Stop Press: Delaney does best
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It’s rare for a League of Ireland aficionado to say this but here it hastily goes: WELL DONE JOHN DELANEY!
The decision to have tickets for yesterday’s magnificent cup final priced at just €10 was a masterstroke from our much maligned leader and he reaped the rewards with 36,101 paying into the new Lansdowne to witness a magnificent spectacle as Sligo avenged last year’s cup final defeat.
Just 30,885 filtered to the Aviva 24 hours previous for Ireland’s expensive but facile rugby friendly win over a no-mark Samoa outfit and the biggest attendance in (my) living memory for a domestic game was testament to what the league deserves. What seems equally amusing is that the number heading to the ground on Wednesday for the meaningless game against Norway will also be smaller.
Not too long after Ciarán Kelly produced an incredible feat by getting his hand to four penalties in a row, twitter was trending to the tune of Sligo. And while jokes about the chances of Kelly being able to save the economy were soon doing the rounds, yesterday was a perfect showcase of what we have to offer. Hell, the domestic game was hitting the heady heights of extreme popularity yesterday evening. Let’s savour it.
While one colleague based in Cork – who, admittedly, specialises in a different sport – was quick to comment on how the penalty shootout was an awful advert for the league, those of us who follow the game week in week out will have noticed that despite being 0-0 after 120 minutes, the game was actually one of the best scoreless draw’s you are likely to witness.
Sligo shaded it during the 90 minutes and going into extra-time you would have felt they could rue their missed chances in the additional 30. As we all witnessed afterwards however, Kelly was just not going to be beaten and after last season’s gutting loss to Fingal, it was nothing short of what Paul Cook and his side deserved.
The onus must now be on them to kick-on and give Rovers a real run for their money at the top of the table next season. Cook is a rare charm in the dugout and he has built a wonderful side based around the evergreen Joey Ndo, who also deserved his man-of-the-match award yesterday.
With Bohemians staring disaster in the face, this was not only a great way to silence the critics but also show us that the LoI is stronger than those begrudgers who laugh at us on damp Autumn nights when we trudge off to watch an actual game of live football.
The decision to have tickets for yesterday’s magnificent cup final priced at just €10 was a masterstroke from our much maligned leader and he reaped the rewards with 36,101 paying into the new Lansdowne to witness a magnificent spectacle as Sligo avenged last year’s cup final defeat.
Just 30,885 filtered to the Aviva 24 hours previous for Ireland’s expensive but facile rugby friendly win over a no-mark Samoa outfit and the biggest attendance in (my) living memory for a domestic game was testament to what the league deserves. What seems equally amusing is that the number heading to the ground on Wednesday for the meaningless game against Norway will also be smaller.
Not too long after Ciarán Kelly produced an incredible feat by getting his hand to four penalties in a row, twitter was trending to the tune of Sligo. And while jokes about the chances of Kelly being able to save the economy were soon doing the rounds, yesterday was a perfect showcase of what we have to offer. Hell, the domestic game was hitting the heady heights of extreme popularity yesterday evening. Let’s savour it.
While one colleague based in Cork – who, admittedly, specialises in a different sport – was quick to comment on how the penalty shootout was an awful advert for the league, those of us who follow the game week in week out will have noticed that despite being 0-0 after 120 minutes, the game was actually one of the best scoreless draw’s you are likely to witness.
Sligo shaded it during the 90 minutes and going into extra-time you would have felt they could rue their missed chances in the additional 30. As we all witnessed afterwards however, Kelly was just not going to be beaten and after last season’s gutting loss to Fingal, it was nothing short of what Paul Cook and his side deserved.
The onus must now be on them to kick-on and give Rovers a real run for their money at the top of the table next season. Cook is a rare charm in the dugout and he has built a wonderful side based around the evergreen Joey Ndo, who also deserved his man-of-the-match award yesterday.
With Bohemians staring disaster in the face, this was not only a great way to silence the critics but also show us that the LoI is stronger than those begrudgers who laugh at us on damp Autumn nights when we trudge off to watch an actual game of live football.
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