Fresh from a win against Bray on Good Friday, Rovers went into this game full of confidence against Division One leaders Dundalk. Both sides blooded a few none regulars and the first half was a fairly dull affair - perhaps an indication of the fact that the League Cup is not either clubs priority this season.
For me Barry Ferguson was again excellent and so far this season has been one of Rovers star performers. Dave OConnor also impressed me.
More detailed analysis will follow later today but for now here is footage of the games only goal plus the other highlights
Tuesday 10 April 2007
Sunday 8 April 2007
Recent Goal Action!
Below we have action from some recent games
First up is Athlone v Longford in the League Cup last week. This one finished 1-1 after 90 minutes and there were no other goals in extra time so the winner was decided by spot kicks. See all the action below!
Bohemians made it two wins from two home games with a narrow one goal win over Sligo Rovers. The game was far from exciting but at the end of the day a win is a win and it should keep the Bohemian faithful happy for at least another while. Mind you there seems to be plenty of Bohs fans that are far from happy with their new manager - maybe he should be given a bit more time before the "OConnor Out" chants start
St Pats made it five wins from five league games as they saw off a troubled Galway side at Terryland. While credit must be given for their good start its worth remembering that four of those wins came against Bray, Waterford, Longford and Galway - no disrespect to these teams but I think there is a good chance that they will be occupying the bottom four spots come November.
First up is Athlone v Longford in the League Cup last week. This one finished 1-1 after 90 minutes and there were no other goals in extra time so the winner was decided by spot kicks. See all the action below!
Bohemians made it two wins from two home games with a narrow one goal win over Sligo Rovers. The game was far from exciting but at the end of the day a win is a win and it should keep the Bohemian faithful happy for at least another while. Mind you there seems to be plenty of Bohs fans that are far from happy with their new manager - maybe he should be given a bit more time before the "OConnor Out" chants start
St Pats made it five wins from five league games as they saw off a troubled Galway side at Terryland. While credit must be given for their good start its worth remembering that four of those wins came against Bray, Waterford, Longford and Galway - no disrespect to these teams but I think there is a good chance that they will be occupying the bottom four spots come November.
Saturday 7 April 2007
Bray vs Shamrock Rovers - Match report , Goals, and Highlights
Bray v Shamrock Rovers (0 - 2)
Shamrock Rovers made the short trip to the Carlisle Grounds yesterday for a clash against Bray Wanderers. Amazingly a win for Bray would have given them as many leagues wins this season after five games as they managed in all of last seasons thirty games. Rovers on the other hand were aiming to bounce back after their loss in the Dublin Derby.
Rovers kicked off the first half and immediately their intent was visible. The last minute defeat to rivals Bohemians during the week had obviously been a sore point and they attacked Bray consistently from the off. It took just seven minutes for them to get off the mark. Relentless chasing and closing down by the Rovers midfield resulted in the ball being blocked down by Pender - the ball found its way to Purcell who took two touches to steady himself and create an angle before cleverly passing the ball into the corner of the net
The remainder of the first half didn't see much more goal mouth action as both teams cancelled each other out. The only openings were as a result of set pieces and Bray in particular looked well organised and versed, both in attack and defence.
Bray came out for the second half similar to how Rovers did an hour previously. Manager Eddie Gormley added an extra man up front to the Bray attack as his side changed to a 4-3-3 formation. The change was paying off and for the first twenty five to thirty minutes of the half Bray had the large majority of possession and put the Rovers defence under constant pressure. Rovers broke away quickly on two separate occasions and Hoops favourite Ger Rowe was twice unlucky as his attempts both went wide of the mark without causing the Bray 'keeper any concern
Wanderers should have heeded the warning signs. With ten minutes remaining another quick Rovers breakout from defence looked to have been halted but Bray central defender Gough hesitated momentarily in possession and that was enough for the ever sharp Purcell to nip in, steal the ball , advance on goal and nutmeg the keeper who had done well to keep on his feet for as long as possible.
After that giant central defender Clive Delaney was thrown up front for the reminder of the game. Unsurprisingly he won nearly everything in the air but the Rovers defence stood firm and concentrated on winning the second ball. Bray pushed further with two corners in the dying minutes but again Rovers were able to handle everything, clear the ball to safety, and register their third win of the season.
Goals and Highlights!
As I said before the season started( click here)this Rovers team will surprise a few people this season - including the bookies who are still underestimating them. Rovers now lie third in the table with an impressive ten points. They are an extremely hardworking team who defend in numbers, they are young and hungry and in Manager Pat Scully they have someone who continues to show that his man management and motivational skills are among the best in the country
However at this early stage its already evident that if their is a fault in their set up and tactics its that they have a tendency to be happy with what the have got once they have taken the lead. While their defence is very well organised, tight and compact they do seem to sit a little deep once they ahead - now this of course is all part of the plan to draw the opposition out with a view to exploiting space quickly on the counter attack but there is no doubt that the longer you spend defending and holding the eighteen yard line the more chance there is that your defence will be breached. This happened against Bohemians last week and nearly happened against Galway prior to that as well as today
Previous Shamrock Rovers related articles
Goals and Report vs Bohs
Preview Bohs v Rovers
Quick Match Preview vs Galway
Quick Preview vs Longford
Goals and Highlights vs UCD
Shamrock Rovers made the short trip to the Carlisle Grounds yesterday for a clash against Bray Wanderers. Amazingly a win for Bray would have given them as many leagues wins this season after five games as they managed in all of last seasons thirty games. Rovers on the other hand were aiming to bounce back after their loss in the Dublin Derby.
Rovers kicked off the first half and immediately their intent was visible. The last minute defeat to rivals Bohemians during the week had obviously been a sore point and they attacked Bray consistently from the off. It took just seven minutes for them to get off the mark. Relentless chasing and closing down by the Rovers midfield resulted in the ball being blocked down by Pender - the ball found its way to Purcell who took two touches to steady himself and create an angle before cleverly passing the ball into the corner of the net
The remainder of the first half didn't see much more goal mouth action as both teams cancelled each other out. The only openings were as a result of set pieces and Bray in particular looked well organised and versed, both in attack and defence.
Bray came out for the second half similar to how Rovers did an hour previously. Manager Eddie Gormley added an extra man up front to the Bray attack as his side changed to a 4-3-3 formation. The change was paying off and for the first twenty five to thirty minutes of the half Bray had the large majority of possession and put the Rovers defence under constant pressure. Rovers broke away quickly on two separate occasions and Hoops favourite Ger Rowe was twice unlucky as his attempts both went wide of the mark without causing the Bray 'keeper any concern
Wanderers should have heeded the warning signs. With ten minutes remaining another quick Rovers breakout from defence looked to have been halted but Bray central defender Gough hesitated momentarily in possession and that was enough for the ever sharp Purcell to nip in, steal the ball , advance on goal and nutmeg the keeper who had done well to keep on his feet for as long as possible.
After that giant central defender Clive Delaney was thrown up front for the reminder of the game. Unsurprisingly he won nearly everything in the air but the Rovers defence stood firm and concentrated on winning the second ball. Bray pushed further with two corners in the dying minutes but again Rovers were able to handle everything, clear the ball to safety, and register their third win of the season.
Goals and Highlights!
As I said before the season started( click here)this Rovers team will surprise a few people this season - including the bookies who are still underestimating them. Rovers now lie third in the table with an impressive ten points. They are an extremely hardworking team who defend in numbers, they are young and hungry and in Manager Pat Scully they have someone who continues to show that his man management and motivational skills are among the best in the country
However at this early stage its already evident that if their is a fault in their set up and tactics its that they have a tendency to be happy with what the have got once they have taken the lead. While their defence is very well organised, tight and compact they do seem to sit a little deep once they ahead - now this of course is all part of the plan to draw the opposition out with a view to exploiting space quickly on the counter attack but there is no doubt that the longer you spend defending and holding the eighteen yard line the more chance there is that your defence will be breached. This happened against Bohemians last week and nearly happened against Galway prior to that as well as today
Previous Shamrock Rovers related articles
Goals and Report vs Bohs
Preview Bohs v Rovers
Quick Match Preview vs Galway
Quick Preview vs Longford
Goals and Highlights vs UCD
Thursday 5 April 2007
Bohemians v Shamrock Rovers - Goals and Highlights
Bohs ran out unworthy winners in the big dublin derby. Rovers took the lead in the first half and will consider themselves extremely unlucky not to have got three points from this fixture. Bohemians didnt get going at all and looked void or ideas, energy and motivation for most of the game. Two late goals saved them on this occasion - but unless they improve significantly over the next few months the hardcore Bohs fans will soon be calling for the managers head sooner rather than later
For the pre game preview click here
Heres the Goals and Highlights
For the pre game preview click here
Heres the Goals and Highlights
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