News

This Friday evening’s programme in the Airtricity League has been disrupted by weather conditions with the Premier Division contest between Finn Harps and St Patrick’s Athletic and the First Division match between Galway United and Limerick both postponed because of waterlogged pitches.

The eirSport cameras brought live coverage of the Tallaght Stadium clash of bitter rivals Shamrock Rovers and Bohemian which ended in a one nil success for the hosts. Relegation threatened UCD went down to a five nil defeat by current leaders Dundalk in The Bowl while fourth place Derry City make the lengthy journey to face Waterford in the RSC where they played out a one all draw. Cork City, with new Head Coach Neale Fenn at the helm, went down to a four two defeat by Sligo Rovers in Turner’s Cross.    

                            P   W  D  L   F   A   G/D   Pts
Dundalk                    28  21  5  2  60  13   47    68
Shamrock Rovers            30  20  4  6  53  18   35    64
Bohemian                   30  14  7  9  41  24   17    49
Derry City                 30  12 11  7  45  29   16    47 
St Patrick’s Athletic      29  12  7 10  24  27   -3    43
Sligo Rovers               29   8 11 10  31  38   -7    35
Cork City                  28   7  9 12  24  36  -12    30
Waterford                  29   7  7 15  34  47  -13    28 
Finn Harps                 29   6  5 18  23  54  -31    23
UCD                        30   5  2 23  21  70  -49    17

With just three sets of fixtures remaining in the regular Airtricity League First Division season, Shelbourne held a five point lead over second place Drogheda United with Longford Town a further three points in arrears in third place and Cabinteely a further two points adrift in fourth place.

That lead was reduced to three points this Friday evening as Shelbourne were held to a scoreless draw by Bray Wanderers in Tolka Park while Drogheda United and Longford Town secured two nil away victories at Athlone Town and bottom side Wexford respectively. 

Fourth place Cabinteely journied to St Colman’s Park on Saturday evening where they played out a one all draw with their hosts Cobh Ramblers.

                            P   W  D  L   F   A    G/D   Pts
Shelbourne                 25  17  3  5  40  18    22    54
Drogheda United            25  16  3  6  57  29    28    51         
Longford Town              25  15  3  7  37  20    17    48
Cabinteely                 25  12  8  5  34  26     8    44
Bray Wanderers             25  12  4  9  38  24    14    40
Limerick                   24   9  6  9  27  30    -3    33 
Cobh Ramblers              25   8  7 10  36  40    -4    31
Athlone Town               25   5  4 16  28  56   -28    19
Galway United              24   5  3 16  23  38   -15    18
Wexford                    25   2  5 19  20  59   -39    11

 

The second legs in the Qualifying Round of the Europe League took place this Thursday evening. Wolverhampton Wanderers defeated Italian side Torino by two goals to one in Molineaux for a 5-3 aggregate victory. Matt Doherty again missed out through injury.

Other second leg ties this evening included:-
18.00 AIK(Sweden)[0] 1-4 [2]Glasgow Celtic {Aggregate 6-1}
17.00 FK Qarabag(Azerbaijan)[2] 2-1 [3] Linfield {Aggregate 4-4-FK Qarabag on away goals} 
19.45 Glasgow Rangers [0] 1-0 [0]Legia Warsaw(Poland){Aggregate 1-0}

The draw for the Group Stage, involving 48 clubs, will take place at UEFA Headquarters in Nyon at noon (Irish time) tomorrow, Friday.

England will be represented by Arsenal, Manchester United and Wolverhampton Wanderers while Glasgow Celtic and Glasgow Rangers will represent Scotland.

 

Both our Senior and U19 Women are set to be in action over the coming week.

Our U19 side, with Head Coach Dave Connell at the helm, take on Austria in a home double header with the first contest played this Thursday afternoon at Home Farm FC, Whitehall. Ireland took the lead on 23 minutes through an Alannah McEvoy penalty but Austria responded with two goals for victory.

The two sides met again at 3pm on Sunday afternoon at the NTC in Abbotstown, with the visitors emerging victorious by two goals to nil.

Squad:
Goalkeepers: Rachael Kelly(Shelbourne), Maeve Williams(Wexford WFC)
Defenders: Leah Brady(Galway WFC), Zara Foley(Cork City WFC), Alannah Maxwell(Bohemian WFC), Roisin McGovern(DLR Waves), Alannah Mitchell(Limerick WFC), Kelsey Munroe(Galway WFC),
Midfielders: Nadine Clare(DLR Waves), Rebecca Cooke(Shelbourne WFC), Chloe Darby(Bohemian WFC), Mia Dodd(Shelbourne WFC), Sinead Donovan(Galway WFC), Niamh Reynolds(Reading WFC), Aoife Slattery(Wexford WFC), Jessica Ziu(Shelbourne WFC)
Forwards: Izzy Atkinson(Shelbourne WFC), Sophie Liston(Cork City WFC), Alannah McEvoy(Shelbourne WFC), Emily Whelan(Shelbourne WFC)

Our Senior Women will commence their EURO 2021 qualifying campaign with a home tie against Montenegro on Tuesday the 3rd September in Tallaght Stadium.

Caretaker Head Coach Tom O’Connor has selected a 20 player squad:

Goalkeepers: Marie Hourihan(SC Braga), Grace Moloney(Reading WFC)
Defenders: Diane Caldwell(SC Sand), Megan Connolly(Brighton & Hove Albion), Niamh Fahey(Liverpool), Eabha O’Mahoney(Cork City), Claire O’Riordan(MSV Duisburg), Louise Quinn(Arsenal), Harriet Scott(Birmingham City)
Midfielders: Jess Gargan(Shelbourne), Denise O’Sullivan(North Carolina Courage), Eleanor Ryan-Doyle(Peamount United), Tyler Toland(Manchester City), Claire Walsh(Peamount United)
Forwards: Amber Barrett(FC Koln), Rianna Jarrett(Wexford WFC), Katie McCabe(Arsenal(), Heather Payne(Florida State University), Stephanie Roche(CF Florentia), Chloe Singleton(Galway WFC)

Senior international manager Mick McCarthy has announced his revised 25 man squad for the upcoming UEFA Qualifier against Switzerland followed by a friendly international against Bulgaria.
Squad
Goalkeepers: Darren Randolph(Middlesbrough), Mark Travers(AFC Bournemouth), Keiren Westwood(Sheffield Wednesday)
Defenders: Seamus Coleman(Everton), Matt Doherty(Wolverhampton Wanderers), Shane Duffy(Brighton & Hove Albion), John Egan(Sheffield United), Richard Keogh(Derby County), Kevin Long(Burnley), Enda Stevens(Sheffield United)
Midfielders: Alan Browne(Preston North End), Jack Byrne(Shamrock Rovers), Josh Cullen(Charlton Athletic on loan from West Ham United), Ronan Curtis(Portsmouth), Jeff Hendrick(Burnley), Conor Hourihane(Aston Villa), Alan Judge(Ipswich Town), James McCarthy(Crystal Palace), James McClean(Stoke City), Callum O’Dowda(Bristol City), Glenn Whelan(Heart of Midlothian)
Forwards: Scott Hogan(Stoke City on loan from Aston Villa), Sean Maguire(Preston North End), David McGoldrick(Sheffield United), Callum Robinson(Sheffield United)

Manager Stephen Kenny has announced his 20 man Republic of Ireland U21 squad for the upcoming European Championship qualifiers against Armenia and Sweden.

We take on Armenia in Tallaght Stadium at 8.00pm on Friday the 6th September before travelling to face Sweden in Kalmar at 5.30pm on Tuesday the 10th September.

Midfielder Conor Ronan, star of the side at the Toulon Tournament in June, is ruled out through injury

Squad:
Goalkeepers: Gavin Bazunu(Manchester City), Caoimhin Kelleher(Liverpool)
Defenders: Nathan Collins(Stoke City), Darragh Leahy(Bohemian), Conor Masterson(QPR), Danny McNamara(Newport County on loan from Millwall), Lee O’Connor(Manchester United), Dara O’Shea(WBA), Liam Scales (UCD)
Midfielders: Conor Coventry(West Ham United), Jake Doyle-Hayes(Cheltenham Town on loan from Aston Villa), Zack Elbouzedi(Waterford), Gavin Kilkenny(AFC Bournemouth), Jason Knight(Derby County), Dan Mandroiu(Bohemian), Jayson Molumby(Millwall on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion), Jack Taylor(Barnet)
Forwards: Jonathan Afolabi(Glasgow Celtic), Aaron Connolly(Brighton & Hove Albion), Adam Idah(Norwich City), Michael Obafemi(Southampton), Troy Parrott(Tottenham Hotspur)  

The remaining EFL Cup second round ties took place on Wednesday evening and produced a mixed bag for the Irish involved.

With Mick McCarthy believed to be in attendance, Jeff Hendrick and Kevin Long started and completed ninety minutes for Burnley who went down to a three one defeat by League One Sunderland at Turf Moor. The absent Robbie Brady resumed training last week but is reported to have suffered a setback. Ciaran Clark was omitted from the Newcastle United matchday squad at Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday last but started this evening and completed ninety minutes against visitors Leicester City. The sides played out a one all draw with Leicester prevailing 4-2 in the penalty shoot-out. Ryan Manning retained his left wing back position for QPR who went down to a two nil defeat by League One visitors Portsmouth who had Ronan Curtis in their starting eleven. U21 defender Conor Masterson was unused on the host bench while Marcus Harness started and scored the second goal for ‘Pompey’. Goalkeeper Mark Travers and midfielder Gavin Kilkenny, named today for the first time in the Ireland U21 squad, both started for AFC Bournemouth who welcomed League Two Forest Green Rovers to the Vitality Stadium. Kilkenny completed 84 minutes of the match which ended  scoreless at full time. Travers was the hero of the penalty shoot-out, saving all three penalties he faced as his side scored their opening three for victory. 

The second round of the EFL Cup commenced on Tuesday evening with several of Mick McCarthy‘s provisional senior squad and Stephen Kenny‘s U21 squad in action.

Manchester United loanee Kieran O’Hara had little to do in  safeguarding the net for League One Burton Albion who defeated League Two Morecambe by four goals to nil. Conor Hourihane started and scored twice in the first half for Aston Villa who crushed League Two Crewe Alexandra by six goals to one at Gresty Road. Stephen Ward started for Stoke City as they eliminated Leeds United with a 5-4 penalty shoot-out success after the sides shared four goals in regular time. Nathan Collins and Scott Hogan remained on the visiting bench at Elland Road. Derby County duo, Richard Keogh and Jason Knight were both unused substitutes as their side went down to a three nil defeat at Nottingham Forest. Captain Alan Browne scored the winning penalty for Preston North End to eliminate visitors Hull City after the sides drew 2 each in normal time. Joe Rafferty was a late substitute for the victors while Adam O’Reilly was unused on the bench. Sheffield United included David McGoldrick and Enda Stevens on their substitute bench, with an injury forcing the early introduction of Stevens after just 24 minutes for the two one victory over visitors Blackburn Rovers who included Greg Cunningham, Darragh Lenihan and Derrick Williams in their starting eleven. Brighton & Hove Albion journied to League One Bristol Rovers where Aaron Connolly started and opened the scoring in their two one success. James McCarthy completed the full match for Crystal Palace who lost out to League Two Colchester United in a penalty shoot-out following a scoreless draw. Cyrus Christie started for Fulham who lost to the only goal scored by Michael Obafemi for visitors Southampton for whom Shane Long was a 76th minute substitute. The Millwall trio of Aiden O’Brien, Shaun Williams and loanee Jayson Molumby all started at League One Oxford United where the Students’ progressed with a 4-2 penalty shoot-out success following a two all draw. Josh Barrett started and scored twice for Reading who progressed with a four two success at League Two Plymouth Argyle. Conor Coventry was an 82nd minute substitute for West Ham United who defeated League Two Newport County by two goals to nil at Rodney Parade. Mark O’Brien and Padraig Amond both started for the vanquished hosts. Adam Idah started for Norwich City in their one nil defeat at League Two Crawley Town.