Bohemians' Derek Prendergast celebrates his equalising goal against Shamrock Rovers. Donall Farmer / INPHO
Donall Farmer / INPHO / INPHO
Rovers finally beaten as Bohs take another big scalp
In the space of eight days, Bohemians managed to take out the Premier Division’s two remaining undefeated teams. Having beaten champions Dundalk at Oriel Park last week, the Gypsies came from behind to score three times in the last 14 minutes en route to a 3-1 win over bitter rivals Shamrock Rovers at Dalymount Park. It was a costly defeat for Rovers, who are now four points adrift of second-placed Cork City and seven behind leaders Dundalk, who also have a game in hand. Bohemians won’t win the title but with wins like these last two, Keith Long’s side could have a big say in who does.
– Paul Dollery
Has anyone seen Owen Heary?
Dundalk returned to winning ways in Sligo, but the main talking point at the Showgrounds was the whereabouts of Owen Heary. Is he still Sligo Rovers’ manager? It’s anybody’s guess at this stage. Speculation emerged last week suggesting that he had been sacked but there has been no announcement from the club as of yet. There was no sign of the Dubliner at Friday’s game, with Joseph Ndo seemingly taking the reins instead. Where does that leave Sligo Rovers? The players seemed fired up at the start of the game but ran out of steam in the second-half. Whether or not Heary will be back in the dugout shortly remains to be seen. The situation is far from ideal, and with the Bit o’Red really struggling at the bottom end of the table, it needs to be resolved sooner rather than later.
Advertisement
– Jessica Farry
Sligo Rovers' (former?) manager Owen Heary wasn't at the Showgrounds on Friday. Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
New arrivals showing the old order how it’s done
Credit has to be given to both Galway United and Longford Town for the professionalism and quality they’ve displayed since their promotion to the top tier of Irish football this season. Sitting in the middle of the table, the two teams have shown that passion and determination can overcome experience, with Derry City, Sligo Rovers and Bray Wanderers all struggling below them. Change is important for the progression of the league so new teams and different standings will do no harm.
– Michael Spencer
There’s no sugar-coating how bad the Candystripes have been
Derry City are now without a league win in eight games. They’ve won just three matches all season — the same number as Bray and two fewer than Friday’s opponents Drogheda United. In 17 matches, Peter Hutton’s men have scored just 12 times. Only Bray have found the net on fewer occasions (11). Clearly, the respective close-season losses of Rory Patterson and Michael Duffy have been a huge blow to the Candystripes, but the manager’s failure to fill those gaps has left Derry deep in the mire. Cillian Morrison has failed to score a league goal since his signing and Patrick McEleney hasn’t found the net either. Patterson and Duffy bagged 35 goals between them in 2014. That loss is more than enough to prove the difference between mid-table security and a potential relegation play-off.
– Barry Landy
Pat’s finally showing some consistency
Goalscorer Christy Fagan is congratulated by St Pat's team-mates James Chambers and Conor McCormack. Morgan Treacy / INPHO
Morgan Treacy / INPHO / INPHO
It’s possible that St Patrick’s Athletic may already have fallen too far behind to mount a title challenge, but this recent spell of four consecutive wins has been their best of the season. They’ve responded well since dropping back-to-back defeats against Bray Wanderers and Dundalk last month, and the quality is in their squad to keep this good running going after the break. The outlook isn’t quite so positive for Limerick, who remain winless after 16 games.
– Paul Dollery
Cork City continue to deliver results, but not performances
Can John Caulfield’s side keep getting better results than their performances deserve? It’s a hoary old cliché now that the sign of a good team is to win despite not playing well — if it’s true then some Cork City fans will claim that they deserve to win the European Cup as they qualify to be a very good team indeed under that criterion. City didn’t play well at Turner’s Cross on Friday but beat Bray Wanderers 1-0 to stay three points behind leaders Dundalk. Some fans are getting restless, though, preferring to see good football as well as victories. If and when a below-par performance is matched with a poor result, will they begin to get impatient?
Has anyone seen Owen Heary? It's our SSE Airtricity League talking points
Rovers finally beaten as Bohs take another big scalp
In the space of eight days, Bohemians managed to take out the Premier Division’s two remaining undefeated teams. Having beaten champions Dundalk at Oriel Park last week, the Gypsies came from behind to score three times in the last 14 minutes en route to a 3-1 win over bitter rivals Shamrock Rovers at Dalymount Park. It was a costly defeat for Rovers, who are now four points adrift of second-placed Cork City and seven behind leaders Dundalk, who also have a game in hand. Bohemians won’t win the title but with wins like these last two, Keith Long’s side could have a big say in who does.
– Paul Dollery
Has anyone seen Owen Heary?
Dundalk returned to winning ways in Sligo, but the main talking point at the Showgrounds was the whereabouts of Owen Heary. Is he still Sligo Rovers’ manager? It’s anybody’s guess at this stage. Speculation emerged last week suggesting that he had been sacked but there has been no announcement from the club as of yet. There was no sign of the Dubliner at Friday’s game, with Joseph Ndo seemingly taking the reins instead. Where does that leave Sligo Rovers? The players seemed fired up at the start of the game but ran out of steam in the second-half. Whether or not Heary will be back in the dugout shortly remains to be seen. The situation is far from ideal, and with the Bit o’Red really struggling at the bottom end of the table, it needs to be resolved sooner rather than later.
– Jessica Farry
New arrivals showing the old order how it’s done
Credit has to be given to both Galway United and Longford Town for the professionalism and quality they’ve displayed since their promotion to the top tier of Irish football this season. Sitting in the middle of the table, the two teams have shown that passion and determination can overcome experience, with Derry City, Sligo Rovers and Bray Wanderers all struggling below them. Change is important for the progression of the league so new teams and different standings will do no harm.
– Michael Spencer
There’s no sugar-coating how bad the Candystripes have been
Derry City are now without a league win in eight games. They’ve won just three matches all season — the same number as Bray and two fewer than Friday’s opponents Drogheda United. In 17 matches, Peter Hutton’s men have scored just 12 times. Only Bray have found the net on fewer occasions (11). Clearly, the respective close-season losses of Rory Patterson and Michael Duffy have been a huge blow to the Candystripes, but the manager’s failure to fill those gaps has left Derry deep in the mire. Cillian Morrison has failed to score a league goal since his signing and Patrick McEleney hasn’t found the net either. Patterson and Duffy bagged 35 goals between them in 2014. That loss is more than enough to prove the difference between mid-table security and a potential relegation play-off.
– Barry Landy
Pat’s finally showing some consistency
It’s possible that St Patrick’s Athletic may already have fallen too far behind to mount a title challenge, but this recent spell of four consecutive wins has been their best of the season. They’ve responded well since dropping back-to-back defeats against Bray Wanderers and Dundalk last month, and the quality is in their squad to keep this good running going after the break. The outlook isn’t quite so positive for Limerick, who remain winless after 16 games.
– Paul Dollery
Cork City continue to deliver results, but not performances
Can John Caulfield’s side keep getting better results than their performances deserve? It’s a hoary old cliché now that the sign of a good team is to win despite not playing well — if it’s true then some Cork City fans will claim that they deserve to win the European Cup as they qualify to be a very good team indeed under that criterion. City didn’t play well at Turner’s Cross on Friday but beat Bray Wanderers 1-0 to stay three points behind leaders Dundalk. Some fans are getting restless, though, preferring to see good football as well as victories. If and when a below-par performance is matched with a poor result, will they begin to get impatient?
– Denis Hurley
Explainer: What Ireland now need to do to qualify for Euro 2016
O’Neill remains optimistic, defends Hoolahan substitution
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
SSE Airtricity League Premier Division Hot Topics League of Ireland LOI Soccer