John Russell.
Max Mata started the campaign in stunning fashion up top and that early form means he is still second in the scoring charts on nine goals.
But it is not difficult to trace where the dip began. The New Zealand international’s last goal was on 1 May, the kind of drought which is always likely for any striker but really shouldn’t lead to such a collective drop off.
Of their 23 points, only seven have come in the time Mata hasn’t scored.
Something has to give.
Cork City
So far, this season will be remembered by most for the fact the club issued lifetime bans to two supporters who sang disgraceful songs to Stephen Bradley about his nine-year-old son battling cancer.
The fundraising (north of €10,000) for charity which followed from Cork fans is a far more positive representation of a support base that has made Turner’s Cross a venue to be reckoned with once again.
Five of their six wins have come on Leeside while Colin Healy’s resignation as manager followed soon after the appointment of Liam Buckley as director of football in early May.
No sense of drift can be allowed set in or a play-off battle awaits.
UCD
The easiest thing to do is kick a team when they are down.
And UCD are most certainly down.
Life back in the First Division awaits with a paltry six points from 20 games.
Ireland Under-17 international Daniel Babb may be one of the current crop to depart for a bigger stage but so far it has proven to be too testing a task for Andy Myler’s side.
Their sole win came at home to Cork on 14 April – a first-minute goal from Ciaran Behan enough.
UCD took the lead in four other games – Sligo, Bohs, Drogheda and Dundalk – but lost them all.
Against Sligo they twice went in front before losing 3-2.
Maybe if they managed to hold out in those games they’d have given themselves hope. But even that’s clutching at straws.