Airtricity League Round Up Week #3

We are three weeks in now, and things are starting to shape up in the Airtricity League. After another weekend of matches we are getting a clearer picture of who will be in the shake up for the honours come the end of the season. One or two sides have surprised me with their performances so far, and on the other hand it has not been the start some clubs would have wanted. The team who have most impressed me during these early stages of the league has to be the Bohemians and the team who are the biggest disappointment so far are Saint Patricks Athletic. Both clubs are from Dublin and have an amazing history behind them. But I won’t dwell on this being that it’s early days yet.

So what went on in week three, well let me try and fill in the gaps over the next two paragraphs.

On Friday night all roads led to the Tallaght stadium for the clash between two of the fancied sides for this year’s title. Shamrock Rovers were at home to Cork City and expectations were high for a cracking game. Included in both sides were former international stars, Liam Miller, Stephen McPhail, Keith Fahey, Alan Bennett and Colin Healy. But a game that promised so much was in fairness a let-down. It ended in a nil all draw and both sides cancelled each other out, but this result only showed to me that these two will be up there or thereabouts when the medals are given out at the end of the season. The surprise of the night was in Oriel Park, where Champions Dundalk hosted FAI Cup holders Saint Patricks Athletic. It was not the fact that Dundalk won by three goals to nil, but it was the ill-disciplined performance by Saint Pat,s. They had Conor McCormack and Killian Brennan sent off in a bad tempered match. These are the games the Dublin side need to win if they want to go on and challenge this season and already they have lost to Dundalk and Shamrock Rovers. Hopefully they can rectify there discipline problems and put a string of results together to get back on track, long way to go though in fairness. Elsewhere in the Premier League there were wins for Galway who overcame Drogheda United one nil. Bohemians had a super one nil win away at seaside club Bray. Meanwhile Limerick drew two all with Longford Town and the points were also shared in Sligo as the hosts drew one all with Derry City. It is bubbling along quite nicely now and this week we have two rounds of Premier League games to wet the appetite. Game of the week will be Bohemians taking on Champions Dundalk in Dublin and I for one will be very interested to see how the Dublin side do. I will be bring you all the news from that game next week, and anything else that happens in the league.

In Division One things are hotting up and the usual suspects have stared so well. Athlone Town won two one away at UCD, Finn Harps won two nil away in Waterford and Shelbourne won one nil away at Cabinteely. To top it all off Wexford Youths battered Cobh away by four goals to one, it is most unusual for all teams playing away in a division to win, but over the weekend this is exactly what happened. It tells me, it will be tight for promotion out of this league this season. There is only one round of matches in this league this week unlike the premier but the game of the week will be in Tolka Park between Shelbourne and Athlone Town.I for one shall be heading to that match and I am expecting a battle for the points.

One huge game I have to mention before I go this week is the meeting between the Republic of Ireland and Poland in the qualifiers for the European Championship 2016. I feel it is a must win for Martin O'Neill and the boys in green. The Poles will not be an easy side to beat but if the Irish can do it, they really have a great chance of qualification knowing the way things are set out for qualification this time. It will most likely be a full house in the Aviva Stadium on Sunday night and I for one will be in attendance. I know also it is been shown live on TV around Europe so if you get a chance tune in and have a look at it. So as you can see it is all go at the moment in Irish Football and long may it last, I hope you enjoy your week as I plan to do and I will see you next week, Cheers.

Airtricity League Round Up Week #2

If the first week in this seasons Airtricity League was fairly quiet, this week it exploded into action in both the Premier and First Division. Goals galore and splendid action saw supporters returning home with great memories of there night out. One such spectator was the President of the Republic of Ireland Mr Micheal D Higgins who had come out to see his beloved Galway play Bohemians in the home of football in Dalymount Park. The president is a great supporter of the Airtricity League and will always try and get to see his club play if his busy schedule allows. There are not to many leagues in the world where a president attends matches on a regular basis. The fans on the night on both sides gave the man a standing ovation as we stood for the countries national anthem. Alas he was to go home a defeated man as Bohemians came out two nil winners. Two goals from centre half Anto Murphy saw the Dublin side continue on an undefeated run, in fairness they played some splendid one touch football and also at a very high pace. Things are going well for manager Keith Long and he is getting the results by all the hard work put in by himself and his players. They will be well worth watching over the coming weeks to see if they can sustain this early form.

Elsewhere around the country in the Premier League there were wins for, Shamrock Rovers away at Longford, Dundalk did a real smash and grab by winning one nil in Derry, Saint Patrick's Athletic steamed rolled over Bray running out easy three nil winners. Cork City thrashed Limerick five nil and as I said last week they will go very close to winning the league this season. Match of the week though was in Drogheda were the home team came from been twice behind to beat Sligo Rovers three two.Goalscorers on the night for the Drogs were,Kavanagh,Brady and Yadolani.So at this early stage of the season a lot of teams are putting down their marker and it all is set up for a great season.In fairness it is what the league requires this season,a few teams chasing for the title in a tight race.

In Division One, there were wins for Finn Harps,Waterford, Athlone and Shelbourne.The Shelbourne side were the most impressive with their victory away to UCD.A goal from Sean Heaney on 76 minutes sealed the points and what is more satisfying is the fact that they managed to beat one of their rivals for promotion. It is to early to start looking at league tables at the moment but when we are five games in we will look at it then. Results this early in the season can build confidence and help you build momentum.

There are some exciting games coming up this weekend and I for one will be in attendance in the Tallaght stadium where Cork are the visitors to play Shamrock Rovers in what will be the game of the week. If this weekend is half as good as last week we are in for a post Saint Patricks Day festival of football. So let the games begin and may the better team get the result they deserved.Until next week,Good Luck

Airtricity League Round Up Week #1

All over the country last weekend supporters flocked to see their favourite teams as the Airtricity League for 2015 kicked off. It seemed to be a long time coming and the close season dragged on, but we are up and running now. According to all reports it was a good start and controversy was absent at the games. All in all it was nice steady start. I am sure things will change over the coming months when the pressure is on to win trophies and the European campaigns start. It will be a great pleasure on my part to bring you weekly bulletins and as the league goes on I hope to have exclusive interviews from within the league.

This week in the Premier league, the game of the week was the Dublin Derby between Shamrock Rovers and Saint Patrick,s Athletic. These derby games are always feisty affairs and this game was shown live on TV in Ireland on Friday night. Unfortunately the game was ruined by what can only be described as a hurricane size wind blowing directly from one goal right down the centre of the pitch. It was extremely hard to get the ball down and play, no matter what level you are at. In the end a Danny North goal settled it in favour of Rovers and it was a great start for North, who was making his debut. In other premier league games over the weekend their were wins for champions Dundalk who managed a one nil win at home to Longford Town. Derry, Drogheda, Bohemians also managed to bag three points each and I must say I was very impressed with Bohemians win in Limerick by three goals to nil. In the remaining game of the weekend Sligo and Cork played out a one all draw. These two teams will be up there when the medals are been handed out at the end of the season and it was no surprise to me that this one ended up in a draw.

I myself headed to Tolka Park on Friday night to see the game of the weekend in Division One. Shelbourne were taking on Finn Harps. Now these two are been widely tipped for promotion but I myself am not so sure. Shels have brought in quite a few players in the close season and have also appointed a new manager in Kevin Doherty. As it happened it turned about to be a real struggle of a game for both sides. Shelbourne should have won it and striker Phil Hughes must still be kicking himself for missing three golden opportunities in the first half. This was another game that suffered from the high winds and I thought Finn Harps were the better side as they showed some nice touches throughout the ninety minutes, but a nil all draw saw both sets of supporters go home happy. Nothing lost nothing gained is always a good way to start a league campaign. In the other games around the Division One their were wins for Cabinteely and UCD and in the remaining match Waterford and Athlone shared the points in a one all draw.

So we are up and running and the games will come tick and fast as we move along. One other interesting piece of news that has broke over the past couple of days is that former Republic Of Ireland international Damien Duff has announced he is hoping to finish his career at home and all the Airtricity League teams will be battling it out to get his signature on a contract, so watch this space. It may not be Champions League but is our League and I for one am delighted it is back. Good Luck.

The Airtricity League

Today will see the start of this seasons Airtricity League in Ireland. Yes the season starts now, but I know that might confuse a lot of people but this league runs throughout the summer until the autumn. The supporters have been waiting patiently for the start and it all kicks off this Friday. This league is close to my heart as not only is it the top football league in our country; it’s also the league I refereed in for a few years. I have been asked on a few occasions over the years, what sort of standard is in the league ?. Well in my opinion the standard is extremely high and if the crowds were bigger and the TV stations gave it a bit more airtime it could be a super league.

The Airtricity League consists of two divisions, which are the Premier and Division One. Over the coming months I will be keeping you all up to date as to whom the winners and losers are. I am excited about the journey and I hope I can take you all along with me. Let me below just do a brief preview of the coming season and fill you in as to who the teams are.

The Premier Division consists of twelve teams including Bohemians, Bray, Cork, Derry, Drogheda, Dundalk, Galway, Limerick, Longford, Shamrock Rovers, Sligo Rovers and Saint Patrick,s Athletic. Reigning champions Dundalk will be a hard side to knock off there perch and if anybody can topple the team from Louth I feel Cork City, Shamrock Rovers or Saint Patricks Athletic. Each of these teams I just named could give them a good run for their money. The Rovers team are managed by former Hibernian manager Pat Fenlon, who has returned home to try and win the title with one of footballs most iconic clubs. All in all the Premier League looks like it is set up for a few exciting months. The actual TV stations have given it some air space, although not to sky’s proportion, it should be good and extremely competitive.

The First Division consists of only eight teams and all these teams will be battling it out to get back to the summit of the Premier. In this league there are a few teams who over previous years have played in Europe. The eight teams are Athlone Town, Cabinteely, Cobh Ramblers, Finn Harps, Shelbourne, UCD, Waterford United and Wexford Youths. In fact on the European front, if you go back to the seventies the great AC Milan played Athlone Town in the UEFA CUP. Athlone kept the Italian side to a nil all draw in Ireland and lost the second leg three nil but only after holding out for an hour with no score in the San Siro. In my opinion the three teams that will battle it out in this division will be UCD, Shelbourne and Waterford. These three should lead the pack and it is a toss up between them as to who gets the promotion.

As I said from the outset on this blog, I hope to bring you all the news from the Airtricity League as the season progresses. Stick with me and I will fill you in on all the ups and downs. It may not be promoted, as much as the Barclays Premier League but with these blogs it has to be a step forward. I shall be in attendance most weekends at games and I am really looking forward to seeing live football again; looking forward to the smell of the freshly baked pies and reading through my match day program. Any way that’s my preview done, next week I shall bring you all the news from the first weekends round of matches, Until then enjoy your week and may your team bring you happiness. Good Luck.

Incredible Decisions

What a weekend of sport we have just had. There was egg chasing in the Aviva stadium in Dublin between Ireland and England and lots of Barclay's Premier League to drool over. Well maybe drool is not a correct term to use, more so to admire would be the word I am looking for. But as sure as night follows day I was always going to have plenty to blog about as refereeing decisions are once again in the spotlight. It is starting to become a bit of a farce now as we seem to be getting more and more of the big decisions wrong. This week I am going to focus on issues involving Roger East and fellow referee Neil Swarbrick. These two lads were in charge of huge games at Old Trafford and The Brittania Stadium. Games were the boys needed to be tuned in and on top of there form. Unfortunately this was not the case and referees up and down the country must have cringed with anguish at there performances.

Let me start at the Manchester United v Sunderland game in the so called Theatre of Dreams. Well let me tell you after what Roger did he will be having nightmares for months about it. When I am looking at games and judging a referee I always look at the degree of difficulty the game had to offer the official. This game in my opinion was a piece of cake for Mr East to referee as he called his fouls early on and was in cruise control as the game went on. He got control of the game early on and in fairness could have got his armchair out and sat in the middle of the pitch and blew his whistle. So you can imagine my astonishment, when in the 65th minute his game imploded. Roger blew for a penalty which in my opinion was totally correct, as John O Shea had hauled down Falcao to the ground. No question, penalty! But to then produce a red card and show it to Wes Brown beggared belief. How had he got it so wrong ? What had he seen ?Where was the help from his assistant ? The answer to these three questions, only Roger can answer.

I have always said that players reaction tells you a lot as a referee and he should have known something was up, when John O Shea admitted to him he was the player. It was an horrendous decision and I for one would not have liked to have been in the officials dressing room at the end of the game. What had been going so well for Roger had now blown totally up in his face. Mistakes happen and this is part of the great game we love, so we just have to get on with things.So when I heard late on Saturday evening that there had been a statement released by the refereeing authorities trying to justify the decision I felt a total balls up was now been made of this mistake. It was if the referee was trying to wriggle out of the issue. Let us be honest Roger East got it wrong,I know,you know, even the dogs on the street know and to try and make excuses was pitiful. I expect Roger to have at least a week off next if not two weeks off.It also opens up an issue were the media are asking for referees to come out and explain there decisions after the games.When the statement came out it was ridiculed by the Match of The Day panel and other media outlets, so as I have always thought,that referees talking to the media is a non runner, it just ends up in a bit of I said,you said.

The focus for my second issue this week falls firmly at the door of Mr Neil Swarbrick. It is always important as a referee to make sure that managers have nothing to moan about,because managers often use blaming the officials on certain things, takes the eye off bad management decisions in the game. So in my opinion Neil got it horribly wrong on Saturday and gave Stoke manager Mark Hughes a platform to moan about a challenge which was put in on his player Stephen Ireland,that had the Irish lad needing stitches in a wound. The mistake by Mr Swarbrick was not the tackle on Ireland, more so the tackle Ireland had put in on a Hull player earlier in the game. In my opinion Stephen should have been sent off for an over the ball tackle on one of his opponents. If the referee had been tuned in and done his job properly, Mark Hughes would not have been moaning about the referee after the game as he probably would have had more pressing things on his mind. But as usual the referee gets the blame instead of a player who had to go off because of injury. As we know players can sometimes look for retribution for bad challenges on their team mates and in this case retribution was well and truly dealt out. So I hope when Mark Hughes has a look at a DVD of the game he see's exactly what Ireland did. I also hope Mr Swarbrick has a good look and realises that Stephen Ireland,s challenge on his opponent was worthy of a straight red card. If this had happened Mark Hughes would not have been given his platform to moan,by the referee.

So as I finish off this week, I do hope the whistling boys do get it right next week and stop this roll of horrific decision making.It is not hard to do really, just concentrate stay in the zone and your game will go well. Not to much to ask, but I just know that this time next week I will be discussing more bad decisions made by the so called elite of refereeing. I will sign off as I usually do and wish you and your team all the best for the coming week and if you are heading to a game do enjoy yourself. Until next time,Cheers.