News

A number of the 2019 FAI International Award winners have been confirmed. Due to the Covid 19 outbreak there will be no formal presentation ceremony in this, the 30th year, of the Awards.

Senior Men’s International
David McGoldrick
Senior Women’s International
Louise Quinn
Young International
Alan Browne
International Goal
Troy Parrott v Sweden U21
Under 21 International
Lee O’Connor
Under 19 International
Jonathan Afolabi
Under 19 Women’s International
Sadhbh Doyle
Under 18 International
Jason Knight
Under 17 International
Joe Hodge
Under 17 Women’s International
Eabha O’Mahoney
Under 16 International
Ben McCormack
U16 Women’s International
Kerryanne Browne
Under 15 International
Glory Nzingo
U15 Women’s International
Jessie Stapleton
SSE Airtricity League
Jack Byrne

 

 

 

Europa League
Matt Doherty and his Wolverhampton Wanderers colleagues are through to the quarter-finals of the Europa League following their one nil victory over Olympiakos of Greece in the second leg of their round of 16 contest played this Thursday evening in Molineaux. The first leg ended in a one all draw back on the 12th March. The goal came after just eight minutes from the penalty spot. Wolves were far from their best this evening and were perhaps just a bit fortunate to progress. Goalkeeper Rui Patricio received the ‘man of the match’ award which tells it’s own story. They will now travel to Duisburg in Germany to face Sevilla of Spain in the one off quarter-final at 8pm on Tuesday evening next.

Airtricity League
Two of the three outstanding Airtricity League Premier Division fixtures from Series 3 and 4 are scheduled for this midweek.

St Patrick’s Athletic welcomed Derry City to Richmond Park on Monday evening and suffered a two nil defeat by a ‘Candystripes’ side much improved from their home defeat by Sligo Rovers last Friday.

On Tuesday afternoon, Finn Harps went down to a one nil defeat by visitors Shelbourne, who played with ten men for the majority of the contest following an 11th minute dismissal.

The contest between Sligo Rovers and Waterford had been scheduled for 7.45pm on Tuesday evening but was postponed as a result of a suspected Covid 19 case within the Waterford camp.

                        P  W  D  L   F  A   G/D  Pts
Shamrock Rovers         6  6  0  0  18  5   13   18
Dundalk                 6  4  1  1  13  5    8   13
Bohemian                6  4  0  2   7  3    4   12
Shelbourne              6  3  0  3   4  5   -1    9
Waterford               5  3  0  2   4  5   -1    9
Derry City              6  2  1  3   6  6    –    7
St Patrick’s Athletic   6  2  1  3   4  5   -1    7
Finn Harps              6  1  1  4   3 10   -7    4
Sligo Rovers            5  1  0  4   4  8   -4    3
Cork City               6  1  0  5   1 12  -11    3

There were two re-scheduled First Division matches played on Monday evening with Galway United playing out a two all draw with Athlone Town in Terryland Park while Longford Town went down to a surprise two nil defeat by visitors Bray Wanderers in Bishopsgate.

                     P  W  D  L   F  A  G/D  Pts
Cabinteely           4  4  0  0  10  3   7   12
Drogheda United      4  2  1  1   9  4   5    7
Bray Wanderers       4  2  1  1   6  4   2    7
Longford Town        4  2  1  1   3  2   1    7
Wexford              4  1  2  1   4  4   –    5
UCD                  4  1  2  1   3  6  -3    5
Cobh Ramblers        4  1  1  2   3  5  -2    4
Galway United        4  0  3  1   3  5  -2    3
Shamrock Rovers II   4  0  2  2   3  6  -3    2
Athlone Town         4  0  1  3   6 11  -5    1

Championship
The Championship play-off final between London sides Brentford and Fulham took place in Wembley Stadium on Tuesday evening and saw the ‘Cottagers’ win promotion to the Premier League with a two one extra-time victory. Cyrus Christie was a 110th minute substitute for the victors. 

 

The remaining Series 6 fixture between Cork City and Bohemian took place in Turner’s Cross on Sunday afternoon and saw the visitors score the only goal after just four minutes to collect the three points and move to within one point of second place Dundalk on the League Table.

There were two fixtures played on Saturday with Waterford defeating  Shelbourne with the only goal in Tolka Park while Shamrock Rovers increased their lead at the summit with a three one victory over  Finn Harps in Tallaght Stadium.

The 2020 Airtricity League Premier Division resumed at 5.45pm this Friday afternoon with the Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium meeting of Derry City and Sligo Rovers. The visiting ‘Bit o’ Red’ secured a comfortable two nil victory against their extremely lack lustre ‘Candystripes’ hosts to garner their first points of the season. In the second Premier Division contest played later in the evening, hosts Dundalk were held to a one all draw by visitors St Patrick’s Athletic in Oriel Park.

                        P  W  D  L   F  A   G/D  Pts
Shamrock Rovers         6  6  0  0  18  5   13   18
Dundalk                 6  4  1  1  13  5    8   13
Bohemian                6  4  0  2   7  3    4   12
Waterford               5  3  0  2   4  5   -1    9
St Patrick’s Athletic   5  2  1  2   4  3    1    7
Shelbourne              5  2  0  3   3  5   -2    6
Derry City              5  1  1  3   4  6   -2    4
Finn Harps              5  1  1  3   3  9   -6    4
Sligo Rovers            5  1  0  4   4  8   -4    3
Cork City               6  1  0  5   1 12  -11    3

The Airtricity League First Division also resumed this Friday evening with current leaders Cabinteely securing a two nil victory at Galway United while Wexford defeated their hosts Athlone Town by three goals to one. The contests between Bray wanderers and Cobh Ramblers and UCD against Longford Town both ended scoreless.

The remaining fixture between Shamrock Rovers II and Drogheda United took place in Tallaght Stadium at 3pm on Sunday afternoon and saw the sides play out a two all draw.

                     P  W  D  L   F  A  G/D  Pts
Cabinteely           4  4  0  0  10  3   7   12
Drogheda United      4  2  1  1   9  4   5    7
Longford Town        3  2  1  0   3  0   3    7
Wexford              4  1  2  1   4  4   –    5
UCD                  4  1  2  1   3  6  -3    5
Bray Wanderers       3  1  1  1   4  4   –    4
Cobh Ramblers        4  1  1  2   3  5  -2    4
Galway United        3  0  2  1   1  3  -2    2
Shamrock Rovers II   4  0  2  2   3  6  -3    2
Athlone Town         3  0  0  3   4  9  -5    0

 

The 2020 Airtricity League Premier Division resumes at 5.45pm on Friday afternoon with the meeting of Derry City and Sligo Rovers in the Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium. The revised league season will consist of only two series of matches, eighteen in all with the opening four/five rounds of fixtures completed prior to the corona virus lockdown. Defending champions Dundalk will be in action at 7.45pm on Friday evening when they welcome St Patrick’s Athletic to Oriel Park with RTE 2 bring live coverage of the contest.

An arrangement has been put in place to provide live coverage of all Premier Division fixtures and details are contained within the appended announcement. 

The FAI has announced details of the Airtricity League’s first-ever streaming service which will deliver Premier Division football matches to supporters in Ireland and around the world.

The Football Association of Ireland and RTÉ Sport, in collaboration with GAAGO, have partnered to deliver the streaming platform which can be accessed on watchloi.ie.

Each Premier Division fixture, as well as selected FAI Cup matches, will be live streamed via RTÉ Sport’s cameras and commentary team. There will be over 55 matches shown on the platform this season.

Season passes went on sale on Wednesday morning for €55 for supporters in Ireland and €69 for the rest of the world. The FAI says that the revenue created will go to each club.

The SSE Airtricity League is set to restart on Friday, July 31st with Derry City v Sligo Rovers to be the first match streamed on the platform (kick-off at 5.45pm).

There are two fixtures scheduled for Saturday afternoon with Shelbourne taking on Waterford in Tolka Park at 2pm and Shamrock Rovers entertaining Finn Harps in Tallaght Stadium at 5pm. The remaining fixture between Cork City and Bohemian is set for Turner’s Cross at 5pm on Sunday afternoon.

                        P  W  D  L   F  A   G/D  Pts
Shamrock Rovers         5  5  0  0  15  4   11   15
Dundalk                 5  4  0  1  12  4    8   12
Bohemian                5  3  0  2   6  3    3    6
St Patrick’s Athletic   4  2  0  2   3  2    1    6
Shelbourne              4  2  0  2   3  4   -1    6
Waterford               4  2  0  2   3  5   -2    6
Derry City              4  1  1  2   4  4    –    4
Finn Harps              4  1  1  2   2  6   -4    4
Cork City               5  1  0  4   1 11  -10    3
Sligo Rovers            4  0  0  4   2  8   -6    0

The Airtricity League First Division also resumes on Friday evening with four fixtures scheduled to kick-off at 7.45pm:-
Athlone Town v Wexford
Bray Wanderers v Cobh Ramblers
Galway United v Cabinteely
UCD v Longford Town
The remaining fixture between Shamrock Rovers ‘II’ and Longford Town is scheduled for Tallaght Stadium at 3pm on Sunday afternoon.

                     P  W  D  L  F  A  G/D  Pts
Cabinteely           3  3  0  0  8  3   5    9
Drogheda United      3  2  0  1  7  2   5    6
Longford Town        2  2  0  0  3  0   3    6
UCD                  3  1  1  1  3  6  -3    4
Bray Wanderers       2  1  0  1  4  4   –    3
Cobh Ramblers        3  1  0  2  3  5  -2    3
Galway United        2  0  2  0  1  1   –    2
Wexford              3  0  2  1  1  3  -2    2
Shamrock Rovers II   3  0  1  2  1  4  -3    1
Athlone Town         2  0  0  2  3  6  -3    0

Fulham will face Brentford in the Championship play-off decider at Wembley Stadium on Tuesday evening next. The ‘Cottagers’, holding a two nil lead from the first leg, secured their passage to Wembley despite a two one defeat by Cardiff City at Craven Cottage this Thursday evening. The visiting ‘Bluebirds’ took an early lead but the hosts equalised within a matter of seconds and despite conceding another goal immediately following the second half restart held out to book their Wembley place. Cyrus Christie was again in the home starting eleven and mixed some fine moments with the occasional lapse, but overall came out on the credit side.

Brentford are through to the Championship play-off Final following their three one second leg victory over Swansea City at Griffin Park this Wednesday evening for an aggregate three two success. In what was quite an entertaining encounter the hosts, playing their final match at Griffin Park, scored two early goals to overturn their first leg deficit and then added a third in the first minute of the second half to consolidate their advantage. The visiting ‘Swans’ did not capitulate however and pulled one goal back on 78 minutes but they could not find the equaliser which would have led to extra-time.

The first leg of the first Championship semi-final play-off took place this Sunday evening with hosts Swansea City who finished sixth defeating visitors Brentford, who finished third, by one goal to nil. The second leg is set for Griffin Park, the final fixture at the ground, on Wednesday evening.

The first leg of the second semi-final between fifth place Cardiff City and fourth place Fulham was played in the Cardiff City Stadium this Monday evening with the visitors securing a two nil victory to take in to the second leg at Craven Cottage on Thursday evening next. Cyrus Christie started for Fulham this evening and after a shaky start he had a much improved second half. 

The 2019/2020 Premier League season reached it’s conclusion this Sunday afternoon. With Liverpool already crowned champions and Manchester City assured of the runners-up position, the focus at the top end of the table falls on the battle for the third to sixth positions which ensure Champions and Europa League qualification.
Top of the Bill was the King Power Stadium meeting of fifth place Leicester City and third place Manchester United who were separated by one point. The visitors secured a two nil victory which ensured their respective positions remained unchanged. Fourth place Chelsea secured their position with a two nil victory over their visitors Wolverhampton Wanderers and Matt Doherty who played the opening hour at Stamford Bridge. Tottenham Hotspur leapfrogged Wolves into sixth place on goal difference following their one all draw at Crystal Palace for whom James McCarthy completed the full 90 minutes.

At the foot of the table, Aston Villa and Conor Hourihane avoided relegation with a one all draw at West Ham United. Already relegated Norwich City introduced Adam Idah in the 77th minute of their five nil defeat at Manchester City while AFC Bournemouth defeated their hosts Everton and Seamus Coleman by three goals to one at Goodison Park but it was not enough to avoid the drop where they are joined by Watford who went down to a three two defeat by Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.  

There was last day disappointment for Burnley who went down to a two one home defeat by Brighton & Hove Albion for whom Aaron Connolly started and scored the winning goal.  Kevin Long started for the ‘Clarets’ while Robbie Brady was a 75th minute substitute with Jimmy Dunne an unused substitute. Southampton came from behind to defeat visitors Sheffield United by three goals to one at St Mary’s Stadium where Will Smallbone was a 30th minute substitute while Shane Long and Michael Obafemi were very late substitutes. John Egan and Enda Stevens both started for the visiting ‘Blades’. 

The regular 2019/20 Championship Season finished on Wednesday evening with the 46th and final series of fixtures all of which kicked-off at 7.30pm. Leeds United had already secured the Championship Title but the battle for second place and automatic promotion to the Premier League continued with three clubs, West Bromwich Albion(82),Brentford(81)and Fulham(80)in contention. The drama and tension remained right through to the final seconds of the matches with the ‘Baggies’ two all draw with visitors QPR at the Hawthorns proving sufficient to ensure promotion. Dara O’Shea started in an unfamiliar left back position while loanee Callum Robinson was an unexpected starter in the central striker role. The inclusion of Robinson proved a masterstroke as he had an excellent game embellished with the second goal which helped secure promotion. The visitors included Ryan Manning, who scored the opening goal, and Conor Masterson in their starting eleven while Olamide Shodipo was an 81st minute substitute. Brentford suffered a shock home defeat by visitors Barnsley, who were engaged in the relegation battle, but survive courtesy of their two one victory at Griffin Park. Fulham included Harry Arter in their starting eleven with Cyrus Christie on the substitute bench as they played out a one all draw at Wigan Athletic who, with a twelve point deduction hanging over them, fell into a relegation position.  Nottingham Forest started the day in fifth place but a crushing four one defeat by visitors Stoke City coupled with victories for the Welsh duo of Cardiff City and Swansea City saw them fall out of the play-off positions. Hull City were defeated by three goals to nil at Cardiff and were relegated. Luton Town had mounted a significant rearguard action in recent weeks and continued in that vein with a three two victory over Blackburn Rovers at Kenilworth Road which ensured their survival. James Collins started for the ‘Hatters’ and scored from the penalty spot in their victory while Daragh Lenihan was in central defence for Blackburn. Charlton Athletic suffered a crushing four nil defeat at champions Leeds United which sees them suffer relegation. Both Josh Cullen and fellow loanee Aiden McGeady started for the ‘Addicks’.  Birmingham City  went down to a three one defeat by visitors Derby County who included Jason Knight in their starting eleven while loanee Scott Hogan saw just a few minutes of action for the ‘Blues’. There was a more relaxed scenario for Bristol City and Preston North End who played out a one all draw at Ashton Gate where Sean Maguire scored for the visitors while Alan Browne was a 64th minute substitute but Callun O’Dowda was an unused substitute for the hosts. Millwall included Jayson Molumby and Shaun Williams in their starting eleven for their four one victory over visitors Huddersfield Town at the New Den. Stoke City included James McClean in their side with Nathan Collins unused on the substitute bench as they crushed the play-off hopes of Nottingham Forest with a four one victory at the City Ground.

Standings:
Promoted: Leeds United, West Bromwich Albion
Play-offs: Brentford v Swansea City and Fulham v Cardiff City
Relegated: Hull City, Charlton Athletic and Wigan Athletic (subject to appeal)