First Division Round-up: Series 2
Credit:
Shelbourne, U.C.D and Athlone are sitting pretty at the top of the table with 100% records following the second round of fixtures in the League of Ireland First Division. With Waterford and Finn Harps close behind, the real surprise is Sporting Fingal’s failure to win either of their two games so far.
1st Athlone Town:
Athlone have had the easier of starts of the leading trio, facing last season’s losers, Kildare County, and this season’s newbies, Mervue United. However, it was unclear to extratime.ie just how well Brendan Place’s men would cope, given their own troubles last year. But pace out wide with a repositioned Emeka Onwubiko and goal’s up front in each of their opening games from Noel McGee has propelled ‘The Town’ to the top of the table.
2nd Shelbourne:
Shels’ have owed both victories so far to substitute appearances from last season’s star-man, Anto Flood. At home on the opening night, the new-look Shels’ did well to beat a difficult Wexford Youths side, with impressive performances from the likes of Peter Hynes and Paddy Madden up front. Again the duo started at Monaghan but the ability to introduce the talent of Flood from the bench shows why the signs are good for a strong year at Tolka.
3rd UCD:
A difficult win away at Sporting Fingal followed a very good victory against Limerick at home for the Student’s on the opening weekend of the season. Despite chasing shadows for the first fifteen minutes in Santry on Friday, UCD showed their capabilities in restricting the hosts to few clear opportunities for the rest of the game and deservedly took all three points. Ciaran Kilduff’s late winner should prove crucial in the destiny of the two sides, with a perfect start now garnered from Martin Russell’s team.
4th Finn Harps:
Harps have had a mixed start so far. After a late strike from David McDaid rescued a point at Kildare on the opening weekend, another late goal, this time a penalty from Conor Gethins, earned a win at home to Longford. Far from a Premier Division side now, Harps know that wins over Kildare and the likes are imperative if they wish to push for promotion.
5th Waterford United:
Great things are expected of Waterford this year in the extratime.ie Travelodge. However Allah’s infinite March storms are thus far halting any decent play by Stephen Henderson’s side. Awful weather at home to Sporting at the beginning of the season saw both sides struggle to a 1-1 draw, and then on their travels the weather again dictated a poor game against Wexford Youths but Henderson’s men came away with a 1-0 victory. It was a needed win after throwing away their 86th minute lead against Fingal, and it leaves the Blues well placed at this early stage.
6th Limerick:
Limerick have done what’s expected so far this term. A convincing 2-1 loss away at UCD on the opening weekend was forgotten on Friday night as they destroyed Mervue 4-1 at Jackman Park. Five goals so far shows sign of hope however not many surprises so far.
7th Monaghan United:
Monaghan have already drawn attention to themselves, following a spectacular 3-3 draw at Longford at the start of the season. Trailing 3-0 after just thirteen minutes, United rallied through goals from Karl Bermingham, Sean Brennan and Barry Clancy. Their loss to Shels’ on Friday will be a disappointment, but a result like their opening one may well brew confidence for quite a while.
8th Longford Town:
And for every ‘Heads’ there’s a ‘Tails’. It is truly awful form to throw away a 3-0 win at home, especially to a side likely to be challenging you for mid-table mediocrity this year. Three red cards in two games is also a worry, despite the mix-up against Finn Harps on Saturday. With suspensions this early in the campaign to contemplate, Longford may take a while to get going this year.
9th Sporting Fingal:
Really haven’t got started this year. Difficult opening games against Waterford and UCD, true, but surprising in that Sporting have yet to look the side which everyone assumes they are. A very late equaliser against Waterford was deserved given their performance in dire conditions, but their lack of creativity for large spells against UCD on Friday night should be a worrying sign. In saying that, it could easily have been two or three goals up in their favour following a blistering start in Santry, but if they can only rally for short spells than promotion is far from a foregone conclusion.
10th Kildare County:
County are a bit unlucky at this stage it must be said. Winning with just six minutes remaining against Harps’ in their opening fixture, it was a crushing blow to drop those two points. Given Kildare’s ability to do absolutely nothing for large spells of the season, those points would have been a fantastic way to start the year. However following that they were comfortably beaten by last season’s league-struggling rivals Athlone Town.
11th Wexford Youths:
The hardest of all starts to the season. Away at Shels’ followed by home against Waterford, not a whole lot was expected by the Youths’. But, despite both being losses, Mick Wallace’s men have proven they have the ability to cause some upsets. Far from overwhelmed at Tolka Park, the Youth’s were an attacking threat throughout and posed Shels’ quite a lot of problems. And miserable weather didn’t help their cause against Waterford after going behind after only a few seconds.
12th Mervue United:
We predicted 10th place for Mervue before the season started, however a lot was resultant on whether they could grab a win against Athlone at home on the opening weekend. They couldn’t, and following that narrow loss, they were destroyed by a rampant Limerick. In our very own David Byrne’s assessment, “Mervue United were taught a harsh League of Ireland lesson”. It may be a long year for this Galway side.
1st Athlone Town:
Athlone have had the easier of starts of the leading trio, facing last season’s losers, Kildare County, and this season’s newbies, Mervue United. However, it was unclear to extratime.ie just how well Brendan Place’s men would cope, given their own troubles last year. But pace out wide with a repositioned Emeka Onwubiko and goal’s up front in each of their opening games from Noel McGee has propelled ‘The Town’ to the top of the table.
2nd Shelbourne:
Shels’ have owed both victories so far to substitute appearances from last season’s star-man, Anto Flood. At home on the opening night, the new-look Shels’ did well to beat a difficult Wexford Youths side, with impressive performances from the likes of Peter Hynes and Paddy Madden up front. Again the duo started at Monaghan but the ability to introduce the talent of Flood from the bench shows why the signs are good for a strong year at Tolka.
3rd UCD:
A difficult win away at Sporting Fingal followed a very good victory against Limerick at home for the Student’s on the opening weekend of the season. Despite chasing shadows for the first fifteen minutes in Santry on Friday, UCD showed their capabilities in restricting the hosts to few clear opportunities for the rest of the game and deservedly took all three points. Ciaran Kilduff’s late winner should prove crucial in the destiny of the two sides, with a perfect start now garnered from Martin Russell’s team.
4th Finn Harps:
Harps have had a mixed start so far. After a late strike from David McDaid rescued a point at Kildare on the opening weekend, another late goal, this time a penalty from Conor Gethins, earned a win at home to Longford. Far from a Premier Division side now, Harps know that wins over Kildare and the likes are imperative if they wish to push for promotion.
5th Waterford United:
Great things are expected of Waterford this year in the extratime.ie Travelodge. However Allah’s infinite March storms are thus far halting any decent play by Stephen Henderson’s side. Awful weather at home to Sporting at the beginning of the season saw both sides struggle to a 1-1 draw, and then on their travels the weather again dictated a poor game against Wexford Youths but Henderson’s men came away with a 1-0 victory. It was a needed win after throwing away their 86th minute lead against Fingal, and it leaves the Blues well placed at this early stage.
6th Limerick:
Limerick have done what’s expected so far this term. A convincing 2-1 loss away at UCD on the opening weekend was forgotten on Friday night as they destroyed Mervue 4-1 at Jackman Park. Five goals so far shows sign of hope however not many surprises so far.
7th Monaghan United:
Monaghan have already drawn attention to themselves, following a spectacular 3-3 draw at Longford at the start of the season. Trailing 3-0 after just thirteen minutes, United rallied through goals from Karl Bermingham, Sean Brennan and Barry Clancy. Their loss to Shels’ on Friday will be a disappointment, but a result like their opening one may well brew confidence for quite a while.
8th Longford Town:
And for every ‘Heads’ there’s a ‘Tails’. It is truly awful form to throw away a 3-0 win at home, especially to a side likely to be challenging you for mid-table mediocrity this year. Three red cards in two games is also a worry, despite the mix-up against Finn Harps on Saturday. With suspensions this early in the campaign to contemplate, Longford may take a while to get going this year.
9th Sporting Fingal:
Really haven’t got started this year. Difficult opening games against Waterford and UCD, true, but surprising in that Sporting have yet to look the side which everyone assumes they are. A very late equaliser against Waterford was deserved given their performance in dire conditions, but their lack of creativity for large spells against UCD on Friday night should be a worrying sign. In saying that, it could easily have been two or three goals up in their favour following a blistering start in Santry, but if they can only rally for short spells than promotion is far from a foregone conclusion.
10th Kildare County:
County are a bit unlucky at this stage it must be said. Winning with just six minutes remaining against Harps’ in their opening fixture, it was a crushing blow to drop those two points. Given Kildare’s ability to do absolutely nothing for large spells of the season, those points would have been a fantastic way to start the year. However following that they were comfortably beaten by last season’s league-struggling rivals Athlone Town.
11th Wexford Youths:
The hardest of all starts to the season. Away at Shels’ followed by home against Waterford, not a whole lot was expected by the Youths’. But, despite both being losses, Mick Wallace’s men have proven they have the ability to cause some upsets. Far from overwhelmed at Tolka Park, the Youth’s were an attacking threat throughout and posed Shels’ quite a lot of problems. And miserable weather didn’t help their cause against Waterford after going behind after only a few seconds.
12th Mervue United:
We predicted 10th place for Mervue before the season started, however a lot was resultant on whether they could grab a win against Athlone at home on the opening weekend. They couldn’t, and following that narrow loss, they were destroyed by a rampant Limerick. In our very own David Byrne’s assessment, “Mervue United were taught a harsh League of Ireland lesson”. It may be a long year for this Galway side.
About Gordon Hunt
Gordon Hunt is one of extratime's Dublin based reporters. Having worked with the site since it's inception, Gordon's name is carved into the foundations of extratime's tower block. View Full Profile