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Sunday
Struggling Norwich City included Andrew Omobamidele in their starting eleven with Adam Idah introduced from their substitute bench on 77 minutes as they suffered a two one Premier League defeat by Leeds United at Carrow Road  early this Sunday afternoon. Nineteen year old Omobamidele, playing in an unfamiliar left side of a back three, had a torrid afternoon but stuck manfully to the arduous challenge of containing the visitors Brazilian Raphinha, while also scoring the ‘Canaries’ goal, his first in the Premier League, with an excellent header following a corner kick.   

Josh Cullen and his RSC Anderlecht colleagues were held to a two all home draw by Oud-Heverlee Leuven in the Belgian First Division this Sunday afternoon.

U21 midfielder Ryan Johansson started for Fortuna Sittard who went down to a four three defeat at Go Ahead Eagles in the Dutch Eredivisie on Sunday evening.

Saturday
Burnley, who started  the day in the bottom three, moved up one place, perhaps temporarily, with a three one victory over visitors Brentford at Turf Moor in the Premier League this Saturday afternoon. The ‘Clarets’ named Nathan Collins, who has garnered many plaudits for his recent performances on their substitute bench. Liverpool played host to Brighton & Hove Albion who included Shane Duffy in their starting eleven but Aaron Connolly was not included in their matchday squad as they recovered  a two goal deficit to secure a two all draw at Anfield. Newcastle United included Ciaran Clark in their starting eleven as they went down to a three nil defeat by current table toppers Chelsea at St James Park but Jeff Hendrick was not included in the matchday squad. Matt Doherty was an unused  substitute for Tottenham Hotspur who went down to a three nil home defeat by Manchester United. 

Wolverhampton Wanderers loanee Connor Ronan has made quite an impact at St Mirren and he was included in their starting eleven for their one nil defeat by visitors  Dundee at Love Street in the Scottish Premiership this Saturday afternoon.

The early Championship kick-off saw second place Fulham defeat third place West Bromwich Albion by three goals to nil at Craven Cottage. Callum Robinson and Brighton & Hove Albion loanee Jayson Molumby were second half substitutes for the defeated ‘Baggies’. Callum O’Dowda was unused on the Bristol City substitute bench for their two one victory over visitors Barnsley at Ashton Gate. Derby County went down to a two one defeat by visitors Blackburn Rovers for whom Darragh Lenihan was in central defence while Festy Ebosele was a 76th minute substitute for the hosts while Louie Watson remained on their substitute bench. Sheffield United included John Egan and Enda Stevens in their starting eleven with Aston Villa loanee Conor Hourihane unused on their substitute bench as they suffered  a one nil defeat by visitors  Blackpool and veteran Richard Keogh at Bramall Lane. Cardiff City, who dispensed with manager Mick McCarthy last weekend, included Mark McGuinness in their starting eleven with Joel Bagan unused on their substitute bench as they recovered from a three nil deficit to earn a three all draw at Stoke City. Ryan Manning started and Michael Obafemi was a 63rd minute substitute for Swansea City who defeated visitors Peterborough United by three goals to nil at the Liberty Stadium. The visiting ‘Posh’ included Jack Taylor and Sammy Szmodics in their starting eleven with West Ham United loanee Conor Coventry unused on their substitute bench. Current leaders AFC Bournemouth included Mark Travers and Gavin Kilkenny in their starting eleven for their two nil victory at Reading.

MK Dons included Warren O’Hora and Peter Kioso in their starting eleven for their four one victory at Crewe Alexandra but Tottenham Hotspur loanee Troy Parrott did not feature in their matchday squad. Also on the road was Daryl Horgan whose Wycombe Wanderers playedout a three all draw at Fleetwood Town, Portsmouth included Manchester City loanee Gavin Bazunu together with Ronan Curtis and Marcus Harness in their starting eleven for their one nil victory over visitors Bolton Wanderers. Chiedoze Ogbene started for Rotherham United as they crushed visitors Sunderland by five goals to one. Joshua Kayode and Kieran Sadlier, who replaced Ogbene, were introduced  from the substitute bench on 75 minutes while young Dennis Cirkin. started for the ‘Makems’ as did Aiden McGeady who was dismissed  on 56 minutes. Wigan Athletic included James McClean, who opened the scoring on 9 minutes, and Will Keane in their starting eleven for their two nil defeat of  visitors Burton Albion.

 

The Airtricity League Premier Division continued on Friday evening with Shamrock Rovers claiming the League Title with a three nil victory over Finn Harps in Tallaght Stadium. St Patrick’s Athletic consolidated  their second place with a four one success over relegated Longford Town at Bishopsgate. The four sides battling for third place faced each other with Derry City scoring an added time equaliser to draw one each with  Bohemian in the Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium. Sligo Rovers retained their third place position with a two nil victory over Drogheda United in the Showgrounds. The remaining fixture saw Dundalk defeat Waterford with the only goal in Oriel Park. 

                        P  W  D  L   F  A   G/D  Pts
Shamrock Rovers        33 22  6  5  53 23   30   72
St Patrick’s Athletic  32 18  5  9  52 35   17   59
Sligo Rovers           32 14  8 10  38 29    9   50
Derry City             32 12 10 10  42 38    4   46
Bohemian               32 12  8 12  52 41   11   44
Drogheda United        32 12  7 13  43 38    5   43
Dundalk                33 11  9 13  40 44   -4   42
Waterford              32 12  3 17  31 49  -18   39
Finn Harps             32 10  8 14  36 49  -13   38
Longford Town(R)       32  2  8 22    21 62  -41   14

 

The final series of matches in the Airtricity League First Division regular season took place on Friday evening. Champions Shelbourne played out a one all draw with third place UCD in Tolka Park while second place Galway United journied South to  Turners Cross where they suffered  a three nil defeat by Cork City.  Fourth place Treaty United visited Cabinteely and secured  a two nil victory. Fifth place Bray Wanderers travelled to bottom side Wexford where they went down to a five two defeat. Athlone  Town suffered a two one defeat by visitors Cobh Ramblers.

The 2 Leg Play-Off Semi-Finals will take place over the next two weekends and will see Galway United face Bray Wanderers while UCD take on Treaty United. The winners will contest the First Division Play-Off Final on the 19th November with the victors facing the side finishing 9th in the Premier Division in the Promotion/Relegation Final one week later. 

                        P  W  D  L   F  A   G/D  Pts
Shelbourne (Champions) 27 16  9  2  49 23   26   57
Galway United          27 15  6  6  39 25   14   51
UCD                    27 13  7  7  55 38   17   46
Treaty United          27 11  9  7  36 27    9   42
Bray Wanderers         27  9 10  8  36 32    4   37
Cork City              27  8  9 10  37 28    9   33
Athlone Town           27  9  6 12  33 44  -11   33
Cobh Ramblers          27  8  4 15  25 46  -21   28
Cabinteely             27  8  1 18  26 47  -21   25
Wexford                27  6  3 18  30 56  -26   21

 

Head Coach Vera Pauw named the same starting eleven that faced Sweden for this afternoon’s 2023 World Cup qualifier against Finland in the Olympic Stadium, Helsinki where Ireland secured  a very significant two one victory against the second seeds.

A Megan Connolly free kick on 10 minutes gave Ireland the lead and disciplined defending maintained that scoreline to the half-time break. Finland started the second half on the front foot and equalised just seven minutes after the re-start. The Irish response was swift and just four minutes later they reclaimed  the lead with a headed goal from Denise O’Sullivan. The hosts did  mount several attacks  but again the defence stood strong and held the advantage to the end.

Team: Courtney Brosnan; Jamie Finn, Niamh Fahey, Louise Quinn, Savannah McCarthy; Aine O’Gorman, Lucy Quinn, Megan Connolly, Denise O’Sullivan, Katie McCabe(C); Heather Payne
Substitutes:
Rianna Jarrett for Lucy Quinn 75′

———————————————————————————————————————

Our Senior Women, under the guidance of Head Coach Vera Pauw, commenced their 2023 World Cup qualifying campaign with a one nil defeat by top seeds and world Number 2 ranked Sweden in Tallaght Stadium this Thursday evening.

The team was set up in a solid 4-5-1 formation and stuck valiantly to their task for the full 90+6 minutes. The goal which defeated us came on 39 minutes and was an extremely unfortunate ‘own goal’ from Louise Quinn.

The ‘Player of the Match’ award went to goalkeeper Courtney Brosnan and while none could be faulted for commitment and effort there were sterling performers in midfielder Lucy Quinn who was earning just her second cap, Denise O’Sullivan and captain Katie McCabe.

The squad will now re-group and travel to take on second seeds Finland in the Olympic Stadium at 4.15pm next Tuesday afternoon with RTE 2 and RTE Player bringing live coverage from Helsinki.

Team: Courtney Brosnan; Jamie Finn, Niamh Fahey, Louise Quinn, Savannah McCarthy; Aine O’Gorman, Lucy Quinn, Megan Connolly, Denise O’Sullivan, Katie McCabe(C); Heather Payne
Substitutes:
Amber Barrett for Finn 74′
Leanne Kiernan for Payne 74′
Saoirse Noonan for Lucy Quinn 90’+3′

Squad
Goalkeepers: Eve Badana (DLR Waves), Courtney Brosnan (Everton), Amanda Budden (Shelbourne), Grace Moloney (Reading)
Defenders:  Diane Caldwell (North Carolina Courage), Niamh Fahey (Liverpool), Savannah McCarthy (Galway WFC), Aine O’Gorman (Peamount United), Eabha O’Mahony (Boston College), Louise Quinn (Birmingham City), Harriet Scott (Birmingham City), Claire Walsh (Glasgow City)
Midfielders: Aoibheann Clancy (Wexford WFC), Megan Connolly (Brighton & Hove Albion), Niamh Farrelly (Glasgow City), Jamie Finn (Birmingham City), Ciara Grant (Shelbourne), Katie McCabe (Arsenal), Roma McLaughlin (Central Connecticut State), Denise O’Sullivan (North Carolina Courage), Jessica Ziu (Shelbourne)
Forwards: Amber Barrett (FC Koln),  Rianna Jarrett London City Lionesses), Leanne Kiernan (Liverpool), Saoirse Noonan (Shelbourne), Heather Payne (Florida State University), Lucy Quinn (Birmingham City)

 

 

Following their home defeat by Middlesbrough on Saturday afternoon, the eight successive loss, Cardiff City manager Mick McCarthy and his long time assistant Terry Connor were both dismissed.

Friday
Centre back Jimmy Dunne was a 36th minute substitute for QPR who were held to a one all Championship draw by visitors Nottingham Forest on Friday evening.

Wednesday
The EFL Cup fourth round continued on Wednesday evening with Burnley going down to a one nil defeat by visitors Tottenham Hotspur at Turf Moor. The ‘Clarets’ included Nathan Collins in their starting eleven with Kevin Long unused on their substitute bench while Matt Doherty was also  unused on the bench for the visitors. Brighton & Hove Albion included Shane Duffy and Aaron Connolly in their starting eleven for their 4-2 penalty shoot-out defeat at Leicester City after the sides had played out a two all draw. Sean Maguire and Greg Cunningham started for Preston North End who went down to a two nil defeat by visitors Liverpool.

There were Scottish Premiership contests played this evening with Glasgow Celtic defeating Hibernian by three goals to one at Easter Road where Jake Doyle-Hayes was in action for the hosts but the position surrounding the absent Liam Scales  and James McCarthyfor the visitors is unclear.  St Mirren included Wolverhampton Wanderers loanee Connor Ronan in their side for the two all draw at Motherwell and he was named ‘man of the match’. The injury which saw Jamie McGrath stretchered off on Saturday is not as bad as feared and he is expected to be back in action in a couple of weeks..

Earlier this evening, Zack Elbouzedi and his AIK Solna colleagues went down to a one nil defeat at Malmo FF in the Swedish Allsvenskan.

Tuesday
The EFL Cup fourth round commenced this Tuesday evening with Championship side QPR going down to a three one penalty shoot-out defeat by League One Sunderland.at Loftus Road. Jimmy Dunne was unused on the home substitute bench while Dennis Cirkin(24), Aiden McGeady(64) and Aiden O’Brien(65) were introduced from the visiting substitute bench with McGeady converting the opening penalty in the shoot-out. Southampton introduced Shane Long(66) and Will Smallbone(77) from their substitute bench during their one all draw at Chelsea but the penalty shoot-out went the way of the hosts on a 4-3 scoreline. Long converted his penalty but Smallbone had a disappointing miss.

Ireland manager Stephen Kenny was expected to cast a close eye on the League One meeting of Wigan Athletic and Lincoln City with James McClean and Will Keane both starting for the hosts but Anthony Scully missed out through injury for the visitors who secured a two one victory. 

 

Both FAI Cup Semi-Finals took place on Friday evening last with Bohemian scoring the only goal in the closing minutes to defeat Waterford in Dalymount Park while St Patrick’s Athletic defeated Dundalk by three goals to one in Richmond Park.

There were two Airtricity League Premier Division fixtures played this Saturday evening with already relegated Longford Town giving the champions in waiting Shamrock Rovers a tough time in Bishopsgate before losing to the only goal. At the same time North West rivals Finn Harps and Sligo Rovers met in Finn Park where the hosts were reduced  to ten men with a red card after just four minutes. The visitors took a two goal lead in the second half but were reined in by their battling hosts who scored  twice in the closing stages to earn a point.

Drogheda United scored  the only goal to defeat their visitors Derry City at 2pm on Sunday afternoon.

On Monday evening, FAI Cup semi-final sides Bohemian and Waterford again locked horns in Dalymount Park with a different outcome as the ‘Blues’ recovered from a one nil half time deficit to score twice in the second period. Our 16 year old club member James McManus was included on the Bohemian substitute bench for the first time. The other semi-final duo, St Patrick’s Athletic and Dundalk clashed again in Richmond Park where the hosts scored the only goal to consolidate their second position on the League table. 

                        P  W  D  L   F  A   G/D  Pts
Shamrock Rovers        32 21  6  5  50 23   27   69
St Patrick’s Athletic  31 17  5  9  48 34   14   56
Sligo Rovers           31 13  8 10  36 29    7   47
Derry City             31 12  9 10  41 37    4   45
Bohemian               31 12  7 12  51 40   11   43
Drogheda United        31 12  7 12  43 36    7   43
Dundalk                32 10  9 13  39 44   -5   39
Waterford              31 12  3 16  31 48  -17   39
Finn Harps             31 10  8 13  36 46  -10   38
Longford Town(R)       31  2  8 21  20 58  -38   14

 

The two postponed Airtricity League First Division fixtures involving the four sides who will contest the promotion play-offs were played on Friday evening with second place Galway United defeating fifth place Bray Wanderers with the only goal in Eamonn Deacy Park while third place UCD overcame fourth place Treaty United by two goals to one at The Bowl.  

                        P  W  D  L   F  A   G/D  Pts
Shelbourne             26 16  8  2  48 22   26   56
Galway United          26 15  6  5  39 22   17   51
UCD                    26 13  6  7  54 37   17   45
Treaty United          26 10  9  7  34 27    7   39
Bray Wanderers         26  9 10  7  34 27    7   37
Athlone Town           26  9  6 11  32 42  -10   33
Cork City              26  7  9 10  34 28    6   30
Cabinteely             26  8  1 17  26 45  -19   25
Cobh Ramblers          26  7  4 15  23 45  -22   25
Wexford                26  5  3 18  25 54  -29   18

Sunday
There was a 12.30pm kick-off in the Championship meeting of Yorkshire rivals Barnsley and Sheffield United. The visiting ‘Blades’ included John Egan and Enda Stevens in their starting eleven while Aston Villa loanee Conor Hourihane was an unused substitute as they secured a three two success.

The Scottish Premiership meeting of St Mirren and Glasgow Rangers went the way of the visitors by two goals to one. Wolverhampton Wanderers loanee Connor Ronan opened the scoring for the hosts with a stunning thirty yard strike after just four minutes but the result turned in a two minute spell prior to the interval with the concession of poor penalty by Alan Power and a defensive error from Conor McCarthy. The day was compounded for the hosts by an injury to Jamie McGrath which saw him stretchered from the pitch in the closing minutes.

Josh Cullen was in Belgian First Division action with RSC Anderlecht who secured a four two success over visitors Beerschot.

AIK Solna included Zack Elbouzedi in their side for their one nil victory over visitors IFK Norrkoping in the Swedish Eredivisie.

Saturday
The early kick-off in the Premier League saw Norwich City  crash to a seven nil defeat at Chelsea. Andrew Omobamidele was a 69th minute substitute for the ‘Canaries’ while Adam Idah was unused on the substitute bench. Later in the afternoon, Ciaran Clark started and Jeff Hendrick was unused on the bench for Newcastle United who played out a one all draw at Crystal Palace. The fit again Seamus Coleman returned to the Everton side for the visit of Watford to Goodison Park where the ‘Toffees’ led twice before a late collapse which saw the ‘Hornets’ score four times for a five two victory. Southampton welcomed Burnley and their Irish duo of Nathan Collins who started and Kevin Long who was unused on the bench to St Mary’s Stadium where they played out a two all draw. Their was a 5.30pm kick-off for the Amex Stadium meeting of Brighton & Hove Albion and Manchester City with Shane Duffy and Aaron Connolly both unused on the host’s substitute bench as they suffered  a four one defeat.

Mick McCarthy and his struggling Cardiff City side went down to a two nil defeat by Middlesbrough in the Championship with  James Collins and Mark McGuinness  included in the ‘Blues’ starting eleven. Birmingham City included Scott Hogan in their side for the visit of Swansea City for whom  Ryan Manning started after his midweek injury absence while another injury victim Michael Obafemi returned  on the bench.. The host ‘Blues’ secured  a two one victory with the ‘Swans’ goal scored by 57th minute substitute Obafemi with the assist from Manning. Alan Browne and his Preston North End colleagues made the short journey to face local rivals Blackpool where they went down to a two nil defeat. Browne was dismissed in added time for a second bookable offence.  Current leaders AFC Bournemouth included Mark Travers and Gavin Kilkenny in their starting eleven for their three nil defeat of  visitors Huddersfield Town while recent signing Robbie Brady is not yet ready to be involved. Derby County included Festy Ebosele in their starting eleven with Louie Watson unused on the bench for their one all draw at Coventry City. Jack Taylor and Sam Szmodics started for Peterborough United while West Ham United loanee Conor Coventry was a 67th minute substitute as they came from behind to defeat visitors QPR for whom Jimmy Dunne. was in central defence. West Bromwich Albion included Brighton & Hove Albion loanee Jayson Molumby in their starting eleven with Callum Robinson introduced from the bench on 61 minutes as they defeated visitors Bristol City and their 64th minute substitute Callum O’Dowda by three goals to nil.

Portsmouth, with Manchester City loanee Gavin Bazunu on goalkeeping duty, have conceded eight goals in their last two League One matches and were desperate to recover some form when they visited Accrington Stanley on Saturday afternoon. An early goal from Ronan Curtis set them on their way but their hosts responded scoring twice and looked like taking the points but Marcus Harness scored  an equaliser four minutes from time. Also on the road were James McClean and Will Keane whose Wigan Athletic journied to AFC Wimbledon where they secured  a two nil victory with McClean scoring the second goal. Tottenham Hotspur loanee Troy Parrott had a bright start for MK Dons but found himself relegated to the substitute bench for their Tuesday night victory at Wigan Athletic and was again on the bench against visitors Rotherham United until the 64th minute. Chiedoze Ogbene was on the bench for the ‘Millers’ last two fixtures but he started this afternoon as his side eased to a three nil victory. U21 striker Joshua Kayode was again unused on the ‘Millers’ substitute bench. Striker Anthony Scully started for Lincoln City who played out a one all draw with Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough. Young left back Dennis Cirkin started for Sunderland who went down to surprise one nil defeat by visitors Charlton Athletic at the Stadium of Light. Wycombe Wanderers secured a two one victory over visitors Crewe Alexandra with  Daryl Horgan unused on their substitute bench.    

 

Our Senior Women, under the guidance of Head Coach Vera Pauw, commenced their 2023 World Cup qualifying campaign with a one nil defeat by top seeds and world Number 2 ranked Sweden in Tallaght Stadium this Thursday evening.

The team was set up in a solid 4-5-1 formation and stuck valiantly to their task for the full 90+6 minutes. The goal which defeated us came on 39 minutes and was an extremely unfortunate ‘own goal’ from Louise Quinn.

The ‘Player of the Match’ award went to goalkeeper Courtney Brosnan and while none could be faulted for commitment and effort there were sterling performers in midfielder Lucy Quinn who was earning just her second cap, Denise O’Sullivan and captain Katie McCabe.

The squad will now re-group and travel to take on second seeds Finland in the Olympic Stadium at 4.15pm next Tuesday afternoon with RTE 2 and RTE Player bringing live coverage from Helsinki.

Team: Courtney Brosnan; Jamie Finn, Niamh Fahey, Louise Quinn, Savannah McCarthy; Aine O’Gorman, Lucy Quinn, Megan Connolly, Denise O’Sullivan, Katie McCabe(C); Heather Payne
Substitutes:
Amber Barrett for Finn 74′
Leanne Kiernan for Payne 74′
Saoirse Noonan for Lucy Quinn 90’+3′

Squad
Goalkeepers: Eve Badana (DLR Waves), Courtney Brosnan (Everton), Amanda Budden (Shelbourne), Grace Moloney (Reading)
Defenders:  Diane Caldwell (North Carolina Courage), Niamh Fahey (Liverpool), Savannah McCarthy (Galway WFC), Aine O’Gorman (Peamount United), Eabha O’Mahony (Boston College), Louise Quinn (Birmingham City), Harriet Scott (Birmingham City), Claire Walsh (Glasgow City)
Midfielders: Aoibheann Clancy (Wexford WFC), Megan Connolly (Brighton & Hove Albion), Niamh Farrelly (Glasgow City), Jamie Finn (Birmingham City), Ciara Grant (Shelbourne), Katie McCabe (Arsenal), Roma McLaughlin (Central Connecticut State), Denise O’Sullivan (North Carolina Courage), Jessica Ziu (Shelbourne)
Forwards: Amber Barrett (FC Koln),  Rianna Jarrett London City Lionesses), Leanne Kiernan (Liverpool), Saoirse Noonan (Shelbourne), Heather Payne (Florida State University), Lucy Quinn (Birmingham City)