Bringing this blog to you each week, has been an absolute pleasure for me. To share with everyone on the Pitch Talk team how the SSE Airtricity League has being going, is like giving a child Christmas day every week. The amount of great games I have seen so far this season has been incredible. Like a little flower the league has been growing along each week and I am sure that when the season is over, the flower will have blossomed into a candidate for the Chelsea flower show. The clubs have gone all out to please the fans and have been helped by coverage from both written media and the lads on TV. The weekend that just finished saw something quite rare in Irish soccer, on the Bank Holiday Monday Setanta Ireland decided to show two games back to back on live TV. The games chosen were Dundalk vs Bray and the big clash of the weekend Bohemians vs Cork. The latter game was the one I attended and when I looked around the press box in Dalymount, it was full of all the top media men in Ireland. This in itself is a huge plus for the league, as the more the product is promoted, the more fans it will attract. So having said all that, let me below lay out all the action that happened in the Premier and First Divisions of the SSE Airtricity last weekend.
The only place to start with the Premier League round up this week is in Oriel Park the home of the champions and league leaders Dundalk. The team from the north east welcomed crisis club Bray to their home on Bank Holiday Monday, and they absolutely tore them apart. Dundalk played like champions and one by eight goals to one. Yes I am going to print that again, eight goals to one. An amazing result,teams in the SSE Airtricity League to not lose by that scoreline and it has sent shock waves through the league. Dundalk are right in form and are going to be very very very hard to beat and at this stage look good to retain their title, but we have a long way to go and anything is possible. Elsewhere Shamrock Rovers beat Drogheda one nil and have moved into second spot and are six points behind the leaders. Cup holders Saint Patrick’s Athletic won four one away in Galway and they to look like they are gathering momentum in the chase. The other three games in the division were all draws, Derry drew nil all away to Longford,Sligo drew one all at home to Limerick and Bohemians and Cork fought out a one all draw in Dalymount Park. Cork had led the game from the second minute when former Manchester United, Celtic, Leeds United, Sunderland and QPR midfielder Liam Miller got the ball in the centre of the pitch and ran at the Bohemians back four, who made the mistake of showing him to much respect and he slotted a beautiful pass to Mark O Sullivan who hammered home a beauty. Under the leadership of Keith Long, Bohemians have been playing some superb football this season and they kept going and got an equaliser in the eighty second minute through a magnificent goal from Adam Evans. As goals go I would be amazed if this one does not win goal of the season, Evans volleyed home a shot from the edge of the penalty area and ten goalkeepers would not have saved it. I have to admit I was delighted to be in attendance in Dalymount to witness a goal of such beauty.
In Division one Finn Harps are top by three points from Wexford Youths after a one all draw away at Cabinteely. Wexford Youths went on a short journey down the coast to Waterford and came away with all three points after securing a four one victory in the Derby. Elsewhere Cobh beat Athlone one nil and UCD won two nil away at Shelbourne. This league is fast becoming the story of two managers. Stephen Henderson has made an amazing start at Cobh since taking over a couple of weeks back, he has really used his experience to get the team playing as a unit, I actually spoke with Stephen during the week and he told me he really thinks his team has a lot more to offer and with hard work he reckons they can climb the table. Compare that to what is happening at Shelbourne and things could be not more different. At the start of this season Shelbourne appointed Kevin Doherty as manager. This great club needs to be challenging for the title and at the moment they are in a dog fight at the wrong end of the table. They are running on a tight budget and could do with a bit of investment both on and off the field,so Kevin will have to work with what he has got and hopefully he can turn it around. As we head into this weekend’s games I am looking around to see where I will go for my SSE Airtricity League fix of live football this week and I think I will head to Tolka Park to see Shelbourne take on Cabinteely,after all this is where the story could be developing this week. Anyway as I sign off this week I hope if you’re out and about you will enjoy your football as much as I do following the SSE Airtricity League.
Bye for now.
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