Sligo Rovers have taken a three point lead at the top of the Norther Elite Division, while in the Southern Elite Division it’s a much tighter affair as UCD and Cork City hold a one point lead over Galway United, Shamrock Rovers and Cobh Ramblers.
Sligo had a 4-2 win over Finn Harps to remain unbeaten this season.
Sligo’s Brian Dorrian said after the game, “Delighted with the victory against Finn Harps, it’s never an easy game against a very good and well set up team. We went one up after 30 seconds which was a positive start, then Harps scored which was to be fair they deserved. Harps then had a great free kick well saved by our keeper Lorcan Callaghan. Martin Walsh then scored a minute before half-time with a good finish.”
“In the second half I thought we played really well, got at them early doors, and created a few chances which we should have done better with. Then Gary Higgins scored after picking a stray pass from their keeper and finished well. Mikey Place then scored to make it 4-2, after a through ball from Conor Henehen”
“Harps scored their second from a set piece that wasn’t dealt with by us which was disappointing, and a good finish by Corrie Lee Bogan.”
“Really good from us considering we had three players away with International and first-team duties. We are delighted with our start after five games but there is a long way to go, and we need to keep working hard.”
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Finn Harps manager Joe Boyle said, “Sligo got out of the traps early with a goal in the opening minute and closed the half with a second on 44 mins. In between Harps established a footing in the match through a goal by Gareth Doherty.”
“The opening half was played in an open fashion with lots of quality in the play.”
“Early in the second half Sligo created and finished two further chances to put the game beyond Harps. We did respond through Corrie Lee Bogan, but couldn’t get a third.”
“Both teams were not at full strength but this did not affect the level of performance. Sligo were good value for the three points.”
Galway United had two games this week as first they lost out 3-2 to Cork City before bouncing back to beat Wexford 2-1.
Manager Nigel Keady says after the Cork game, “We made a quick start and took the lead inside the first minute. We hit the Cork post a couple of minutes later and then Cork put us under a lot of pressure and equalised before half time.”
“In a game where we had three U-17’s playing we had to be resilient at the back and our defensive organisation was good. Unfortunately a couple of mistakes led to their second goal but once again Cathal Carney scored for us with a good individual effort.”
“Cathal has been in good form this season. From Mayo, he joined us from Sligo Rovers in January. He has a very good understanding of the game for such a young player and is a real handful for defenders. He’s a natural goal scorer and one we hope can progress into the 1st team squad this or next season.”
“Cork scored a third goal late on with a long range shot which unsighted our goal keeper. Overall we were disappointed not to have taken a point from the game but the players attitude and commitment were excellent.” Check out our piece on Galway United striker Cathal Carney Click here
Nigel was delighted to bounce back against Wexford saying, “A very competitive game with both teams equally matched. Wexford caused us a lot of problems in the 1st half and we had to adjust for the 2nd half. Cathal Carney finished off some fine work by Ronan Manning to seal the win for us. The number of draws and single goal victories shows how competitive our league is this season so we were delighted with the win following on from our narrow defeat to Cork.”
Wexford’s Thomas O’Connor was bitterly disappointed with some of the officiating during the game, “We started brilliant again today, scoring early through an absolutely brilliant goal from Kyle Doherty. Himself Jake Bates, Vinny Quinlan and Yaw Aboagye with some fantastic play with Kyle then creating space that didn’t seem to be there to hit a wonder strike from 20 plus yards out.”
“We came close on more than one occasion to get the second and had a penalty shout waved away on half time. We controlled the first half and we never felt under pressure at all.”
“In the second half we seemed to be on the receiving end of some important decisions in the game, which is hard to take.”
“Galway scored from a free kick which took an awkward bounce on the surface and went over our keeper. They had another chance, with a decent bit of play from their right winger who put in a cross which was hard to defend against, it was converted and we where 2-1 down.”
“Two of our players got their marching orders and I just can’t commend the nine players and the subs we brought in enough, because even with nine men we where the only team that looked like scoring the next goal. I don’t want to talk about the red card or the second yellow because there is nothing that can be done about them, but without doubt the game should have finished 11 v 11.”
“Kyle Doherty today was fantastic, he scored a wonder goal and had Galway defenders in trouble on many occasions, as had Yaw Aboagye who led the line today and was a constant threat to the Galway team.”
Cork City then faced their local rivals Cobh Ramblers, and that finished scoreless.
Cobh’s Declan Coleman, “It was a good, competitive game. Not many chances in the game really with both teams defending well.”
“I thought we were the better team in the first half but in the second half both teams cancelled each other out. I was very happy with our solid display and a clean sheet is great. We’re unbeaten at home still, although I would have liked if we had created more chances to score.”
“Overall it’s a good result against one of the best teams in the country and we will take a lot of confidence from that. It’s hard to single anyone out as it was a fantastic team performance, but Gordon Walker, Patrick Crowley and Kajus Vitkevicius all had excellent games.”
UCD and Cabinteely played out a 1-1 draw at Belfield.
UCD manager Maciej Tarnogrodzki said, “Yes we were disappointed after the match with the draw, there is no question about that.”
“I thought our performance was good. We completely controlled the first-half, scored a goal from a Ben Hanrahan strike and created another clear-cut chance plus couple of half chances. We conceded after an unfortunate mistake from our side, but overall our defence was very good especially that our centre-backs often defend big spaces when opposition teams sit back and play counter attack.”
“We started the second-half slightly slower but after 10-15 minutes we regained control and got behind Cabo’s defence a couple of time, but unfortunately couldn’t convert these chances. We also hit a cross bar twice during the match.”
“Cabinteely worked tirelessly and had a defensive game plan which worked well for them, and I think for the effort they put it they deserved a draw.”
“It’s difficult for me to say if that was a fair result if you ask, based on performance we should have won it but in football you win matches by scoring more goals than opposition.”
“Some aspects of our game still need improvement. The encouraging thing is that we create clear cut chances in every game, and also against teams who sit very deep and defend with big numbers. This league is strong and you need to be prepared very well for every game.”
Cabinteely manager John-Paul Kellywas very pleased afterwards saying, “Good performance over all from our lads against a very good UCD side.We started the game quite well and went one up through Ronan Smith who I thought done really well today. He pressed up nice and high and won the ball and broke, and put it away to the bottom right hand corner of the keeper.”
“After that we just sat too deep and put ourselves under a bit of pressure, which we didn’t need to do, and UCD worked the ball well in the last third, with us being too deep and had a shot, and they were alive to the rebound and scored.”
“Eathan Farrell was excellent for us today in goals. He made 2 or 3 really good saves to keep us in the game.”
“We spoke at half-time and changed one or two things and credit to the boys we were a lot better in the second half. Ronan O’kelly created a great chance for himself and was very unlucky not to score, and again I thought he did really well for us today.”
“UCD moved the ball well and created a few chances and had a shot from the left hand side coming back of the bar but overall we defended well.”
“We were missing a good few players through injury today and a few of our U-17s made their debuts today, which is great for them and also for Cabinteely fc”
Derry City were 4-1 winners in Athlone to leave the midlanders pointless after five games.
Derry’s John Quigg said, “It was a very good game of football in Althone today. Derry had lots of possession and chances but Athlone took the lead on ten minutes with a mistake at the back from us.”
“We then had a couple of chances before we got a deserved goal five minutes before half-time from Sean McBride. Ten minutes into the second half some great work from man of match Adrian Delap set up McBride for his second.”
“Athlone had two good chances to get level before we scored a thrird five minutes from time, a penalty from Matt Doherty. We then got a fourth from Stephen Duffy on 90 minutes but it was a tough game on a good pitch.”
“Its early days for Derry and I am hoping we can get a few more into the first team this year. Young Delap was in great form along with Sam Todd and young McGolgon, so a good day in Athlone.”
Athlone’s Mick Dolan, “To be honest the scoreline doesn’t reflect the game overall as Derry scored twice in the last four minutes. We took the lead after ten minutes with an excellent Paul Costello strike from 18 yards, following good work from Conor Layng to create the opportunity.”
“Derry came in to the game more after first 20 minutes or so and they forced quite a few corners. Our goalkeeper Jack Lydon also made a superb save from Sean Mcbride from one corner, and Callum Brummell went close for us following more good work from Layng.”
“We went in 1-1 at half-time following Derry’s equaliser in the 40th minute and started the second half reasonably well. But we went behind on 56 minutes when we lost possession in the Derry half and got caught on the counter.”
“We had two good opportunities to equalise through Callum Brmell and James Newell but unfortunately missed both and we’re very disappointed to concede those two late goals.”
“The players put in a huge effort today and everybody who played deserves great credit for their performance. In particular Kevin Fitzgerald, JJ Offajama, James Newell and Conor Layng performed well. Sean Mcgrane also did a great job when moved to left back to reduce the impact Derry’s right winger Aidy Delap had on the game in first 40 minutes.”
“I feel we can build on this performance but have to be more concentrated when we lose possession while attacking, and at this level you have to be clinical when you create good opportunities. It’s a tough shift for us at present but if the effort and quality we showed today is maintained our results will improve.”
Monaghan/Cavan were beaten 5-0 by Dundalk, but the northerners were decimated by injuries.
St Pats manager Garrett Dodrill wasn’t a happy camper after their game, a 5-0 defeat to Drogheda United saying, “Not good enough from us. We were missing three players who were with the Irish U-18’s. Opportunity for other players to impress, but to a man we weren’t anywhere near the level expected.”
“Drogheda wanted it more than us and punished all the mistakes we made at the back. Nathan Seery was very good for Drogheda and worked his socks off. ”
“We have been far too inconsistent this season, I’ve said it already, the players need to start learning quicker. The performance today was no where near good enough for St Pats. There is no excuse for not working hard.”
Drogheda’s Derek Boyle was much the happier saying, “It was Massive win for us considering we had lost the last two games. We knew how good pats were going to be so we had to be at our best for the whole game.”
“Our keepers were both injured so we played our under 17s keeper Harry Hogan who was brilliant. Everybody was excellent, they all worked so hard.”
“Karl Fitzsimon came off the bench to score 2, the first was his first touch. while Nathan Seery scored with a great finish from the edge of the box for a second week in a row.”
“Emmett Carolyn got the first with Stephen Meaney getting the last. That’s 5 goals in 5 games for him and assisted 2 others. The lads worked really hard all week in training on the defensive side of the game so I’m really pleased for them to get a clean sheet after conceding 9 in the last 2 games.”
“Pats went three at the back to chase the game when we went 3 up and obviously that left space for us to exploit and we got our last two then.”
“Pats were missing three players who were away on International duty so we won’t get to carried away. We’ve a big game in the cup against Shamrock Rovers next week so its important we keep our feet on the ground and put same effort into training this week in preparation for it.”
Bohemians had a good 3-1 win over Longford Town.
Bohs Assistant Manager Craig Sexton told us, “Happy with today as a whole, longford tried to make it difficult for us but we overcame it in the end. Some positives and negatives but they are young and still learning, it is all apart of their education.”
“Some good performances from our younger players in the squad such as Dylan Thornton , Kian Clarke and Brandon Kavanagh (both latest head to the euros with Ireland u17).”
On Cian Fay, who scored twice in the game Sexton said, “Cian has been a great addition to the group on and off the pitch. We are still trying to educate him on the parts of the game that he needs to work on, but the fact he has a great attitude helps towards that. He’s our top scorer and the way we play helps his game.”
“It’s fantastic for our young players to be constantly involved with our 1st team and the fact that the first team are constantly interacting and know what is going on helps our players. They have been fantastic, we are delighted for them, and it’s fantastic for everyone at the club because it is a pat on the back for everyone that we have the ability to do this.”
“We have a responsibility to manage players correctly as they are involved in first-team match days alot lately so we need to limit game time with ourselves like today for example.”
“We feel we are providing a great environment for younger players to have a pathway into a first team set up.”
Longford’s Graham Kane said, “I was happy with the performance of our team, we had a game plan and we stuck to that plan for majority of the game.”
“We knew we had to be clever in how we set-up against Bohs as they are a really good team. So we had to be patient and disciplined in our shape.”
“I thought we started the game really well going 1-0 up through a set piece from Sean Bragazzi. I thought we frustrated Bohs in the first-half and nullified their threat. It wasn’t us going to Bohs and been negative it was us been clever and another learning aspect for our players, as they progress through their careers they will be asked to setup like that in games, and it is important they understand their role within that game plan.”
“Bohs equalized through a goalkeeping mistake which was disappointing but our goalkeeper will learn from that error which is important.”
The second half started and we were playing really well and really looked like scoring, Bohs keeper Kian Clarke was excellent the whole game and made some excellent saves at 1-1 to keep Bohs in the game.”
“Bohs made changes and to be honest Brandon Kavnagh was the difference in the second half. He’s a really clever player and something Bohs hadn’t got in the first half.”
“Bohs were awarded a penalty which was very controversial as the player was fouled outside the box, but that is football and we just had to get on with it. Bohs scored their third goal from an own-goal from one of our players, after giving away a needless free-kick at the corner flag by our right-back, but again I will say it he will learn from making that decision. That is more important to me than anything else that my players are learning every week.”
“We play Cabinteely in the cup this week, which I am looking forward to as the Bohs game was our best performance so we will look to build on that.”
Waterford and Shamrock Rovers played out quite an entertaining 0-0 draw, and we got the views of Rovers boss Aidan Price after the game. He said, “The game was very scrappy with the pitch being quite slow and restricting both teams. Both sides had chances, but I felt we finished the game much stronger. Sean Callan and Cian Collins played really well at CB with Luca Gratzer in goal making a few good saves to keep clean sheet.”
Bray and Limerick finished 2-2, as Bray stay winless, but have only lost twice this season. Limerick’s Tommy Barrett said, “I felt we were good again today and created lots of chances. Will Fitzgerald scored an excellent overhead kick to put us one-up and Barry Cotter scored a volley when Clyde 0’Connell headed against the bar.”
“Bray got a goal with 20 minutes to go and we’re on the front foot for the last 20. I feel that we are playing well but lapses in concentration are costing the team silly goals,but overall happy with the squad and the attitude overall.”
Photo Credits;
Stephen Burke (Bohemians)
Vinny O’Connor (Galway United)
St Patrick’s Athletic FC
Cabinteely FC