First Division - Season Preview

This season’s League of Ireland First Division is expected to be one of the most competitive for some time, with a number of teams expected to challenge for the promotion and play-off positions. Extratime.ie looks at the eight teams involved in the 2013 season.

It has been quite a winter break for Athlone Town that has seen new manager Roddy Collins add some experience to his squad during the off-season and he will be keen to improve dramatically on the clubs 6th place finish last season. New additions to the squad include players that have experience playing in the top division in the country such as Philip Gorman and Lee Dixon. Whether you love or loath Roddy Collins, there is no denying he is one of the great characters involved in the League of Ireland and he will be striving to achieve promotion at the first attempt.

A welcome development for Cork football was announced back in January, with Cobh Ramblers being awarded a First Division licence to compete in the Airtricity League second tier for the 2013 season.

Dave Hill’s signings include Davin O'Neill, John Meade, Conor Meade, Brian Fitzgerald, Andrew Bhandarkar, Martin Deady, Alan O Flynn, Gary Collins, Jonathan Spillane, Robert Birdsall, with O’Neill being the player who immediately catches the eye.

It shall no doubt be interesting following Ramblers over the course of the season, and I’m sure that many will be encouraging them to do well. After all, however much we love it, everyone knows how difficult it can be to survive in the League of Ireland – none more so than the people at Cobh Ramblers.

Expectations are high in Ballybofey this season with Finn Harps expected to challenge at the top end of the table.  Peter Hutton has kept a familiar side to that of last season but has added some good players to his panel.

Last season’s fifth place finish is unlikely to be acceptable this season, and they will look to reduce the 26 point gap to the top of the table where they finished last season.

Aaron O’Hagan’s return from injury, along with the welcome signing of Marc Brolly will add much optimism at Finn Park. The experience of Kevin McHugh should also be of huge benefit to Hutton’s side. Centre-back Keith Cowan will also be a vital part of Harp’s defensive outfit as they look to cut down on the 43 goals conceded in their 28 league matches last season. A good start to the season could see Harps as a force to be reckoned with this season.

Longford Town led the league for the bulk of last season, however a combination of injuries, suspension and other teams putting together impressive runs condemned them to 3rd position and a play-off with Waterford United. They lost that play-off 3-1 on aggregate and manager Tony Cousins will be aiming to get top spot this season, so as to gain automatic promotion.

Cousins has added some experience to his defence by signing goalkeeper Chris Bennion from Shelbourne with midfielder Keith Quinn also signing for the club in January.

With the retention of players already at the club along with Tony Cousins remaining in charge, the club has a continuity, which may give them an advantage over the rivals, particularly in the early part of the season. The facilities in the City Calling Stadium have been upgraded and, despite their pre-season results, the club will expect to challenge for promotion.

Mervue United will look to build on last season’s second last place finish as they begin another season in the League of Ireland.

But their task will be made all the more difficult after losing some of their talented players during the off-season. Etanda Nkololo has departed for Longford Town, while Pat Hoban and Ger Hanley have both left the club in moves to the Premier Division to Shelbourne and Dundalk respectively.

Gary Curran has joined from Ballinamallard United, while Joe Woods have both joined from Athlone Town.

Hard working midfielder Tom King will also be a valuable asset for Johnny Glynn’s side who will be hoping to make a move up the table and continue to look ahead of them.

SD Galway revert back to Salthill Devon for the 2013 season and will hope that a change of fortunes comes with the name change. Last season saw the side finish bottom of the seven First Division teams with just five wins from their 28 league matches, collecting just 20 points in doing so.

Striker Enda Curran has been scoring in pre-season and he may be the one they call on to fire them away from the bottom of the table. Jean Biansumba will also be expected to get on the score sheet having tormented defences at the tail end of last season for rivals Mervue United.

Waterford United are the bookies favourites to win the league this season and confidence is high in the RSC. The Blues have strengthened with the addition of Vinny Sullivan and Gavin Kavanagh from Cork City, and former Longford Town keeper Craig Hyland amongst others.

But their addition comes after a raft of player departures, most notably Gary Dempsey (Bray Wanderers), Sean Maguire (West Ham), Packie Holden (retired) and Craig Burns. Pre-season has shown positives and negatives, but a good start to the season will be vital for Paul O’Brien’s side.

The loss of Packie Holden may prove to be vital, with neither Craig Hyland nor Robbie Hughes enduring an error-free pre-season.

The Blues will need to fill the gaps left by the departures but need a quick fix after a pre-season not without questions being left unanswered. Paul O’Brien’s Blues do boast a range of young talented players to compliment the older experienced players and should they gel early, they should have too much for a lot of their competitors.

Wexford Youths’ fourth place finish last season showed the work put in by new manager Shane Keegan and his side. The challenge is now to match that, or go one better and move up another place.

The Youths have kept the majority of last season’s squad but have lost their star striker in Danny Furlong, who has left for Cork City.

They did fail to win any of their pre-season games but, against Premier Division opposition, they will be happy with the work that has been done. Narrow defeats to Dundalk and Shamrock Rovers (Leinster Cup) and a draw against Shelbourne will have instilled confidence in the young side.

Joe Mulcahy may be the focal point of the side this season having endured a positive end to last season. CJ Browne’s superb season last year will add more experience to the side with the Nolan twins, Brian and Shane, an important, and experienced, part of the squad. A good start to the season may see the Youths push for a play-off place this season, but competition will be fierce.

(With additional reporting from Alan Feehely (Cobh) and Paul Walsh (Longford Town and Athlone Town) )