Extratime Team, Player & Manager of the Month for August

Extratime.ie is delighted to announce the winners of the Player/Manager/Team of the Month Awards for August.

After hours of deliberation amongst the team, we have come up with our best starting XI for the month of August as well as our Player and Manager of the Month.

The Awards span both divisions, Premier and First, and include performances in all competitions. Here is our selection and our reasons behind them.

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

GOALKEEPER

Greg Murray (Shelbourne)

Always the last bastion of defence, the goalkeeper can often be derided or celebrated depending on the scenario. This time around, Greg Murray finds himself a Tolka Park hero after a string of fine displays between the posts. Keeping three clean sheets in all, his custodial prowess ensured the Reds stayed on course for their promotion push.

DEFENDERS

Paddy Barrett (Galway FC)

Entering August, it looked as though Galway FC's hopes of cementing a play-off spot were more slim than hopeful, and they certainly didn't help themselves with an opening month loss against Shelbourne on home soil. But they soon picked themselves up and dusted themselves off to fight back and currently look on course for a promotion showdown. Barrett, himself, has been a rock at the back since coming on board and he even managed to score a delightful arrowing headed goal against his former club Waterford United towards the tail-end of the month.

John Dunleavy (Cork City)

Two clean sheets might not be the best return from seven matches, especially as it was a month that also saw the Leesiders lose against Dundalk in the league, but Dunleavy was a consistent performer that gave his all to the cause once more, particularly now that their midfield has been weakened by the departure of Brian Lenihan to Hull.

Killian Cantwell (Wexford Youths)

They may well have been dumped out of the EA Sports Cup, but at least it happened at the hands of the best team in the land right now, Dundalk. Afforded the opportunity, as a result, to focus their efforts fully on chasing down both Galway and Shelbourne in the First Division, their league form wasn't the best as they played out three draws, registered just one win and also suffered a loss to a struggling Finn Harps side. One major positive for Youths, though, was their goal-scoring centre-half who netted twice in two games to help his side earn four points at Ferrycarrig Park.

MIDFIELDERS

Richard Towell (Dundalk)

Nudging ever closer to securing the title, Richie Towell has been one of the Lilywhites' most impressive performers all season. And he could well be the next Irish sensation to make waves across the water if everything works out for him – and what better state to leave the club in than as champions? Pulling chances out of the bag on cue, the former Celtic player gave the Oriel Park faithful plenty to get excited about once more last month as he featured in six of their seven matches in all competitions, scoring once against Cork City at the beginning of August.

Colin Healy (Cork City)

A spectacular bicycle kick against St Patrick's Athletic that saw John Caulfield's men catapult themselves back into contention in the chase for their first league title in nine years was a real highlight of Healy's month. An internet sensation right across Europe, Healy's goal garnered over 100,000 views on youtube. From there, the former Ireland international put in a series of quality displays to ensure that City's midfield, at times, continued to pack a serious punch.

Cathal Brady (Drogheda United)

August saw Brady bring his tally of league goals up to four for the season when he netted against Limerick, Derry City and UCD. Overall, Brady was impressive from midfield, showcasing his goal-scoring talents more than ever before this season. And it's no coincidence that an upturn in his personal fortunes has coincided with a real purple patch for the team – because if there's one ingredient that's been missing it has to be an inability of their goal-getters to make up for a rather leaky defence that have already conceded 54 league goals this season – the second worst of all 12 teams in the top flight.

Michael Duffy (Derry City)

A brace against Bohemians followed by a goal a-piece against Malahide United and Limerick gets Michael Duffy into August's team of the month. Overall, the Candystripes didn't have the most favorable of spells as they fell to four defeats, but Duffy was a real shining light for the Brandywell club as he helped keep them afloat with some nimble footwork and clinical shooting. Not just a compact footballer with a good footballing brain, he's shown the necessary mettle to boot – an element that might just provide them with a cutting edge once again with some tricky matches to come shortly against Drogheda and Athlone Town.

STRIKERS

Rory Gaffney (Limerick) –PLAYER OF THE MONTH

Registering more wins in August than they did throughout both June and July combined, the Super Blues had a largely favourable few weeks. Winning three and losing three meant that the Munster outfit had a mixed outlook on their overall performances, but it was still a massive improvement and one that Gaffney had a huge hand in coaxing out as it was he who struck five times to give them a timely end-of-season boost. In each of the three matches the Thomond Park faithful celebrated a win, it was Gaffney who was first to get off the mark, indicating just how cataclysmic a player he's been this month. Whenever he was on song, the whole team orchestrated its affairs a great deal better. Right now, he's the key to bettering last season's 7th-place finish.

David McMillan (Dundalk)

Scoring six goals all month long, his strikes were vital to ensuring the league-leaders retained their spot at the summit of the table. And they're also likely to play a huge part in getting as close as possible to the club's all-time league high of 72 goals – something their agonisingly close to. Most notably of all his performances came during their 5-0 win over Shane Keegan's Wexford Youths in the EA Sports Cup where he grabbed a hat-trick in a wondrously prolific 14-minute spell that he kick-started in the 79^th minute to set up a showdown with Shamrock Rovers on September 20. 

Gary O' Neill (Drogheda United)

Experiencing their best form of the season, Drogheda picked up four wins throughout August, more than they have in any other month since the season kicked-off back in March. And O' Neill was immense in front of goal for the Louth club, netting five times against UCD, Ballynanty Rovers and, most importantly of all, against bitter rivals and in-form leaders Dundalk. And with several league matches still to go, the Drogs will be keen to keep the excellent form going in an effort to boost themselves higher up the table, away from their current mediocre positioning of 8^th, which, incidentally, was where they finished the last campaign.

Damien Richardson (Drogheda United) - MANAGER OF THE MONTH

A fantastic month for the Louth-based club that saw them almost go unbeaten in the league  with three wins, a draw and just a solitary loss against Bohemians midway through the month means Richardson is fully deserving of his place as Extratime's Manager of the Month gong. Add to this their cup win over Ballynanty Rovers and it's clear they were hungrier than ever to turn their season around. Pushed hard by both Pat Fenlon and John McDonnell in our in-house writers' poll, the Drogs boss certainly had company for the manager's award, but the way he roused his troops to increase their points tally by over 50% in the space of four weeks as well as his smart use of resources – not to mention their hard-fought point in the local derby with Dundalk – has the former Republic of Ireland international fending of all challengers. Well deserved, 'Rico'.