News

Cork City were represented in the Cardiff Athletic Stadium this Thursday evening when Cardiff Metropolitan University faced FC Progress Niederkorn of Luxembourg in the second leg of their Europa League qualifying round tie.
The Welsh hosts won the match by two goals to one but their one nil deficit from the first leg played in Differdange last week saw them exit the competition on the away goals rule.
The ‘Rebels’ will now face FC Progress Niederkorn in the first qualifying round of the Europa League with the first leg set for Turner’s Cross at 7.45pm on the evening of Thursday the 11th July 2019.
In other contests played this evening, Ballymena United played out a scoreless draw with NSI Runavik in the Faroe Islands to progress to the next round having won the home first leg by two goals to nil last week. Ballymena will now face Malmo of Sweden in the first qualifying round.
Fellow NI side Cliftonville followed up their scoreless away draw last week with a four nil home victory over Barry Town of Wales and will now face Haugesund of Norway in the first qualifying round.

There was a full set of Airtricity League Premier Division fixtures played this Monday evening.
Eight point leaders Dundalk defeated visitors Waterford by three goals to nil in Oriel Park while second place Shamrock Rovers made the short journey to take on St Patrick’s Athletic in Richmond Park where they secured a two nil victory. The eirSport cameras brought  live action from Dalymount Park where third place Bohemian and fourth place Derry City played out a scoreless draw. Struggling Cork City journied North to face Finn Harps in Finn Park where the contest finished scoreless. Sligo Rovers recovered from going behind early on to crush UCD by five goals to one in the Showgrounds.

                            P   W  D  L   F   A   G/D  Pts
Dundalk                    23  17  4  2  44  11   33    55
Shamrock Rovers            23  15  2  6  35  15   20    47
Bohemian                   23  12  5  6  27  17   10    41
Derry City                 22   9  8  5  34  22   12    35
St Patrick’s Athletic      24   9  7  8  19  21   -2    34
Sligo Rovers               23   7  8  8  25  30   -5    29
Cork City                  23   6  7 10  18  28  -10    25
Waterford                  20   6  5  9  27  31   -4    23
Finn Harps                 24   3  5 16  21  49  -28    14
UCD                        21   3  1 17  14  40  -26    10

 

The Republic of Ireland will contest the eight nation U19 European Championship Finals being hosted by Armenia between Sunday the 14th July and Saturday the 27th July 2019.

Ireland Head Coach Tom Mohan now has the arduous task of selecting his 20 man squad for the Tournament. The squad is scheduled to depart from Dublin on Tuesday the 9th July 2019.

Last week, Mohan held a three day training camp at the FAI NTC in Abbotstown where he included four members of the squad which contested the U17 European Championship Finals in May, Jimmy Corcoran, Joe Hodge, Andrew Omobamidele and Timi Sobowale.

The training squad did not include the five eligible players who participated in the recent Toulon U21 Tournament, Lee O’Connor(Manchester United), Conor Coventry(West Ham United), Jason Knight(Derby County), Aaron Connolly(Brighton & Hove Albion)and Adam Idah(Norwich City). Other notable absentees were Nathan Collins(Stoke City), senior international Michael Obafemi(Southampton) and Troy Parrott(Tottenham Hotspur), all of whom are training with their Club senior squads as also is Luca Connell, who did participate in the training camp, but has subsequently joined Glasgow Celtic and this week linked up with their senior training camp in Austria.

Training Camp Squad

Goalkeepers: Brian Maher(St Patrick’s Athletic), George McMahon(Burnley), Luke McNicholas(Sligo Rovers),Jimmy Corcoran(Preston North End)
Defenders: Tom Gaston(Bordeaux), Kameron Ledwidge(Southampton), Andy Lyons(Bohemian), Oisin McEntee(Newcastle United), Mark McGuinness(Arsenal), Timi Sobowale(Manchester City), Andrew Omobamidele(Norwich City), Jack James(Unattached),Ciaran Brennan(Sheffield Wednesday) 
Midfielders: Aaron Bolger(Shamrock Rovers), Luca Connell(Glasgow Celtic), Conor Grant(Sheffield Wednesday), Joe Hodge(Manchester City), Niall Morahan(Sligo Rovers), Richie O’Farrell(St Patrick’s Athletic), Adam O’Reilly(Preston North End), Will Smallbone(Southampton), Brandon Kavanagh(Shamrock Rovers),Shane Farrell(Shelbourne)
Forwards: Jonathan Afolabi(Unattached), Festy Ebosele(Derby County), Will Ferry(Southampton), Ali Reghba(Bohemian), Ryan Cassidy(Watford),Rowan Roache(Blackpool), Tyriek Wright(Aston Villa)

Coaching Staff:
Assistant Coach: Mick Neville
Goalkeeping Coach: Dermot O’Neill
Technical Advisor: Colin Healy 

Summer 2019 Transfers

The 2019 UK summer transfer window opened at midnight on Thursday the 16th May 2019 and concluded at 5pm on Thursday the 8th August 2019. The Irish and Ireland qualified players detailed below have been involved in some form of release or transfer during the relevant period.

Most notable amongst the movements to date is the switch of Callum Robinson from Preston North End to newly promoted Premier League side Sheffield United on a four year contract for an undisclosed fee which was confirmed as a then club record and that of James McCarthy from Everton to Crystal Palace. Senior internationals Harry Arter and Scott Hogan have joined Championship sides Fulham and Stoke City on season long loans from AFC Bournemouth and Aston Villa respectively while West Ham United midfielder Josh Cullen has returned to Charlton Athletic on another season long loan.

Our U21 captain, midfielder Jayson Molumby, has joined Millwall on a season long loan from Brighton & Hove Albion for whom he has just signed an improved two year contract. Another notable transfer is that of 18 year old Luca Connell from Bolton Wanderers to Glasgow Celtic on a four year contract.

Current underage internationals also on the move are Aaron Bolger from Shamrock Rovers to Cardiff City, Conor Masterson from Liverpool to QPR, Ali Reghba from Bohemian to Leicester City, Anselmo Garcia McNulty from Real Betis(Spain) to Wolfsburg(Germany) and James Furlong from Shamrock Rovers to Brighton & Hove Albion.
Other interesting moves involving young players who may emerge as senior internationals include goalkeepers Kieran O’Hara, from Manchester United to Burton Albion on a season loan, and Max O’Leary from Bristol City to Shrewsbury Town, also on a season loan together with midfielder Liam Kelly from Reading to Feyenoord in Holland on a two year contract. Another uncapped midfielder Dan Crowley has made the move from Willem II in Holland to Birmingham City.

Former internationals David Forde, Darren O’Dea and John O’Shea have announced their playing retirement while international retirees Stephen Ward and Wes Hoolihan have moved from Burnley and West Bromwich Albion to Stoke City and Newcastle Jets (Australia) respectively. On the 14th August, current international squad member Glenn Whelan, released by Aston Villa, joined Scottish Premier Division side Heart of Midlothian on a one year contract. Greg Cunningham has joined Blackburn Rovers on a season long loan from Cardiff City.

NAME	FROM	TO	DETAILS
Jonathan Afolabi	Southampton	Glasgow Celtic	2 Year Contract
Harry Arter	AFC Bournemouth	Fulham	Season Loan
Noe Baba		Fortuna Koln	1 Year contract
Adam Barton	Dundee United	Wrexham	Free
Jack Bonham	Brentford	Gillingham	Free
Liam Bossin	Nottingham Forest		Released
Aaron Bolger	Shamrock Rovers	Cardiff City	Undisclosed
Andy Boyle	Preston North End	Dundalk	End of Contract
Mark Bunn	Aston Villa		Released
Graham Carey	Plymouth Argyle	CSKA Sofia	End of Contract
Canice Carroll	Brentford	Carlisle United	Season Loan
Jake Carroll	Cambridge United	Motherwell	Released
Harry Charsley	Everton		Released
Billy Clarke	Bradford City		Released
Trevor Clarke	Shamrock Rovers	Rotherham United	Undisclosed
Michael Collins	Everton	Sunderland	Released
Luca Connell	Bolton Wanderers	Glasgow Celtic	4 year contract
Daniel Crowley	Willem II (Holland)	Birmingham City	2 year contract
Josh Cullen	West Ham United	Charlton Athletic	Season Loan
Greg Cunningham	Cardiff City	Blackburn Rovers	Season Loan
Kevin Dawson	Cheltenham Town	Forest Green Rovers	1 year contract
Jamie Devitt	Carlisle United	Blackpool	Undisclosed
Eoin Doyle	Bradford City	Swindon Town	Season Loan
Tyrone Duffus	Cardiff City		Released
Shamir Fenelon	Aldershot	Maidenhead United	Free
Sam Foley	Northampton Town	St Mirren	Free
Anthony Forde	Rotherham United	Oxford United	2 year contract
David Forde	Cambridge United		Retired
Reece Ford	Coventry City		Released
James Furlong	Shamrock Rovers	Brighton & Hove A	Undisclosed
Anthony Gerrard	Carlisle United		Released
Darron Gibson	Wigan Athletic		Released
Rene Gilmartin	Colchester United	Bristol City	2 year contract
Jim Goodwin	Alloa Athletic – Manager	St Mirren	Manager
Gavin Gunning	Forest Green Rovers		Released
Michael Harriman	Wycombe Wanderers		Released
Stephen Henderson	Nottingham Forest	Crystal Palace	1 year contract
Marcus Hewelt	Everton	Miedz Legnica (Poland)	Released
Tommie Hoban	Watford		Released
Scott Hogan	Aston Villa	Stoke City	Season Loan
Wes Hoolihan	West Bromwich Albion	Newcastle Jets (Australia)	Released
Jack James	Luton Town		Released
Will Keane	Hull City		Released
Fiacre Kelleher	Oxford United		Released
Liam Kelly	Reading	Feyenood (Holland)	2 year contract
Andy Keogh	Perth Glory	Al-Qadsiah (Saudi Arabia)
Joe Mason	Wolverhampton Wanderers	MK Dons	Free
Conor Masterson	Liverpool	QPR	2 year contract
Liam McAlinden	Cheltenham Town		Released
Glen McAuley	Liverpool	St Patrick’s Athletic	Released
James McCarthy	Everton	Crystal Palace	Undisclosed
Alan McCormack	Luton Town	Northampton Town	Released
Damien McCrory	Burton Albion		Released
Sean McDermott	Dinamo Bucharest	Kristiansund	3 year deal
Adam McDonnell	Ipswich Town	Boreham Wood	Undisclosed
Carl McHugh	Motherwell	Atletico de Kolkata	Free
Sean McLoughlin	Cork City	Hull City	Undisclosed
Anselmo G McNulty	Real Betis(Spain)	Wolfsburg(Germany)
Paul McShane	Reading		Released
David Meyler	Reading		Mutual
Jayson Molumby	Brighton & Hove A	Millwall	Season Loan
Joe Murphy	Bury	Shrewsbury Town	1 year contract
Rhys Murphy	Chelmsford City	Yeovil Town	Free
Emmanuel Osadebe	Cambridge United	Macclesfield Town	1 year contract
Paudie O’Connor	Leeds United	Bradford City	Undisclosed
Darren O’Dea	Dundee		Retired
Roy O’Donovan	Newcastle Jets	Brisbane Roar	2 Year Deal
Connor O’Grady	Sheffield Wednesday		Released
Kieran O’Hara	Manchester United	Burton Albion	Season Loan
Corey O’Keefe	Birmingham City	Macclesfield Town	Season Loan
Max O’Leary	Bristol City	Shrewsbury Town	Season Loan
Jay O’Shea	Bury	Brisbane Roar	Free
John O’Shea	Reading		Retired
John O’Sullivan	Blackpool	Morecambe	2 year deal
John Joe O’Toole	Northampton Town	Burton Albion	Free
Alex Pearce	Derby County	Millwall	Undisclosed
Darren Potter	Rotherham United	Tranmere Rovers	One Year Deal
Simon Power	Norwich City	Ross County	Season Loan
Joe Quigley	AFC Bournemouth	Dagenham & Redbridge	Free
Sean Raggett	Norwich City	Portsmouth	Season Loan
Ali Reghba	Bohemian	Leicester City	Undisclosed
Callum Reilly	Gillingham	AFC Wimbledon	Free
Callum Robinson	Preston North End	Sheffield United	Undisclosed
Danny Rogers	Aberdeen	Greenock Morton	Season Loan
Paul Rooney	Colchester United		Released
Jimmy Ryan	Blackpool	Rochdale	Free
Joe Shaughnessy	St Johnstone	Southend United	End of Contract
Connor Smith	Billericay Town	Wealdstone	Free
Anthony Stokes		Adana Demirspor (Turkey D2)
Eoghan Stokes	Bury	Rochdale	Undisclosed
Michael Timlin	Stevenage Borough		Released
Richie Towell	Brighton & Hove A	Salford City	Undisclosed
Sam Warde	Colchester United	Sligo Rovers	Released
Stephen Ward	Burnley	Stoke City	One Year Deal
Corey Whelan	Liverpool	Phoenix Rising	Released
Glenn Whelan	Aston Villa	Heart of Midlothian	1 year contract
Conor Wilkinson	Dagenham & Redbridge	Leyton Orient	Undisclosed

 

Colin Bell, Head Coach of the Republic of Ireland Senior Women’s Team has resigned his position and leaves to take up a senior coaching role with Huddersfield Town in the English Championship.

The news comes as a bitter blow to the senior women as the upward progression under the guidance of Bell was quite uplifting.

In a brief statement, Bell confirmed that he was unable to agree the future pathway of Women’s football in Ireland with the FAI. Bell had presented a programme of progression to the Association but they were unable to accede to his proposals at this time. It is very likely that the current situation in which the Association is embroiled and the attendant fiscal challenges played a significant part in their inability to reach an agreement.

The Association will now embark on a search for Bell‘s successor which needs to be swift with our opening EURO 2021 qualifier against Montenegro set for Tallaght Stadium on Tuesday 3rd September 2019. 

The 2019 UK summer transfer window opened at midnight on Thursday the 16th May 2019 and is scheduled to conclude at 5pm on Thursday the 8th August 2019. The Irish players detailed in the linked schedule have been involved in some form of release or transfer during the relevant period. 

Click here for full details of all 2019 Summer Transfer Activity

The Airtricity League resumed this Friday evening following the two week mid-season break.
There was a full programme in the Premier Division with the Tallaght Stadium meeting of the top two, Shamrock Rovers and  Dundalk topping the bill. The eirSport cameras brought live coverage of the contest which saw the visiting ‘Lilywhites’ increase their lead at the summit to eight points with a one nil victory.
Third place Bohemian consolidated their position with a two one success at Waterford while fourth place Derry City made the lengthy journey to Turner’s Cross where they crushed Cork City by four goals to one. The Bowl hosted the meeting of UCD and St Patrick’s Athletic where the visitors scored the only goal while the North West derby meeting of Finn Harps and Sligo Rovers went the way of the hosts by two goals to nil in Finn Park.

                            P   W  D  L   F   A   G/D  Pts
Dundalk                    22  16  4  2  41  11   30    52
Shamrock Rovers            22  14  2  6  33  15   18    44
Bohemian                   22  12  4  6  27  17   10    40
Derry City                 21   9  7  5  34  22   12    34
St Patrick’s Athletic      23   9  7  7  19  19    –    34
Sligo Rovers               22   6  8  8  20  29   -9    26
Cork City                  22   6  6 10  18  28  -10    24
Waterford                  19   6  5  8  27  28   -1    23
Finn Harps                 23   3  4 16  21  49  -28    13  
UCD                        20   3  1 16  13  35  -22    10

There were four matches played in the First Division with four point leaders Shelbourne consolidating their position with a one nil victory over fourth place Limerick in the Market’s Field. Third place Drogheda United maintained their challenge with a one nil success over Bray Wanderers in United Park while Cabinteely defeated visitors Wexford by two goals to nil at Stradbrook. Galway United and Athlone Town locked horns in Eamonn Deacy Park with the visitors emerging victorious by two goals to one to leapfrog their opponents on the League Table.
The remaining contest will see third place Longford Town take on Cobh Ramblers in the City Calling Stadium at 7.30pm on Saturday night.

                            P   W  D  L   F   A    G/D  Pts
Shelbourne                 18  13  1  4  27  13    14    40
Drogheda United            18  11  2  5  37  23    14    35
Longford Town              17  10  3  4  22  11    11    33
Cabinteely                 18   9  5  4  25  22     3    32
Limerick                   18   8  5  5  19  16     3    29
Bray Wanderers             18   9  1  8  23  16     7    28
Cobh Ramblers              17   5  4  8  22  26    -4    19
Athlone Town               18   4  3 11  21  40   -19    15
Galway United              18   4  1 13  19  26    -7    13
Wexford                    18   2  3 14  15  37   -22     9