Successful teams work hard, train well and have a spirit in there camp that is like a close knit community. These are just some of the qualities that Dundalk have and are using them to the fullest to try and build up a head of steam to retain their title. The way they have started off this season has been a real eye opener and manager Stephen Kenny must be delighted. He has obviously worked well with his team during the winter close season and his players have responded extremely well to his instructions and guidance. I often wonder why Stephen failed when he was manager of Scottish side Dunfermline, but that is for another blog. So let me below take you through all the ups and downs in this week’s SSE Airtricity League as things hot up in the race for the Premier and Division One titles.
Going into the eleventh round of games Dundalk sat proudly at the top of the Premier League six points clear of the chasing pack. As we exited the weekend of games the men from Louth still kept that gap between themselves and the chasing pack after a brilliant two nil away win in Longford. According to all reports it was a hard fought out battle and Dundalk had to dig deep to secure the points. Two second half goals from Horgan and Mountney saw them home but great credit has to be given to Longford who made a match of it. The game of the week took place in Cork, where City took on Sligo. The Cork men ran out three two winners in a pulsating game in Turners Cross. Elsewhere around the league there were victories for Bohemians, Galway United and Drogheda. The final game of the round had to be rescheduled for Monday evening after it had been called off on the previous Friday due to a waterlogged pitch, yes you heard me correct, a waterlogged pitch. You just have to love summer football don't you. The other news this week in the league is that Bray Wanderers have appointed Trevor Croly as their new manager. Trevor had a spell as Shamrock Rovers manager and takes over at the seaside club as they still struggle to get any form going. He is a very good coach and only time will tell if he can turn things around. I wish him all the best.
Division One is tipping along quite nicely and Finn Harps remain top after a three two win at home to Waterford United in front of a bumper crowd in Ballybofey. Second place Wexford Youths narrowly defeated Cobh Ramblers, but Stephen Henderson can take a lot of positives out of this defeat as his Cobh side but up a real battle. Elsewhere Athlone and UCD fought out a one all draw. As I told you in my last blog I headed to Tolka Park to see Shelbourne play Cabinteely.Shelbourne manager Kevin Doherty had been under pressure and I was very interested to see how his team would get on.Well to be perfectly honest they played Cabinteely off the park and should have won by a bagful of goals. They came out one nil winners with a goal from right back Adam O Connor,who if he was to be honest he probably would have to admit he miss hit his shot from the edge of the box,but somehow it found it’s way into the net. The hero for Shelbourne on the night was goalkeeper Greg Murray who made a world class save with only three minutes to go, his save bagged the men from Tolka all three points. This could be the turning point of their season and manager Kevin Doherty can sleep a lot better this week.
Other news this week in Division One is that former Carlisle United, Bohemians, Derry, the list is endless, manager Roddy Collins has taken over at Waterford United. Roddy is a real character in the game and I had many a run in with him when I was refereeing in the league. But his passion for the game is top notch and I expect him to get the Blues moving up the table once he gets his teeth into them. Anyway that is all for this week, if you are heading to a game anytime soon, you could do no worse than visiting a SSE Airtricity League ground and just see what is on offer.
See you all next week.
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