First Division Round-up: Series 20
Credit:
Kildare County’s win in Wexford was the standout result this round. There were also wins for the top four of Shelbourne, Sporting Fingal, Waterford United, and UCD.
1st Shelbourne:
Shelbourne’s results keep pouring in. The draw with Athlone last week was disappointing, however, previous victories over UCD and Sporting, along with Friday night’s mauling of Finn Harps, sees them two clear with a game in hand.
Richie Baker and David McAllister got the goals against Harps, with the lack of any further goals very surprising considering the absolute domination Dermot Keely’s men enjoyed from start to finish. Mark O’Brien’s red card could have been done without, true, but there’s no denying how impressive the table reads for Shels.
2nd Waterford United:
Waterford needed a win to close the five point gap on Shels and, with facing Mervue, it never seemed doubtful. David Grincell and Graham Cummins got the goals, rather late it must be said, however the win keeps them within touch of the top.
Travelling to a buoyant Kildare side this weekend.
3rd UCD:
John Reilly (2) and Chris Mulhall scored for the Students at Longford on Saturday and, along with Waterford, it was a needed victory to keep up with Shels. Three wins in a row now, Athlone up next should make it four.
4th Sporting Fingal:
Sporting are two points off UCD and Waterford however their challenge remains the same: keep winning. On Friday they did that, thanks to goals from Shaun Williams, Alan Kirby and Conan Byrne (2).
Mervue (h) and Athlone (a) come before a massive game in Waterford and seven from those three games could even be seen as a failure.
5th Wexford Youths:
Wexford, barely six weeks ago, looked capable of catching the top four. However, last Friday’s 0-3 loss at home to Kildare all but ended that hope. Dreadful result.
Next it’s Monaghan (h) and Mervue (a) before a difficult game against the league leaders.
6th Monaghan United:
Monaghan’s scoreless draw against Athlone sees them remain in sixth. Friday’s trip to Wexford looks like a good game. Mons haven’t conceded in three and the Youths have lost three of their last four, two of which were at the Football Complex.
7th Limerick FC:
Stephen O’Flynn’s late goal was no more than a consolation against a rampant Fingal side, leaving Limerick closer to the bottom of the table than to the top. A difficult trip to Ballybofey next for Pat Scully’s men, however, with Harps also trounced by a top four side on Friday perhaps three points isn’t entirely unattainable.
8th Finn Harps:
Two things happened at Tolka Park worth noting on Friday. Firstly Marc Brolly scored a truly fantastic second half goal to send the nerves through the Shels faithful, reducing the deficit to one goal for the final half hour. Secondly Finn Harps had no other shot of note, in a game that saw them stuck in their own half for probably 80 of the 90 minutes.
Interesting game against Limerick next.
9th Athlone Town:
Scoreless in Monaghan, Athlone closed up on Finn Harps above them.
UCD and Sporting Fingal await next however.
10th Longford Town:
Three nil loss to UCD sees Longford remaining third bottom. Interestingly for the bottom sides, Kildare seem to be looking to make this end more entertaining. Still plenty of breathing space, for now.
11th Mervue United:
Seven losses in the league in a row, eight in all competitions. It’s turning into a real struggle for the Galway side.
12th Kildare County:
What a win. Strikes from Philip Hughes (2) and Trevor Bowers in a five minute spell after the break saw Kildare shock not just Wexford but everyone in the league.
Kildare amassed seven of their eight points this season in the month of July. Still a few wins off the rest of the league, and yet to win at home, Kildare have at least made it interesting. After hosting Waterford this weekend, Station Road will get a bit of a rest this month.
1st Shelbourne:
Shelbourne’s results keep pouring in. The draw with Athlone last week was disappointing, however, previous victories over UCD and Sporting, along with Friday night’s mauling of Finn Harps, sees them two clear with a game in hand.
Richie Baker and David McAllister got the goals against Harps, with the lack of any further goals very surprising considering the absolute domination Dermot Keely’s men enjoyed from start to finish. Mark O’Brien’s red card could have been done without, true, but there’s no denying how impressive the table reads for Shels.
2nd Waterford United:
Waterford needed a win to close the five point gap on Shels and, with facing Mervue, it never seemed doubtful. David Grincell and Graham Cummins got the goals, rather late it must be said, however the win keeps them within touch of the top.
Travelling to a buoyant Kildare side this weekend.
3rd UCD:
John Reilly (2) and Chris Mulhall scored for the Students at Longford on Saturday and, along with Waterford, it was a needed victory to keep up with Shels. Three wins in a row now, Athlone up next should make it four.
4th Sporting Fingal:
Sporting are two points off UCD and Waterford however their challenge remains the same: keep winning. On Friday they did that, thanks to goals from Shaun Williams, Alan Kirby and Conan Byrne (2).
Mervue (h) and Athlone (a) come before a massive game in Waterford and seven from those three games could even be seen as a failure.
5th Wexford Youths:
Wexford, barely six weeks ago, looked capable of catching the top four. However, last Friday’s 0-3 loss at home to Kildare all but ended that hope. Dreadful result.
Next it’s Monaghan (h) and Mervue (a) before a difficult game against the league leaders.
6th Monaghan United:
Monaghan’s scoreless draw against Athlone sees them remain in sixth. Friday’s trip to Wexford looks like a good game. Mons haven’t conceded in three and the Youths have lost three of their last four, two of which were at the Football Complex.
7th Limerick FC:
Stephen O’Flynn’s late goal was no more than a consolation against a rampant Fingal side, leaving Limerick closer to the bottom of the table than to the top. A difficult trip to Ballybofey next for Pat Scully’s men, however, with Harps also trounced by a top four side on Friday perhaps three points isn’t entirely unattainable.
8th Finn Harps:
Two things happened at Tolka Park worth noting on Friday. Firstly Marc Brolly scored a truly fantastic second half goal to send the nerves through the Shels faithful, reducing the deficit to one goal for the final half hour. Secondly Finn Harps had no other shot of note, in a game that saw them stuck in their own half for probably 80 of the 90 minutes.
Interesting game against Limerick next.
9th Athlone Town:
Scoreless in Monaghan, Athlone closed up on Finn Harps above them.
UCD and Sporting Fingal await next however.
10th Longford Town:
Three nil loss to UCD sees Longford remaining third bottom. Interestingly for the bottom sides, Kildare seem to be looking to make this end more entertaining. Still plenty of breathing space, for now.
11th Mervue United:
Seven losses in the league in a row, eight in all competitions. It’s turning into a real struggle for the Galway side.
12th Kildare County:
What a win. Strikes from Philip Hughes (2) and Trevor Bowers in a five minute spell after the break saw Kildare shock not just Wexford but everyone in the league.
Kildare amassed seven of their eight points this season in the month of July. Still a few wins off the rest of the league, and yet to win at home, Kildare have at least made it interesting. After hosting Waterford this weekend, Station Road will get a bit of a rest this month.
About Gordon Hunt
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