News

Brighton & Hove Albion (Shane Duffy) scored the only goal to defeat visitors Wolverhampton Wanderers (Matt Doherty) at the Amex Stadium in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon. Fulham (Cyrus Christie – unused substitute) went down to a three nil defeat at home to AFC Bournemouth while Cardiff City (Greg Cunningham – unused substitute)went down to a four one defeat by Liverpool at Anfield. Southampton (Shane Long) were held to a scoreless draw by visitors Newcastle United at St Mary’s Stadium while the 5.30pm kick-off featured Leicester City in action against visitors West Ham United (Declan Rice, Conor Coventry – unused substitute) which ended in a one all draw with the ‘Hammers’ playing much of the match with ten men, following the dismissal of their captain Mark Noble. 

Championship promotion hopefuls Middlesbrough (Darren Randolph) and Derby County (Richard Keogh) kick-started the Saturday afternoon action when they met at 12.30pm in the Riverside Stadium where they played out a one all draw. Bristol City (Max O’Leary, Callum O’Dowda) went down to a one nil defeat at home to Stoke City (James McClean) at Ashton Gate while The Den hosted the three nil victory for Millwall (Aiden O’Brien, Shaun Williams) over Ipswich Town. Deepdale was the venue for the one all draw between Preston North End (Alan Browne, Callum Robinson, Sean Maguire) and Rotherham United (Ryan Manning, Richie Towell). Promotion chasing Sheffield United (Enda Stevens, David McGoldrick) defeated visitors Wigan Athletic by four goals to two at Bramall Lane while West Bromwich Albion (Wes Hoolihan) were held to a one all draw by visitors Blackburn Rovers (Derrick Williams).
In League One, leaders Portsmouth (Ronan Curtis) were held to a one all draw at Accrington Stanley.  

The final set of fixtures in the Airtricity League Premier Division for the 2018 season took place on Friday evening. Bohemian played out a one all draw with champions Dundalk in Dalymount Park while runners-up Cork City crushed relegated Bray Wanderers by five goals to one in Turner’s Cross with Kieran Sadlier scoring a hat-trick.  Third place Shamrock Rovers went down to a two nil defeat by hosts  Sligo Rovers in the Showgrounds where new manager Liam Buckley was introduced to the crowd at half-time. Fourth place Waterford  defeated relegation play-off bound Limerick by four goals to one in the RSC. Mid-table sides St Patrick’s Athletic and Derry City faced off in Richmond Park with the hosts securing an emphatic five nil success in front of their new manager Harry Kenny.

In form QPR scored the only goal to defeat visitors Aston Villa at Loftus Road in the Championship on Friday evening. The visitors dominated possession but were unable to do much with it in the final third while the successful hosts looked threatening on the counter attack. Glenn Whelan joined the fray on forty one minutes and was solid in central midfield while both Conor Hourihane and Scott Hogan remained on the substitute bench.  

Despite dominating the contest throughout, our Under 17 Women, guided by Head Coach Colin Bell, were held to a scoreless draw by their Welsh counterparts in their second European Championship Group Seven Qualifying contest played this Thursday morning in Stara Pazova, the Sports Centre of the Serbian FA. The result leaves Ireland a little vulnerable as they face the hosts Serbia in their final contest on Sunday afternoon. The hosts, who overcame Albania by eight goals to nil later today at the same venue, defeated Wales by four goals to nil in their opening encounter. 

Bohemian exited the UEFA Youth League following their two one defeat by Danish U19 Champions FC Midtjylland in the second leg of their  first round contest in Dalymount Park this Wednesday evening. Bohemian went down to a two one defeat in the first leg played at the Herning Arena three weeks ago but took the lead two minutes before the half-time break this evening with a penalty converted by Ali Reghba. However, a penalty conceded and scored on fifty five minutes coupled with an own goal after seventy seven minutes spelt an aggregate four two defeat.

The Championship continued on Wednesday evening with Bristol City scoring the only goal in added time to defeat visitors Hull City at Ashton Gate. Callum O’Dowda, having recovered from the head injury sustained on international duty, was introduced from the bench on fifty eight minutes while twenty two year old goalkeeper Max O’Leary retained his place following his excellent performance in the one nil victory at Brentford on Saturday last. The Preston North End duo of Alan Browne, who opened the scoring, and Callum Robinson who scored twice, started with Sean Maguire a last minute substitute in their four three victory over visitors Brentford for whom Alan Judge was introduced  from the bench on seventy six minutes. Wes Hoolihan was an unused substitute for West Bromwich Albion who crashed to a four one home defeat by visitors Derby County for whom Richard Keogh was in his usual centre back position.