david@rb

After 4 aways trips in a row to Athlone, Dublin City, Limerick and Cobh, Kildare County returned to Station Road this weekend and maintained their 0% record at home by adding a defeat by Galway Utd to the two defeats by Finn Harps and Shamrock Rovers earlier in the season.

Kildare never really played in the first half and Galway Utd had all the chances. Brendan Kennedy, the Kildare keeper made a couple of good saves before Galway Utd finally got the goal that they deserved. It came from a corner that was half cleared and despite the keepers screams of “out we go!!” the ball fell to a Galway player who dribbled forward with nobody closing him down and struck a free shot with power through the hands of Brendan Kennedy. Kildare County had no response to the goal and they went into the dressing rooms one goal down.

The second half did not get any better for Kildare. Brendan Kennedy again was the busier keeper. A swift break from Galway into the box saw the striker cleverly back heal to an on rushing colleague whose well struck shot from inside the area was met with a strong hand by Brendan Kennedy sending the ball looping up into the air and leaving it to Barry Clancy to scoop it off the line. But Galway’s second eventually did come. Another swift break, Kildare right back David O’Mara was left for dead in an advanced position on the centre line, Alan Byrne drifted over to cover his position as the Galwayman thundered down the flank and ghosted by Alan Byrne. As Alan Byrne struggled back to get goal side again he was adjudged to have fouled, inside the box. Brendan Kennedy made a great save from the penalty but the Galway United players were first on to the rebound and it was two nil. It remained 2-0 till the final whistle.

There was no saving grace for Kildare, no silver lining. Alan Mulcahy put in a lot of effort and didn’t play as awfully as the rest of the team. So we are giving the Kildare man of the Match to Mulcahy who joined Kildare from Dublin City before the start of the season.

Kildare Team
Brendan Kennedy

David O’Mara
Graham Gibbs
Alan Byrne
Barry Clancy

Alan Mulcahy (my Kildare man of the Match) (replaced by Thomas Morgan)
Stephen Cooling
Stephen McCrossan
John Reilly

Darren McKenna (replaced by David Scully)
Derek Delaney

Match Reports: Kildare County Website | Galway Utd Website | RTE | elevenaside.com | Kildare Nationalist | Galway Independent

We followed Kildare County down South to watch the game versus Cobh Ramblers on Saturday. On the Sunday we took the opportunity to visit Fota Wildlife Park which is no more than 10 minutes drive from Cobh’s home gound. It’s worth a visit if you are in the area. In Ireland (or anywhere) it is rare to see ring-tailed lemurs and kangaroos freely mixing with humans; and it is a strange sight to see a corps of giraffes on the Cork skyline looking back at you.

Now, to the more important matter of the football game. There was a small contingency of Kildare fans in St. Coleman’s Park to witness Kildare County’s second victory this year. Kildare County went in with a 2-1 advantage at half time after scoring twice from Mulcahy crosses. They kept the lead to the final whistle.

The game was only moments old when the first goal came from a free kick that Mulcahy swung in for Stephen Cooling who had the net bulging with a firm volley from 12 yards. Cobh were let back into the game when Kildare’s Alan Byrne, playing in defence for the day, took down an opposing player in the box to give away a penalty and ultimately the one goal lead. Kildare County had the lead back before half time. Mulcahy again supplied the cross from the corner and Alan Byrne headed back across the goal for Delaney to calmly head into the net. The team managed to hold the lead until the half time whistle despite another penalty claim from Cobh Ramblers.

The second half saw no goals, but there was no shortage of chances. Kildare striker McKenna was rewarded for chasing the defender into the corner flag when it looked like a lost cause. The defender failed to clear and McKenna stole the ball, turned the luckless defender and strided to the edge of the box to make an angle for himself for his shot which was only inches over the bar. Reilly also had a decent effort whistle over the angle of the crossbar for Kildare County before goalkeeper Kennedy had to make a save at the other end from a well struck shot from the foot of a Cobh player from 20 yards. As the time ticked, on Cobh pressed hard for the equaliser, and almost bundled the ball over the line in a goal mouth scramble. But Kildare County held on to take the win which lifted them off the bottom of the table.

Malone again had a marvelous game, as did Cooling. At the beginning of this season Stephen Cooling moved with team mate Graham Gibbs from University of Memphis to Kildare County to join John Reilly who also spent time with the University of Memphis. The ‘Tigers’ play in the Conference USA league in America and Cooling had built up a strong reputation during his spell there. His first Kildare goal came at the weekend and that coupled with a steady performance in the middle of the park earned him my Kildare Man of the Match.

Kildare Team
Brendan Kennedy

Barry Clancy
Ian Malone
Alan Byrne
David O’Mara

John Reilly
Stephen Cooling (my Kildare Man of the Match)
Stephen McCrossan
Alan Mulcahy

Derek Delaney (replaced by David Scully)
Darren McKenna

Match Reports: Kildare County Website | Cobh Ramblers Website | RTE | eleven-a-side

This could be seen coming, the tie was jinxed from the start. It fell foul to bad weather twice and when Kildare County finally did make the trip to play Limerick in Hogan Park they fell foul to a strike by Derek McCarthy in the second half. The win brought the team where big Sam Allardyce of Bolton Wanderers fame began his managerial career in 1991 to second place in the table, while it left Kildare County rooted to the bottom of the table. I failed to make the long trip down to Limerick for the Tuesday evening clash but the reports can be seen below.

In other news Bray Wanderers boss Pat Devlin was appointed as Ireland “B” International team manager and Eircom League co-ordinator. He will be responsible for spotting potential stars from the Eircom League that could make the step up to full international level and the newly formed “B” International team will be the perfect vehicle to give some of these players experience in an international setup.

This leads us to question if there are any players good enough to make the Irish International team in the Eircom League? The Eircom League has a very low UEFA ranking with UEFA’s co-efficient system suggesting that it is only 38th from the 52 national leagues in UEFA. That is, they are ranked just below the Macedonian League and just above the Belarussian League and the Liechtensteiner League. With so many Irish players playing in the English Premiership why should the players of such a lowly respected league be considered for the National team?

Irishman Gavin Peers (from Mansfield Town), Northern Irishman Chris Turner (from Derby County) and Australian Adam Hughes (from Doncaster Rovers) all made the switch from the English league to Eircom’s Premier team Sligo Rovers this year. Derby County are at the bottom of the Championship but Chris Turner was only successful in their youth teams and never broke into their first 11. This shows that at the very best the standard of player that can be attracted to the Eircom League is a player that would struggle in the Championship. And it more likely shows that the Eircom Premier League is more on a par with League 1 or 2 rather than the Championship. Niall Hudson from Gresly Rovers (Unibond League Division 1) moved to Dundalk this season and is showing that a player from the 8th tier in the English game is more than capable of performing in the 2nd tier in Ireland!

Since 1986 only two players have won an International cap for Ireland while playing in the Eircom League. Glen Crowe played in a friendly against Greece in 2002 and made another injury time appearance in a friendly against Norway in 2003. Jason Byrne, in 2004, won himself a cap when he replaced Clinton Morrison in the 90th minute in a friendly against Poland.

So will the new “B” International team give more players the opportunity to make the move to the Senior team or is the standard of player just not available in the Eircom League?

Match reports: Kildare County Website | RTE | eleven-a-side | Leinster Leader

This Saturday I followed Kildare County to Athlone Town and St. Mel’s Park. St. Mel’s is a real fans stadium, there is nowhere in the Irish Eircom League that you are closer to the pitch, the stand is only a metre from the side line which nearly makes you feel part of the action.

Myself and my brother arrived a little early and he found time to out-shoot me on the public pitch just next to the ground. This is made more impressive when you realise that his arm was in a sling and he is only 17 years old.

On the subject of youth, Kildare County Manager John Ryan had to put his faith in young Carl Donnelly in goal because of Brendan Kennedy’s suspension for his red card in the Shamrock Rovers game. The young 18 year old keeper who also kept goal in several games last season for Kildare County did well, keeping a clean sheet and making one or two important saves.

Carl Donnelly was helped in no small fashion by the towering Ian Malone at centre back. The ex-Monaghan United man and my man of the match superbly deputised for Graham Gibb. He stood strong and tall and cleaned up every header that came his way and stepped in with a few tough tackles when needed to as well.

At the other end of the pitch Kildare County striker Darren McKenna was a constant thorn in the side for the Athlone Town defence. Persistent fouling was the only way that they could deal with his threat. The battle between McKenna and the defence eventually led to a yellow card for an Athlone defender and then later McKenna was forced off injured.

And so the game would finish nil - nil. Both teams had chances but Kildare will be the happier side picking up an away day point and nearly just as importantly taking points off a team that could turn out to be one of our close rivals this season.

Kildare Team

Carl Donnelly

Barry Clancy
Ian Malone (my Kildare Man of the Match)
Phil Byrne (subbed for David Scully)
David O’Mara

Stephen Cooling
Alan Byrne
Stephen McCrossan
John Reilly

Darren McKenna (subbed for Alan Mulcahy)
Derek Delaney

Match Reports: Kildare County Website | Athlone Town Website | RTE | eleven-a-side | Leinster Leader

Kildare County visited Dalymount Park in Phibsboro to take on their rivals Dublin City in the first round of the League Cup. Dublin City’s boss is an old friend of Kildare County - Dermot Keely managed the “Thoroughbreds” in their first ever season. This year in preseason, which was the last time the two teams met, Kildare County came out 3-0 victors. The last time Kildare County visited Dalymount Park was in August 2004 and on that occasion they served up a 1-0 defeat to Bohemians in the other, more prestigious, Irish Cup Competition. So what could possibly go wrong?

I’ll tell you what went wrong! A goal for Dublin City in the dying seconds which gave Dublin City a 2-1 victory and passage through to the second round after Derek Delaney had equalised late for Kildare County which could have brought the tie into extra time.

I didn’t make it to the match but you can see match reports at the below links.

Match Report from RTE
Match Report from Kildare County Site (Do you get the impression Kildare County want to forget this one?!)
Match Report from Dublin City Site
Match Report from footymad.net (Scroll down).

This was the game that every Kildare County fan was waiting for since Roddy Collins’ Shamrock Rovers were relegated at the end of last season. It was the first time in their illustrious history to be relegated. Indeed they have won an amazing 15 Leagues and 24 cups since they joined the League of Ireland in 1921. No team matches their record.

They truly have been the stars of the Irish League. In 1957 a crowd of 46,000 came to Dalymount park to see the “Hoops” battle with Matt Busby’s Manchester United. On that occassion they were stuffed by 6 goals to nil. They did give a good account of themselves in the return in Old Trafford, scoring two. However they still went down to a 3-2 scoreline there. Tragically, mere months later the Munich Air Disaster would claim many of the great Manchester United players that they faced on that day.

Shamrock Rovers have had numerous more European nights of note. During their more successful days they battled with teams like Bayern Munich and Glasgow Celtic.

Unfortunately for Shamrock Rovers and Irish Soccer in general they find themselves in the second flight now. The job has fallen to manager Pat Scully to guide the Rovers back to the glory days. Scully has the credentials and has vast football experience. He played for an Arsenal youth team that won the FA youth cup in 1988, has won a full cap for the Republic of Ireland against Tunisia under Jack Charlton. He has shown last year with Kilkenny - his first management job - that he can get results.

And so hundreds of Rovers fans arrived at Station Road on Saturday evening. They waded through the muck of the ground’s car park and if they were lucky they got a precious seat in the small 250 seater covered stand. The rest found a spot at the side of the pitch or a patch of grass on a hill and scratched their heads while they wondered how their team had fallen so far. Thankfully, for those that did not get in the stand, the pelting rain cleared just in time for kick off.

From a Kildare perspective it was great to see the grounds full. The Rovers fans brought a great atmosphere and the Kildare County fans were definitely up for the match.

This historic first meeting of the two teams was made all the more interesting because Shamrock Rovers had stolen no less than 5 of Kildare County’s best and brightest players from last season. The Kildare County fans anticipated the return of Robbie Shields (County top scorer last season), Robbie Clarke, Gareth Cooney, Ray Kenny (County Captain last season) and Ger O’Brien (County player of the season last year). Clarke and Cooney started and Ger O’Brien came on as a second half sub but unfortunatley Shields was injured and no sign of Ray Kenny.

The game itself served up no surprises. Shamrock Rovers took an easy 3-0 victory home with them. Early in the first half Phil Byrne and man of the match Willie Doyle chased down a through ball together. The defender seemed to have it covered but inexplicably decided to leave the ball to his goal keeper who was late rushing off his line. And so Willie Doyle was one on one with the big man. The goal keeper upended him to give away the penalty which Doyle finished himself. Kildare County’s striker Derek Delaney had made way for back up keeper Mark Scoyne and with the goal advantage and the numeric advantage the result was never in doubt from this point on.

Shamrock Rovers added a second from a quick breakaway before half time that saw Purcell net for them. And the inevitable third came in the second half from Willie Doyle as he slotted into an empty net after another terrible mix up between goal keeper and defender, this time Graham Gibbs was the guilty defender.

Kildare County can take much hope from the game. Despite being down to ten men they did match Shamrock Rovers for extended periods and fashioned a few goal chances of their own. Most notable were a left foot drive that whizzed only inches wide from distance by Dave Scully in the first half, and in the second half the same player was on target with a clever backward header but the Rover’s keeper turned it over.

The game brought back all the same sore feelings for the fans that the previous home game did when Kildare played Finn Harps. Their team had finished 3 goals behind a team that had been a division ahead of them in the previous season. And in both games they had a man sent off. After the Finn Harps game John Ryan, the Kildare manager told the Kildare Nationalist, “I would have preferred if Graham had let the ball go into the net and then we could have started the game again at 3-2 down, but with 11 men.” Perhaps he will say something similar to Kildare keeper Brendan Kennedy.

Kildare Team
Brendan Kennedy

Barry Clancy
Philip Byrne
Graham Gibbs
David O’Mara

John Reilly
Stephen Cooling
Alan Byrne
David Scully (my Kildare Man of Match)

Darren McKenna
Derek Delaney

subs:
Mark Scoyne for Derek Delaney
Alan Mulcahy for David O’Mara
Thomas Morgan for John Reilly

Match report from Shamrock Rovers site
Match report from Kildare County site
Match Report from RTE
Match Report from Kildare Nationalist