Extratime.ie Team of the Month - March

Extratime.ie is delighted to announce the winners of their inaugural Player/Manager/Team of the Month Awards for March. After hours of deliberation amongst the team, we have come up with our best starting XI for the month of March as well as our Player and Manager of the Month.

The Awards span both divisions, Premier and First, and also include performances in the EA Sports Cup, FAI Cup and Setanta Sports Cup. Here is our first selection of the 2014 season and our reasons behind them.

Feel free to share your opinions on the selection either below in the Comments section or on our Twitter feed by tweeting @ExtratimeNews. 

EXTRATIME.ie TEAM OF THE MONTH - March

GOALKEEPER

Conor Winn (Finn Harps)

With only one goal conceded in their opening four matches, huge credit must go to Essex­born Conor Winn for his performances between the sticks over the initial bout of First Division matches. Safe in the knowledge he has a diligent and reliable back four in front of him, the 22­ year­old shot stopper has been able to concentrate on making saves as the last line of defence. And he's done so expertly thus far. A safe pair of hands is vital for any team dreaming of silverware and with the baptism of fire now over, manager Ollie Horgan will rest easy knowing he seems to have chosen the right man for the job.

DEFENDERS

Simon Madden (Shamrock Rovers)

Madden has hit the ground running since moving to Tallaght in the off-season, and has impressed with his attacking as much as his defending – drawing comparisons to Dani Alves from some quarters. In his five games in March (League and Setanta Cup combined), Madden has helped his side keep two clean sheets, while also assisting two goals at the other end. The former Derry City full back is likely to be a key player for the Hoops this season in their quest to win the title.

Darren Dennehy (Cork City)

Brian Lenihan (Cork City)

Lenihan has been somewhat of a revelation on Leeside this season and has made the right back slot his own. In the league’s opener against St Patrick’s Athletic, the 19 year-old had Chris Forrester in his pocket while last Friday against Athlone he defended with a maturity that belies his age. Not one to dive in to the tackle but rather stand his ground, a bright future lies ahead for this former College Corinthians player. In total Lenihan has started five games in March (league and EA Sports Cup), only conceding two goals and keeping three clean sheets.

MIDFIELDERS

Ryan Brennan (Shamrock Rovers)

After arriving from the Hoops during the winter, the 23 year-old has made the impact that many of the Tallaght fanatics would have hoped his older brother would have made a couple of years previously. Brennan has strung together impressive performances in both a two and three man midfield ensemble. His work rate and passing ability has endeared himself to the Hoops and his almost faultless performance, including his first league goal for the club against Sligo Rovers cements his place in the best XI for March.

Ayman Ben Mohamed (UCD)

The 19 year-old midfielder may have only played three times in March for UCD (in all competitions), but in his presence and form was a contributing factor to the Students winning two of those. In the first of those games, he scored a wonder goal against Athlone Town at Belfield – this would turn out to be the decisive goal as Aaron Callaghan’s men won 2-1. Against Bray Wanderers, Ben Mohamed turned provider as he chipped in with two assists. UCD went on to win by two goals.

Pat McCann (Finn Harps)

Firing his side the the top of the First Division with three goals as well as putting himself top of the pile for goals scored is in­form Harps midfielder Pat McCann. Two of his strikes came in the Donegal outfit's 5­0 thumping of Cobh Ramblers while he grabbed the other in their 3­0 victory over Shamrock Rovers B. Manager Ollie Horgan will be pleased to know he's got a great source of goals from the middle of the park. The only question that now remains is – can he maintain his excellent form?

Daniel Purdy (Shamrock Rovers B)

The promising young midfielder looked full of attacking threat when his side travelled to face First Division rivals Galway FC at Eamonn Deacy Park and was at the heart of any moves they made forward. He was unlucky not to grab a goal for his efforts in that game, but in Gameweek 1, prior to that, he showed us all what he's capable of with an eye­catching screamer in their 1­1 draw with Cobh Ramblers. And again, against Shelbourne most recently, he repeated the feat with yet another solo wonder­goal. Does a call­up to their A team beckon in the future? Watch this space.

Craig Walsh (Bohemians)

The Gypsies off season acquisition has fitted in to the north side giants quicker than anyone could have predicted. His opening night performance against old employers UCD left the Students faithful under no illusions as to the calibre of player they had lost. That man of the match performance was backed up by another supreme showing against Drogheda in which he laid on a sumptuous assist to Dinny Corcoran for the Gypsies opener. Solid showings against Shamrock Rovers and Dundalk followed to cap a great March for the man once dubbed "Football’s Next Star".

FORWARDS

Declan ‘Fabio’ O’Brien (Drogheda United)

PLAYER OF THE MONTH - Ciarán Kilduff (Shamrock Rovers) - 

Notching up a trio of strikes so far from his four appearances to date, the former Cork City goal­ poacher has had a scintillating start to the 2014 season and rightfully bags Extratime.ie's award. Widely tipped to also scoop the title of the Soccer Writers Association Player of the Month, the 25­year­old could well be the difference between the Hoops underachieveing in the league once again and becoming champions for the first time since 2011. No doubt, his services will continue to be called upon throughout the remainder of the season – fans had better hope he remembers where the net is for April's tricky clashes with Cork and St Pat's.

When Extratime.ie caught up with Kilduff and told him he was chosen as the Extratime.ie Player of the Month, the former UCD striker was quick to point to the role of his teammates.

"Ah look it, I feel like I’ve just started from where I left off last year. I felt that I finished the season strongly.

"I’m delighted. It’s all about the team for me so, so far so good. I feel like I’m in good health and I feel fit. As do all the lads in the team.

It’s been great, we’ve got the likes of Ryan Brennan and if we just look at the strikers that are there waiting for my position – we’ve got Karl Sheppard, Dean Kelly and Eamon Zayed. They’re all quality players. It’s the competition that makes the team stronger and those players have a big role to play too.

"So it’s not about me, I’ve had a good month and that but it could be up to someone else next month to have a big month. If we wanna win the league it’s going to take the whole team to pull together and the whole squad.

"We know what we’re doing and obviously I’m delighted with how I’ve started and with how the team has started."

MANAGER OF THE MONTH

John Caulfield (Cork City)

Though he may be new to Premier Division management, John Caulfield has taken to it like a duck to water. ‘Johnny C’ showed great tactical awareness in the Bray Wanderers game when he put Liam Kearney on the bench and started youngster John Kavanagh because he thought he would prove more direct. The move certainly paid off as Kavanagh bagged a goal after 18 minutes. Caulfield has also been proactive with his substitutions, and this was clearly evident in Athlone last Friday night. Though his team took the lead just before half time, and may have been expected to kick on anyway with the team that had started the game, the former striker was leaving nothing to chance and brought on Kearney on the left wing and switched Billy Dennehy to the right wing. Again his switch proved correct as both Kearney and Dennehy scored in the second half.

Away from the field Caulfield has also played a blinder in drumming up excitement that hasn’t been seen in Turner’s Cross in years. The game against St Pats drew 5,322 to the Cross (more than any Airtricity League Premier Division game got last year), and that was in no small part down to the appointment of the Leeside Legend to the managerial hotseat.

Though his team have started with gusto, speaking to Extratime.ie after the Athlone Town game manager Caulfield was not about to get carried away.

“It’s early days yet. We started well, but there’s going to be tough nights out there. At the same time, if we keep working hard we can be a very difficult team to play against and that’s what we want to be.”