Being top: "A pleasant surprise"
Credit:
Due to some personal issues, I haven't been able to write my weekly column over the last few weeks. It is good to be back. In the interim, we beat Sligo in the Setanta cup semi-final to qualify for the final, where we will face Bohs in Tallaght.
The result flattered us a little but over the tie, I thought we deserved to win. In the second leg, I managed to score the winner. I am not the most prolific goal scorer but I was delighted with my finish. The lads on the team have been giving me some stick saying "that's my one for the season now!"
It's great to have a cup final to look forward to so early in the season. When we walk out onto the pitch in Tallaght in three weeks, it will be a great occasion for St. Pat's.
Also, our league campaign looks to be back on track after our disappointing loss to Drogheda. We beat Bray 4-0 last Tuesday and topped off a great week's work with a hard fought 1-0 against Sligo.
At the start of any season, it is common talk around dressing rooms that we will see where we are after 9/10 games and this will be a good indication as to how well a team will do in season.
After nine games, we were top of the table with Dundalk. We will admit that this is a pleasant surprise and both sides are probably over-achieving. Still, it is nice to look at the table and see Pat's sitting top.
A few weeks back, Rovers came in for some criticism after a few defeats. It looks to be the turn of Bohs this week who are receiving pressure from the so called football "experts" in the newspapers and on TV. As "bad a start" as both sides have had, two good results and both will be back at the top. All the criticism seems a bit premature.
It seems to be the theme of modern day football that the "experts" over-hype when a team is doing well and with a couple of bad results they go over the top with their criticism.
With the Setanta Cup games and mid-week fixtures, we have been playing two fixtures a week all season. After being used to playing full time, work and mid-week games are taking a lot out of me. The commitment and sacrifices part-time players make to play in the league is tough as my brother Aidan has been telling me for the past 10 years.
On Friday, we are facing Shamrock Rovers at home, hopefully we can stay top of the table.
The result flattered us a little but over the tie, I thought we deserved to win. In the second leg, I managed to score the winner. I am not the most prolific goal scorer but I was delighted with my finish. The lads on the team have been giving me some stick saying "that's my one for the season now!"
It's great to have a cup final to look forward to so early in the season. When we walk out onto the pitch in Tallaght in three weeks, it will be a great occasion for St. Pat's.
Also, our league campaign looks to be back on track after our disappointing loss to Drogheda. We beat Bray 4-0 last Tuesday and topped off a great week's work with a hard fought 1-0 against Sligo.
At the start of any season, it is common talk around dressing rooms that we will see where we are after 9/10 games and this will be a good indication as to how well a team will do in season.
After nine games, we were top of the table with Dundalk. We will admit that this is a pleasant surprise and both sides are probably over-achieving. Still, it is nice to look at the table and see Pat's sitting top.
A few weeks back, Rovers came in for some criticism after a few defeats. It looks to be the turn of Bohs this week who are receiving pressure from the so called football "experts" in the newspapers and on TV. As "bad a start" as both sides have had, two good results and both will be back at the top. All the criticism seems a bit premature.
It seems to be the theme of modern day football that the "experts" over-hype when a team is doing well and with a couple of bad results they go over the top with their criticism.
With the Setanta Cup games and mid-week fixtures, we have been playing two fixtures a week all season. After being used to playing full time, work and mid-week games are taking a lot out of me. The commitment and sacrifices part-time players make to play in the league is tough as my brother Aidan has been telling me for the past 10 years.
On Friday, we are facing Shamrock Rovers at home, hopefully we can stay top of the table.
About Damian Lynch
Premier Perspective: Damian Lynch is an extratime.ie columnist giving his views on the current state of the league as well as his own personal performance with St. Patricks Athletic. The Saints' skipper will give his … View Full Profile