St Patrick's Athletic 6 v 1 Galway United

Saturday 3rd September 2011

League of Ireland, Premier Division

Richmond Park, Dublin

Admission: €15.00

Programme: €3.00

Attendance: 649

Match Rating: 4

For my second trip to the Republic of Ireland of 2011, I had a shortlist of two games to attend - either a visit to arguably the spiritual home of Irish football, Dalymount Park, home of Bohemians, or a visit to Richmond Park, home of St Patrick's Athletic, and I just could not decide between the two. In the end, I set off for the Dalymount, only to change my mind one last time to head west from Dublin city centre to head for Richmond Park, finally swayed by never having previously seen St Patrick's Athletic in action, plus their match against Galway United seemed a certainty to produce some goals.

Richmond Park is located in the Inchicore suburb of Dublin about two and a half miles west from the city centre. I decided to walk to the ground, which took about an hour, walking alongside the River Liffey for about half the way, however trams and buses (the latter option I chose after the match) also ply the route. A couple of attractive murals indicate the entrance down to the ground, which is set below street level, although before proceeding through the turnstiles, one must purchase a ticket from the club shop a short distance away. The main all-seater stand, which stretches along one length of the pitch, is the first thing that one encounters having passed through the turnstiles. Along the opposite length of the pitch is a dozen steps of terracing, although for this evening's match, only one half was in use, with the other half closed off, as was the terrace area behind one of the goals, which has a small covered area to one side of the goal. Behind the other goal is a temporary-looking uncovered all-seater stand. Opened in 1925, one does not really get a feel for the history of the ground, as the vast majority of it has been renovated in the last twenty years. The ground is mostly surrounded by terrace housing, but the length of terracing is lined with trees with makes for a nice background, The glossy programme was professionally designed and easy on the eye, covering all of the essential information, although only consisted of 16 pages, 7 of which were advertising.

Appraoching the business end of the football season in Ireland, St Patrick's Athletic lay in fourth place in the league, still with faint hopes of challenging for the title, six points adrift of the current top two in the league, Derry City and Shamrock Rovers. They had a very good run in Europe this season, winning through two Europa League ties, both times having lost the first leg, an excellent and all too rare achievement for a League of Ireland club. Richmond Park has been something of a fortress for St Patrick's this season, having only lost once there in the league, back in March. This season has been a total disaster for tonight's visitors, Galway United. Hit by chronic financial difficulties in the close-season, they were initially denied a licence to play in the League of Ireland this season, a decision they successfully appealed against. However, with hindsight, Galway may wonder why and wish they hadn't bothered as they are currently anchored at the foot of the table, having gained just five points from their 27 games, have lost their last 21 games on the bounce, have not picked up a point since mid April and had a goal difference of minus 65. A farcical season plumbed new depths in July when Galway United's management committee unanimously passed a motion of no confidence against manager Sean Connor - yet he remains as manager today. Unsurprisingly, St Patrick's have triumphed in all three previous meetings between the two clubs this season.

If Galway were to have any chance of getting anything from the game, they would have to at least frustrate the home side in the early stages. Therefore all hope appeared to have been extinguished for Galway with just 80 seconds on the clock, when the home side took the lead. Sean O’Connor was fed the ball about 10 yards out, and had all the time and space in the world to place the ball past the keeper. On 14 minutes, Galway conceded a penalty – maybe harsh, as the ball went to hand rather than the other way round, but as the hand was outstretched above the defender’s head, a penalty was probably justified. Stephen Bradley converted high into the corner, sending the keeper the wrong way. On 37 minutes, the home side opened up a three goal advantage, when a corner wasn’t properly cleared and Danny North fired home. Three minutes before half time and St Patrick’s scored their fourth, and excellent move culminating in a sweet strike from O’Connor for his second goal of the match, in off the crossbar. The game was clearly already over, and St Patrick’s should have scored at least a further two goals with a couple of scarcely believable misses from close range. 

With St Patrick’s playing some excellent, confident football against a spirited but desperately poor Galway side, one feared Galway could be on the end of another embarrassing scoreline. However, St Patrick’s made a couple of substitutions at half time, and whether it was related or not, the home side seemed to lose all cohesion and impetus, and to be fair, Galway looked determined to keep the scoreline respectable. Just as it was looking as the game may peter out with the 4-0 scoreline, Danny North scored his second of the night on 76 minutes when he was played in by O’Connor before scoring in off the keeper’s near post. Four minutes later and St Patrick’s made it six, Peter Crowley smashing the ball home after yet more good build-up play from O’Connor. Galway did manage to claim a consolation goal a minute later which they just about deserved with the way they kept battling and never let their heads drop. Paul Sinnott, 30 yards out close to the touchline, sent in a fairly tame shot towards goal which the keeper somehow managed to slip through his fingers and into the net. 6-1 was how it finished, a not unsurprisingly one-sided scoreline which kept St Patrick's within touch of the leaders whilst also boosting their goal difference. Galway must just wish they could finish their season now, and one fears that they will even struggle in the First Division next season without a major overhaul of the team and possibly the entire club.

Bray Wanderers 1 v 2 Derry City

Friday 15th June 2011
League of Ireland, Premier Division
Carlisle Grounds, Bray
Admission: €15.00
Programme: €3.00
Attendance: 1000 (estimate)
Match Rating: 3

Wishing to catch some competitive action in July rather than endless meaningless friendlies, I decided to book a trip to Dublin this weekend. The original stand-out fixture for me was one of the big Dublin derbies, St Patrick's Athletic against Bohemians, however as this game was postponed due to both clubs being involved in long away trips to Eastern Europe in the Europa League, the only realistic option left was a trip down the coast to the seaside resort of Bray for Bray Wanderers' match against the sole team from Northern Ireland plying their trade in the League of Ireland, Derry City.

Having taken the DART train from Dublin Connolly station to Bray - a distance of only 11 miles yet taking some 45 minutes, but on the plus side only costing €4.90 return - the Carlisle Grounds are located literally a stone's throw from the station, although it is certainly worth arriving a couple of hours ahead of kick off to enjoy the very pleasant and tranquil seafront of Bray with its Victorian promenade. Ireland, both sides of the border, contains some fantastic grounds considering the relative low level of support - some grounds very old-fashioned and in a state of disrepair but just ooze character, others moast modern facilities that would not look out of place in the English Football League. The Carlisle Grounds is, according to the club's official website, the oldest sporting venue of all clubs in the League of Ireland. So it came as a disappointment to find a ground that, whilst is neat and functional, lacks any character and is rather unmemorable. Tickets must be purchased from a ticket office before entering the adjacent turnstiles, and spectators enter the ground behind one of the goals, where there is hard standing with a small grass bank behind. Along one length of the pitch is the only covered area in the ground, a temporary looking all-seater stand with a green roof and with obstructing pillars along the front. Along the other length is terracing, with seats bolted onto the front half and four floodlight pylons between the spectators and the pitch . Behind the other goal is a very recently installed temporary all-seater uncovered stand, which was not in use today. Changing rooms and club offices are housed in portakabins at one corner of the ground. As for the programme, this was a major disappointment, being a double issue combined with Bray's match against Sligo Rovers two weeks previously. As a result, the programme was out of this date for this match, contained no statistics or season's results and whilst it was of modest interest to the occasional visitor, looking good and printed all in colour, it would be a pointless purchase for the regular visitor.

Bray Wanderers started the season fairly well but have very much been a team stuck in runs of form on either end of the specturm in recent months. They won four games in a row before losing four in a row, before winning last time out at UCD and found themselves in sixth place in the ten team league with 22 games played, although they were only 9 points behind leaders Sligo Rovers and 16 points clear of third bottom UCD, 23 points clear of Drogheda United, currently occupying the relegation play-off spot in ninth. Derry City, newly promoted to the Premier Division, have had a very solid season so far, winning their previous three games, including a win against then-leaders Shamrock Rovers and were unbeaten in their previous eight games. Going into this game, they were in fourth place, just two points behind leaders Sligo.In their encounters so far this season, Derry triumphed 2-1 at Bray in April, whereas the match at Derry ended 1-1 in May.

This match started off with the home side very much in the ascendancy, and after just two minutes, Chris Shields forced a point blank save from Gerard Doherty from six yards out - he really should have scored. Regularly pumping the ball upfield for forwards to chase, Bray looked the likelier to score throughout the first half, with Derry's defence looking somewhat shaky and their forwards only sporadically threatening, and Bray were slighly unfortunate not to lead at half time.

The second half looked like it was shaping up to be a dull affair with both teams cancelling each other out. However, just as a goalless draw was looming on the horizon, James McClean, whose time in the League of Ireland is surely coming to an end with several English clubs taking a very keen interest in him, turned the game in Derry's favour with two assists. First, on 65 minutes, he turned Bray's right back inside out on the touchline before sending over a perfectly judged cross which top scorer and former Bray man Eamon Zayed headed home at the far post in off the crossbar. Eight minutes later and Daniel Lafferty doubled Derry's lead with a firm header from a McClean corner. That seemed to be enough to seal all three points for the visitors, as Bray had seemed to have run out of ideas in the second half, barely threatening Derry's goal until three minutes from time, when an excellent free kick by Dan McGuinness bound for the top corner was well tipped onto the crossbar by Doherty in the Derry goal. However he was beaten in the first minute of added on time at the end of the game, when John Mulroy headed home a McGuinness corner from six yards off the crossbar. Bray suddenly sensed they could sneak a point from the final couple of minutes of added on time, but it was Derry who came closest to scoring, when a long range piledriver was gathered at the second attempt by Matt Gregg, the former Torquay and Crystal Palace goalkeeper. So a deserved away win which sees Derry rise to third place, whilst Bray drop a place to seventh.

Derry City - Non Matchday visit

A few photos of the Brandwell Stadium, home of Derry City of the League of Ireland, taken in May 2010.

Sligo Rovers 1 v 2 Bohemians

Saturday 8th May 2010
League of Ireland Premier Division
The Showgrounds, Sligo
Admission: €15.00
Programme: €4.00
Attendance: 2,200
Match Rating: 4

















A trip to the Republic of Ireland for this weekend’s entertainment, once again made possible by Ryanair’s ridiculously cheap ticket prices. Living outside of Ireland, without taking time off from work, it is quite difficult to take in a League of Ireland game generally, as nearly all games are played on Friday evenings. Happily, this season Sligo Rovers are playing their games on Saturday evenings, and so I booked a flight to Knock airport on Saturday morning and then made the 45 minute coach journey up to Sligo close to the north west coast of Ireland. Sligo is a pleasant town to spend a weekend, and as this was a warm and sunny day, I made my way to Strandhill for a very relaxing afternoon on a peaceful sandy beach before the game.

On returning to Sligo, I made my way to The Showgrounds, which is about a ten minute walk away from the train and bus stations. The Showgrounds is certainly one of the nicer stadia I have visited this season, boasts some glorious background scenery looking from the large modern all seater main stand, with mountains visible in the distance and with Sligo Cathedral closer behind a smaller, rather old fashioned all seater stand. Behind one of the goals is a shallow bank of terracing, and behind the other just hard standing. The programme was an excellent effort, printed on high quality paper and all in colour and with more than enough information about both teams and how they have been doing so far this season. At €4 this seemed expensive to me, but then most things seem expensive in Ireland to an Englishman...

Both sides have had a rather disappointing season so far. Going into this round of games, Sligo Rovers were down in eighth place in the ten team league, and had scored just once in their last four games. Bohemians, champions of Ireland for the last two seasons, have so far found the going a little tougher this season, finding themselves down in 5th place, 6 points off of the top two, although with a strong looking squad, it is surely only a matter of time before the Bohemians juggernaut clicks into gear.

On a gorgeously sunny evening - certainly an attractive argument in favour of the football season being played over the summer months - Sligo certainly had more of the attacking play, but too many times their play seemed to fall apart as they approached the penalty area, often seeming to want to take unnecessary touches and sideways passes instead of taking a shot or making an incisive pass. Bohemians always looked more composed and more of a direct threat and it was no surprise when they took the lead just after the half hour when Jason Byrne converted Paul Keegan's cross into the net.

The rest of the half was played out without major incident, but after the break Sligo were a transformed side, showing much more threat and the former Cameroon international, Joseph Ndo, creating most of the home side's chances from the wing. Indeed, Ndo claimed the assist for Sligo's equaliser on 58 minutes, when his corner was met perfectly by a Matthew Blinkhorn header. Sligo then continued to push hard and had three or four gilt edged chances to score, including hitting the crossbar, but as the game wore on, it looked like Sligo would have to settle for a draw. In the end, they didn't even get that, when a rare second half foray forward resulted in the winning goal for Bohemians, when Aaron Greene crossed the ball from one side of the pitch to the other, and Mark Quigley rifled home a good finish.