News

There were two Airtricity League Premier Division fixtures played on Friday evening. Relegation threatened sides Finn Harps and UCD played host to Derry City and Waterford respectively. The Donegal side scored the only goal for victory over the ‘Candystripes’ while the ‘Students’ went down to a two one defeat. The basement duo are in an intriguing contest at the foot of the league table with the bottom side set for automatic relegation while the ninth placed team will have the opportunity of survival through the play-offs. 

Leaders Dundalk took on St Patrick’s Athletic in Richmond Park on Saturday afternoon where John Mountney scored the only goal seven minutes after the break to extend the ‘Lilywhites’ lead at the summit. Later that evening, the eirSport cameras brought live coverage from the Showgrounds where third place Bohemian played out a one all draw with their hosts Sligo Rovers.

Turner’s Cross hosted the Sunday afternoon meeting of Cork City and Shamrock Rovers which ended in a one all draw.

The Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium was the venue for the Monday night meeting of Derry City and Waterford which the hosts won by two goals to nil.

                            P   W  D  L   F   A   G/D  Pts
Dundalk                    25  18  5  2  47  13   34    59
Shamrock Rovers            26  16  4  6  43  16   27    52
Bohemian                   27  13  7  7  31  21   10    46
Derry City                 27  11 10  6  41  25   16    43
St Patrick’s Athletic      27  10  7 10  21  26   -5    37
Sligo Rovers               27   7 11  9  26  34   -8    32
Waterford                  25   7  6 12  30  37   -7    27
Cork City                  25   6  9 10  19  29  -10    27 
Finn Harps                 27   5  5 17  23  50  -27    20
UCD                        25   5  2 18  18  47  -29    17

With just six sets of fixtures remaining, the Airtricity League First Division enters the final straight with Shelbourne leading the way. The ‘Reds’ defeated bottom side Wexford by five goals to two in Tolka Park on Friday evening to consolidate their position. Second place Drogheda United were held to a scoreless draw by Cabinteely in United Park with both sides battling for the play-off positions. Bray Wanderers defeated visitors Athlone Town by three goals to nil and Limerick suffered a four three defeat at home to Cobh Ramblers. 

Longford Town maintained their promotion challenge with a four nil victory over City Calling Stadium visitors Galway United on Saturday evening.

                            P   W  D  L   F   A    G/D  Pts
Shelbourne                 22  16  2  4  38  17    21    50
Drogheda United            22  13  3  6  46  28    18    42         
Longford Town              22  13  3  6  30  17    13    42
Cabinteely                 22  11  7  4  30  24     6    40
Bray Wanderers             22  11  2  9  30  20    10    35
Limerick                   22   9  5  8  26  26     –    32 
Cobh Ramblers              22   7  5 10  31  36    -5    26
Athlone Town               22   5  3 14  26  48   -22    18
Galway United              22   4  3 15  21  35   -14    15
Wexford                    22   2  5 16  19  46   -27    11

The first legs in the second qualifying rounds of both the Champions League and the Europa League took place this week.

Airtricity League representatives Shamrock Rovers, first qualifying round victors over FK Brann of Norway, played host to Apollon Limassol of Cyprus in the first leg of the second qualifying round in the Europa League in Tallaght Stadium on Thursday evening. The ‘Hoops’ had a nightmare start conceding a goal after just five minutes but they steadied the ship and Lee Grace equalised ten minutes later. Inspired by midfielder Jack Byrne, they took command of matters and on fifty eight minutes Roberto Lopez put them in front. The ‘Hoops’ will travel to Cyprus next week hopeful of progressing to the third qualifying round.

Other Europa League second qualifying round first leg ties played this evening included:-
17.00 Chikhura Sachkhere (Georgia) 1-1 Aberdeen (Scotland)
18.30 Connah’s Quay (Wales) 0-1 Partizan Belgrade (Serbia)
19.45 Glasgow Rangers (Scotland) 2-0 Progres Niederkorn (Luxembourg)
19.45 Wolverhampton Wanderers (England) 2-0 Crusaders (N Ireland)

Airtricity League champions Dundalk, who overcame FC Riga of Latvia in the first qualifying round, were in Champions League second qualifying round first leg action on Wednesday evening when they played host to FK Qarabag of Azerbaijan in Oriel Park. Dundalk suffered an early setback with the concession of a goal after just 3 minutes but an equaliser scored by Patrick Hoban after seventy eight minutes gives them some hope for next week’s away leg.

Scottish champions Glasgow Celtic, first qualifying round conquerors of Serbian champions Sarajevo, were also in Champions League second qualifying round first leg action this Wednesday evening when they crushed Nomme Kalju of Estonia 5-0 in Celtic Park and barring a catastrophe should progress to the third qualifying round in which they are set to face the winners of the tie between CFR Cluj (Romania) and Maccabi Tel-Aviv (Israel) with the Romanian side holding a 1-0 advantage from their home first leg tonight.

Welsh champions The New Saints eliminated KF Feronokeli, the champions of Kosova, in the first qualifying round and this Tuesday evening played host to Danish champions FC Copenhagen in the first leg of the second qualifying round. TNS went down to a 2-0 defeat and face a huge challenge in next week’s second leg in Copenhagen.

Northern Ireland league champions Linfield were eliminated from the Champions League by FK Rosenborg last week and have dropped into the Europa League where they travelled to face HB Torshavn of the Faroe Islands early this Tuesday afternoon and secured a two all draw in the second qualifying round first leg. The second leg is set for Windsor Park at 7.45pm on Thursday the 1st August 2019.

 

The European Championship journey is over. Our Republic of Ireland U19 side went down to a 4-0 semi-final defeat by holders Portugal in the heat of Armenia this Wednesday afternoon.

Ireland went into the match as very much the underdogs, a situation compounded by the absence through suspension of two of their leading lights, captain Lee O’Connor and striker Jonathan Afolabi.

As ever, the Irish players gave all they had but Portugal were quite simply much the better side and fully deserved their victory.

There clearly will be much disappointment within the camp but they should walk tall as their efforts against the background of so many players being withheld by their clubs made an already challenging competition even more daunting.

Ten members of the squad are eligible again next year with four of those also eligible for the following year.

Goalkeeper Brian Maher captained the side this afternoon in the absence of Lee O’Connor and could do little about the goals that beat him. Centre backs Oisin McEntee and Mark McGuinness battled gamely and are both eligible next year. The sixteen year olds, Matt Everitt and Joe Hodge, both offer much hope for the future as does another sixteen year old Festy Ebosele, a 42nd minute substitute this afternoon.   

 

The first legs in the second qualifying rounds of both the Champions League and the Europa League took place this week.

Airtricity League representatives Shamrock Rovers, first qualifying round victors over FK Brann of Norway, played host to Apollon Limassol of Cyprus in the first leg of the second qualifying round in the Europa League in Tallaght Stadium on Thursday evening. The ‘Hoops’ had a nightmare start conceding a goal after just five minutes but they steadied the ship and Lee Grace equalised ten minutes later. Inspired by midfielder Jack Byrne, they took command of matters and on fifty eight minutes Roberto Lopez put them in front. The ‘Hoops’ will travel to Cyprus next week hopeful of progressing to the third qualifying round.

Other Europa League second qualifying round first leg ties played this evening included:-
17.00 Chikhura Sachkhere (Georgia) 1-1 Aberdeen (Scotland)
18.30 Connah’s Quay (Wales) 0-1 Partizan Belgrade (Serbia)
19.45 Glasgow Rangers (Scotland) 2-0 Progres Niederkorn (Luxembourg)
19.45 Wolverhampton Wanderers (England) 2-0 Crusaders (N Ireland)

Airtricity League champions Dundalk, who overcame FC Riga of Latvia in the first qualifying round, were in Champions League second qualifying round first leg action on Wednesday evening when they played host to FK Qarabag of Azerbaijan in Oriel Park. Dundalk suffered an early setback with the concession of a goal after just 3 minutes but an equaliser scored by Patrick Hoban after seventy eight minutes gives them some hope for next week’s away leg.

Scottish champions Glasgow Celtic, first qualifying round conquerors of Serbian champions Sarajevo, were also in Champions League second qualifying round first leg action this Wednesday evening when they crushed Nomme Kalju of Estonia 5-0 in Celtic Park and barring a catastrophe should progress to the third qualifying round in which they are set to face the winners of the tie between CFR Cluj (Romania) and Maccabi Tel-Aviv (Israel) with the Romanian side holding a 1-0 advantage from their home first leg tonight.

Welsh champions The New Saints eliminated KF Feronokeli, the champions of Kosova, in the first qualifying round and this Tuesday evening played host to Danish champions FC Copenhagen in the first leg of the second qualifying round. TNS went down to a 2-0 defeat and face a huge challenge in next week’s second leg in Copenhagen.

Northern Ireland league champions Linfield were eliminated from the Champions League by FK Rosenborg last week and have dropped into the Europa League where they travelled to face HB Torshavn of the Faroe Islands early this Tuesday afternoon and secured a two all draw in the second qualifying round first leg. The second leg is set for Windsor Park at 7.45pm on Thursday the 1st August 2019.

 

 

 

Our U19 side are through to the semi-final of the 2019 European Championship where they will face defending champions Portugal at 3pm next Wednesday afternoon in the Banants Stadium, Yerevan, the capital of host nation Armenia.

Ireland, this Sunday afternoon, defeated the Czech Republic by two goals to one in the FFA Academy Stadium in their concluding Group B contest to finish runners-up to France who defeated Norway by one goal to nil in the other Group contest.

With temperatures in the mid thirties, this was a very physically  demanding encounter which was further compounded by the greater size of the Czech players. There was a degree of nervousness from both sides in the early stages and a dreadful miss by Brandon Kavanagh from three yards out of an open goal might have unnerved a lesser side.

Ireland were settled on thirty five minutes when striker Jonathan Afolabi used his pace and power to create and score an excellent solo goal. Exchanges throughout the remainder of the half were fairly even with Ireland dealing well with matters.

The Czech Republic stepped up their efforts in the second period and caused Ireland a few problems but they remained resilient until the seventy ninth minute when the Czech Republic equalised. At this juncture, Norway were trailing France by one goal to nil in the other contest but with points and goal difference equal their  better disciplinary record would see Norway through.

The negative emotional realisation lasted less than two minutes, then substitute Barry Coffey got on the end on a sweet passing movement and calmly slotted home the second and winning goal.

Save for one rash decision, goalkeeper Brian Maher was solid in his role while the centre back pairing of Mark McGuinness and Oisin McEntee defended resolutely. Captain Lee O’Connor playing in an unfamiliar midfield role was excellent and was supported splendidly by 16 year old Joe Hodge. Man of the Match honours however must go to lone striker Jonathan Afolabi whose pace, power and work rate tormented the Czech defenders. It seems incredible that Afolabi was released by Southampton and is currently unattached, a situation one suspects that will not prevail for long.

There will be huge disappointment for this afternoon’s two outstanding players, Jonathan Afolabi and captain Lee O’Connor who both received harsh yellow cards which will rule them out of the semi-final.

Group B Table

                P  W  D  L  F  A  g/d  Pts
France          3  3  0  0  5  0   5    9
Ireland         3  1  1  1  3  3   –    4
Norway          3  0  2  1  1  2  -1    2
Czech Republic  3  0  1  2  1  5  -4    1

                Group A Table

                P  W  D  L  F  A  g/d  Pts
Portugal        3  2  1  0  8  1    7   7
Spain           3  2  1  0  7  3    4   7
Italy           3  1  0  2  5  5    –   3
Armenia         3  0  0  3  1 12  -11   0

 

At an Emergency General Meeting held at the Dunboyne Castle Hotel today, Saturday the 20th July 2019, the Delegates of the FAI approved the rule changes contained in the report recently produced by the Governance Review Group chaired by Aidan Horan.

There were 120 delegates in attendance with 116 supporting the motion, 2 opposing and 2 abstentions. There were 82 delegates absent from the proceedings with just 7 tendering their apologies.

With the UEFA competitions in full swing, there were just two Airtricity League Premier Division contests played on Friday evening.
The eirSport cameras brought live coverage of the RSC meeting of Waterford and Finn Harps which saw the visitors collect all three points with the only goal coming from the penalty spot. The Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium hosted the meeting of Derry City and Sligo Rovers where the hosts secured a comfortable three nil victory over their ill disciplined visitors who had five players cautioned.

There were two further contests played on Sunday afternoon with Bohemian defeating St Patrick’s Athletic 3-0 in Dalymount Park and Shamrock Rovers crushing UCD 7-0 in Tallaght Stadium.

                            P   W  D  L   F   A   G/D  Pts
Dundalk                    24  17  5  2  46  13   33    56
Shamrock Rovers            25  16  3  6  42  15   27    51
Bohemian                   26  13  6  7  30  20   10    45
Derry City                 25  10 10  5  39  24   15    40
St Patrick’s Athletic      26  10  7  9  21  25   -4    37
Sligo Rovers               26   7 10  9  25  33   -8    31
Cork City                  24   6  8 10  18  28  -10    26
Waterford                  23   6  6 11  28  34   -6    24
Finn Harps                 26   4  5 17  22  50  -28    17
UCD                        25   5  2 18  18  47  -29    17  

There were four Airtricity League First Division fixtures played on Friday evening with current leaders Shelbourne journeying to Athlone Town where they secured a two one victory. Longford Town travelled East to meet Cabinteely where they went down to a two nil defeat.  Drogheda United were also on the road as they journied to Limerick where they prevailed by four goals to one. The remaining contest saw Galway United and visitors Bray Wanderers play out a two all draw in Eamonn Deacy Park.

On Saturday evening, Cobh Ramblers and visitors Wexford played out a one all draw in St Colman’s Park.

                            P   W  D  L   F   A    G/D  Pts
Shelbourne                 21  15  2  4  33  15    18    47
Drogheda United            21  13  2  6  46  28    18    41
Longford Town              21  12  3  6  26  17     9    39 
Cabinteely                 21  11  6  4  30  24     6    39
Bray Wanderers             21  10  2  9  27  20     7    32
Limerick                   21   9  5  7  23  22     1    32 
Cobh Ramblers              21   6  5 10  27  33    -6    23
Athlone Town               21   5  3 13  26  45   -19    18
Galway United              21   4  3 14  21  31   -10    15
Wexford                    21   2  5 15  17  41   -24    11