Premier Division Round-up: Series 12
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Cork City moved to the top of the table, by beating Derry City, as the champions Bohemians lost for the second week running in week 12 of the Premier Division. Here, Alan Smith reviews each team.
1 Cork City
“Who’s on top of the league?” bellowed out of Turner’s Cross last Friday night, long after the final whistle had gone, as Cork City moved to the summit with a hard fought win over Derry. Dan Murray was the hero, his first half goal the difference between the two sides. The Rebel Army’s captain celebrated his 27th birthday the day after, and the winner plus another cleansheet must have been the best possible presents.
2 Bohemians
Bohs’ fell to second position, after their first trip to Tallaght Stadium to face their hated rivals, Shamrock Rovers, ended in a 2-1 defeat. When Jason Byrne scored from the penalty spot a quarter of an hour in, it looked like Bohs would return to the top of the table. However, extratime.ie Player of the Month Gary Twigg scored twice in the last three minutes to give the Hoops the win.
3 Derry City
Stephen Kenny was incensed with referee, Declan Hanney, after the Candystripes were left hard done by, losing 1-0 away to Cork City. Hanney sent off Mark McChrystal for a second bookable offence after an innocuous challenge on Colin Healy early in the second half. Kenny, who paced up and down the tunnel while waiting to speak to the referee after the game, was annoyed further when James McClean scored right at the death, only for it to be wrongly judged offside.
4 Shamrock Rovers
Where would Rovers be without Gary Twigg? Certainly not in 4th position. The Scottish striker added his 9th and 10th goals of the campaign against bitter neighbours Bohemians on Saturday night to move them to 21 points and level with Derry City. Twigg has now scored all but seven of Rovers’ goals in the league and without his input, Rovers probably wouldn’t be looking forward to a challenge for a European spot.
5 Galway United
A cracking goal from Jay O’Shea set Ian Foster’s Galway United on their way to a convincing 3-0 win over Bray Wanderers at Terryland Park. The win put the Tribesmen on 18 points, just eight behind the leaders and four off of a European spot.
6 Dundalk
Dundalk’s discipline has hardly been lily-white, though Chris Turner’s sending off may have been a bit harsh in the Louth derby at United Park. Turner scored from the spot before seeing two harsh yellows, as he was given his marching orders by Dave McKeon. They’ve now had three sendings-off in a row and the build-up of suspensions are not going to help. Still very inconsistent and although it’s their derby, if they want anything decent from this season, they’ll need to be beating Drogheda.
7 St Patrick’s Athletic
Alan Cawley’s strike may have been spectacular, but Pat’s couldn’t hold onto a lead yet again, as Alan Keane equalised late on to earn struggling Sligo Rovers a point. Paul Pesky-name-hard-to-spell also resigned after the game, as Pat’s now promise that they will have an assistant based at Richmond Park full-time. Surely, though, Jeff Kenna’s decision to commute is still going to do more harm than anything else?
8 Bray Wanderers
Bray, when fully fit, are pretty young and inexperienced. So when you’re without several players for a trip to Terryland Park, you’re more often than not going to be in trouble. Eddie Gormley was without the services of Stephen Brennan, Dave Mulcahy, who has a broken nose, and long-term absentee Derek Pender, while Gary McCabe and Derek Foran both played despite being cursed with a chest infection. It’s no wonder that they were hammered by Galway 3-0, leaving them with just 11 points from 12 games.
9 Sligo Rovers
Paul Cook, on reflection, should be happy with a point from last weekend’s game with St Pat’s. The Bit O’Red were substandard compared to their opposition - who are not exactly great themselves- and Alan Keane’s late equaliser meant that they’re at least level on points with Eddie Gormley’s Bray. The summer will be an interesting one for all at the Shwogrounds, just don’t expect them to do anything at all when the Europa League kicks-off.
10 Drogheda United
Ugly football. That’s what Alan Matthews has Drogheda United playing. It’s proving to be just a tad more successful of late, though, with the gap from the bottom to the relative safety of the play-off positions just five points. Dundalk came to Oriel and took the lead, but when goalscorer Chris Turner unfairly saw red, Drogs equalised to give the two Louth clubs a share of the spoils. Another couple of points before the end of the month will finally give them a chance to claw their way up the table. A glimmer of hope at least, something that wasn’t there just two weeks ago.
1 Cork City
“Who’s on top of the league?” bellowed out of Turner’s Cross last Friday night, long after the final whistle had gone, as Cork City moved to the summit with a hard fought win over Derry. Dan Murray was the hero, his first half goal the difference between the two sides. The Rebel Army’s captain celebrated his 27th birthday the day after, and the winner plus another cleansheet must have been the best possible presents.
2 Bohemians
Bohs’ fell to second position, after their first trip to Tallaght Stadium to face their hated rivals, Shamrock Rovers, ended in a 2-1 defeat. When Jason Byrne scored from the penalty spot a quarter of an hour in, it looked like Bohs would return to the top of the table. However, extratime.ie Player of the Month Gary Twigg scored twice in the last three minutes to give the Hoops the win.
3 Derry City
Stephen Kenny was incensed with referee, Declan Hanney, after the Candystripes were left hard done by, losing 1-0 away to Cork City. Hanney sent off Mark McChrystal for a second bookable offence after an innocuous challenge on Colin Healy early in the second half. Kenny, who paced up and down the tunnel while waiting to speak to the referee after the game, was annoyed further when James McClean scored right at the death, only for it to be wrongly judged offside.
4 Shamrock Rovers
Where would Rovers be without Gary Twigg? Certainly not in 4th position. The Scottish striker added his 9th and 10th goals of the campaign against bitter neighbours Bohemians on Saturday night to move them to 21 points and level with Derry City. Twigg has now scored all but seven of Rovers’ goals in the league and without his input, Rovers probably wouldn’t be looking forward to a challenge for a European spot.
5 Galway United
A cracking goal from Jay O’Shea set Ian Foster’s Galway United on their way to a convincing 3-0 win over Bray Wanderers at Terryland Park. The win put the Tribesmen on 18 points, just eight behind the leaders and four off of a European spot.
6 Dundalk
Dundalk’s discipline has hardly been lily-white, though Chris Turner’s sending off may have been a bit harsh in the Louth derby at United Park. Turner scored from the spot before seeing two harsh yellows, as he was given his marching orders by Dave McKeon. They’ve now had three sendings-off in a row and the build-up of suspensions are not going to help. Still very inconsistent and although it’s their derby, if they want anything decent from this season, they’ll need to be beating Drogheda.
7 St Patrick’s Athletic
Alan Cawley’s strike may have been spectacular, but Pat’s couldn’t hold onto a lead yet again, as Alan Keane equalised late on to earn struggling Sligo Rovers a point. Paul Pesky-name-hard-to-spell also resigned after the game, as Pat’s now promise that they will have an assistant based at Richmond Park full-time. Surely, though, Jeff Kenna’s decision to commute is still going to do more harm than anything else?
8 Bray Wanderers
Bray, when fully fit, are pretty young and inexperienced. So when you’re without several players for a trip to Terryland Park, you’re more often than not going to be in trouble. Eddie Gormley was without the services of Stephen Brennan, Dave Mulcahy, who has a broken nose, and long-term absentee Derek Pender, while Gary McCabe and Derek Foran both played despite being cursed with a chest infection. It’s no wonder that they were hammered by Galway 3-0, leaving them with just 11 points from 12 games.
9 Sligo Rovers
Paul Cook, on reflection, should be happy with a point from last weekend’s game with St Pat’s. The Bit O’Red were substandard compared to their opposition - who are not exactly great themselves- and Alan Keane’s late equaliser meant that they’re at least level on points with Eddie Gormley’s Bray. The summer will be an interesting one for all at the Shwogrounds, just don’t expect them to do anything at all when the Europa League kicks-off.
10 Drogheda United
Ugly football. That’s what Alan Matthews has Drogheda United playing. It’s proving to be just a tad more successful of late, though, with the gap from the bottom to the relative safety of the play-off positions just five points. Dundalk came to Oriel and took the lead, but when goalscorer Chris Turner unfairly saw red, Drogs equalised to give the two Louth clubs a share of the spoils. Another couple of points before the end of the month will finally give them a chance to claw their way up the table. A glimmer of hope at least, something that wasn’t there just two weeks ago.
About Alan Smith
Alan Smith works as a sub-editor for the Guardian newspaper in London. Originally from Cork, he freelances for several other newspapers and websites. Follow him on twitter @alansmith90. View Full Profile