Airtricity League Premier Division
International calls reduced the Airtricity League Premier Division programme to just one contest this Friday evening with Finn Harps playing host to Shamrock Rovers in Finn Park. The visiting ‘Hoops’ made the brave decision to proceed with the fixture despite having three players on International duty and their ambition was rewarded with a one nil victory. The winning goal came courtesy of Greg Bolger with just five minutes remaining on the clock.
P W D L F A G/D Pts
Shamrock Rovers 8 6 1 1 12 2 10 19
Dundalk 6 3 3 0 10 3 7 12
Bohemian 6 3 2 1 5 3 2 11
Cork City 6 3 1 2 8 7 1 10
Derry City 6 2 2 2 7 7 – 8
St Patrick’s Athletic 6 2 2 2 3 4 -1 8
Waterford 6 2 1 3 7 9 -2 7
Sligo Rovers 6 2 1 3 5 8 -3 7
UCD 6 1 1 4 5 9 -4 4
Finn Harps 8 0 2 6 6 16 -10 2
Airtricity League First Division
There were four fixtures played in the Airtricity League First Division this Friday evening. Athlone Town went down to a one nil home defeat by Midland rivals Longford Town while Cobh Ramblers defeated Shelbourne by two goals to one in St Colman’s Park. Galway United lost to the only goal from Drogheda United in Eamonn Deacy Park with struggling Wexford producing the shock of the evening with a two nil victory over Bray Wanderers in Ferrycarrig Park.
The remaining fixture between Cabinteely and Limerick took place at Stradbrook at 2.30pm on Saturday afternoon and saw the visitors emerge victorious by two goals to one.
P W D L F A G/D Pts
Shelbourne 5 3 0 2 11 7 4 9
Bray Wanderers 5 3 0 2 6 3 3 9
Athlone Town 5 3 0 2 6 5 1 9
Longford Town 4 2 2 0 5 1 4 8
Limerick 5 2 2 1 5 4 1 8
Cabinteely 5 2 1 2 9 9 – 7
Drogheda United 5 2 1 2 6 7 -1 7
Cobh Ramblers 5 2 0 3 9 10 -1 6
Galway United 4 1 0 3 6 5 1 3
Wexford 5 1 0 4 5 17 -12 3
U17 International
Our U17 international side continued their preparations for the European Championship Finals in May with the first contest of a double header against visitors Finland in the RSC Waterford this Friday evening. The match ended in a disappointing one nil defeat with Head Coach Colin O’Brien clearly disappointed with the below par performance of his young charges.
The two sides will meet again in Tallaght Stadium at 1pm on Monday afternoon.
Team:
1. Harry Halwax
2. Seamas Keogh [C]
3. James Furlong
5. Anselmo Garcia McNulty
6. Joe Hodge
7. Matt Everitt
9. Joshua Giurgi
10. Conor Carty
11. Ronan McKinley
17. Sean McEvoy
18. Timi Sobowale
Substitutes:
4. Ademipo Odubeko for McEvoy 62′
8. Brandon Holt for Everitt 62′
12. Toby Owens for Hodge 88′
14. Charlie McCann for McKinley 46′
15. Sean Kennedy for Carty 62′
Squad
Goalkeepers: Jimmy Corcoran(Preston North End), Harry Halwax(Derby County)
Defenders: James Furlong(Shamrock Rovers), Sean McEvoy(Ballinamallard United), Anselmo Garcia McNulty(Real Betis), Ademipo Odubeko(Manchester United), Andrew Omobamidele(Norwich City), Timi Sobowale(Manchester City), Luke Turner(Aberdeen)
Midfielders: Joe Hodge(Manchester City), Brandon Holt(St Patrick’s Athletic), Seamas Keogh(Southampton), Charlie McCann(Manchester United), Ronan McKinley(Derry City), Toby Owens(Shamrock Rovers)
Forwards: Conor Carty(Wolverhampton Wanderers), Matt Everitt(Brighton & Hove Albion), Joshua Giurgi(Norwich City), Sean Kennedy(Sunderland)
U18 International
Our newly appointed U18 Head Coach Andy Reid suffered a baptism of fire in his first contest at the helm when our U18 side crashed to a four nil friendly international defeat by hosts Turkey in Istanbul on Thursday morning. The sides are set to meet again at the same venue at 10am (Irish time) on Saturday morning when Andy will be seeking a much improved performance from his charges.
Squad
Goalkeepers: Sean Bohan(Bohemian), Bobby Jones(Wigan Athletic)
Defenders: Eirah Cashin(Derby County), Jaden Charles(Derby County), Max Murphy(Stoke City), Shadrach Ogie(Leyton Orient), Ray O’Sullivan(Wolverhampton Wanderers), Andrew Spain(Shamrock Rovers), Reece Staunton(Bradford City)
Midfielders: Sean Brennan(Longford Town-loan from Southampton), Barry Coffey(Glasgow Celtic), Donal Higgins(Galway United), Adam O’Reilly(Preston North End), Callum Thompson(Wolverhampton Wanderers), Ross Tierney(Bohemian), Louie Watson(West Ham United)
Forwards: Ryan Cassidy(Watford), George Nunn(Chelsea)