Each week FD and This Guy go over the matches. Check out FD’s analysis at Avoiding The Drop, due to FD not being able to read a calender and inform the folks there that all of the reports come out on Thursday, and him having to spend approximately 3 hours doing all the legwork that LoI usually does regarding injuries and whatnot. Anyway, after the jump a detailed preview of the week in action.
Bohemians vs. Cork City – Dalymount Park, 19:35
City finally won a match by defeating Bray Wanderers 2-1 last week at home. Congratulations, as a prize now you get to play Bohs! The timing simply couldn’t be worse for Cork side which seemed to lacking confidence and an attention span late in matches before buckling down last week. The Gypsies looked like a shark in a tank of guppies in March, with only Derry City able to land a draw against them. That was a 1-1 match, and remains the only goal Bohs has thus far conceded on the young season. A major factor in such a torrid start, ‘keeper Brian Murphy claims this year’s Bohs side is better than the one which won the double a year ago. Speaking of this week’s match against City, Murphy made this diplomatic assessment: “They’ll (Cork City) come up here and will fancy their chances, but we know…we should beat them.” Oh. Guess we didn’t need to preview this game after all.
This Guy’s Take: After nearly going out of business last year, the Cork City franchise was saved when Tom Coughlan bought the club. As you read last week (link), the Rebel Army is once again in hot water over wages owed to star midfielder Danny Murphy. This week, players will be paid by the hour, and forced to punch out when they are substituted off the pitch. In related news, the league website anticipates that due to an injury to City striker Neale Fenn, we can expect Jason Byrne and Glenn Crowe to “renew their partnership up front.” That is one super gay way to be going into your match against the champs.
This Guy’s Pick: Bohemians
FD’s Pick: Bohemians
Bray Wanderers vs. St. Patrick’s Athletic – Carlisle Grounds, 19:45
An undisclosed number of lucky fans will be in uniform this Friday and on the pitch as winners of the “I Want to Play in a Premier Division LOI Match” essay contest. Each of these teams’ rosters have been turned to swiss cheese with injury and suspension, and the results may not be pretty down the road. The Seagulls, coming off their first outright decision of the year (a loss), will be minus three regulars. Paddy Kavanagh will miss his second straight match with ankle ligament problems, while Derek Pender went off with an ankle injury last week and reportedly has “failed to respond to treatment.” All vouchers on Pender in the fifth race will be refunded at the bettor window. Daryl “The Loose Cannon” Robson will miss the match due to two yellows received last week. All that, however, is negligible compared with the ungodly scene at Inchicore, where local hotel lobbies have been turned into makeshift morgues and emergency rooms to relieve the strain on hospitals dealing with the St. Pats wounded. Both Mark Leech (2 goals on the season) and Gary Dempsey suffered leg breaks in last week’s win over Dundalk. Yes, that’s right, not injuries. Breaks. Both are out until July or August. Team physio (is this a doctor? Trainer? Magician?) Mick Spillane was quoted as saying, “In my 20 years of sports experience, I have never encountered two lower leg breaks in the same game from the same team. It is highly unusual and unfortunate.” Oh, the humanity!
This Guy’s Take: Even with the devastating injuries to Leech and Dempsey, the Saints have been rolling lately, winning three straight decisions by shutout to jump to third place on the league table. Bray, as was mentioned, had three straight draws before taking a loss a week ago. With both sides shorthanded, expect a cautious match, with the better club pulling out the decision.
This Guy’s Pick: St. Patrick’s Athletic
FD’s Pick: Draw
Derry City vs. Galway United – Brandywell Stadium, 19:45
Galway United has not been beaten this year. Granted. But the Tribesman also haven’t won since starting the season 2-0. A pair of draws has left the upstarts looking up at the top of the table where they once perched, and wondering if they have enough to hang around with powerhouses Bohs and Derry City. Well, it won’t take long to find out, as United heads to Northern Ireland this week for a matchup with the Candystripes. Team captain Jay O’Shea returns for the Tribesman after serving his “international duty” with the Irish Under 21′s in matches against Turkey and Spain. Irish international duty is much better than American international duty these days. Meanwhile, Derry City pulled off their second consecutive improbable comeback win last week, defeating Rovers 2-1 despite trailing with 25 minutes remaining.
This Guy’s Take: Derry’s string off second half success has left some to ponder whether this team is that good or that lucky. Well, if you ask This Guy (and by reading this, you more or less did), Derry City is the team that will likely provide the stiffest challenge to Bohs when all is said and done. Meanwhile, Galway’s hot start is beginning to look like just that. Unable to secure three points in a winnable game against derby rival Sligo Rovers is a telling sign that the Tribesman may be better than expected, but not quite ready to finish in the green when all is said and done.
This Guy’s Pick: Derry City
FD’s Pick: Derry City
Drogheda United vs. Shamrock Rovers – United Park, 19:45
The Drogs completed their early season journey last week by being shutout for the month of March. To their defense, the Boynesiders had a better chance of having two players breaks their legs than they did of beating Bohs. But since that never happens, it was obvious they were doomed from the start. This week, Drogheda tries its luck against a Rovers side that had the rug pulled out from under it by Derry City last week, suffering the first home lost in brand new Tallaght Stadium. The Hoops will certainly want to quickly erase the memory of that match, and earn three points this week against the league’s port-a-john. Rovers is hovering in no-man’s land in the middle of the table, but believe they have the talent to compete for a league title. Teams with such a mindset need to beat Drogheda United.
This Guy’s Take: When an entire article you are interviewed for revolves around your team’s failure to tally a single goal thus far, that’s probably not a good sign. Such was the case for Drogs manager Alan Matthews, who spoke with www.loi.ie this week. Some of the interview may have gotten lost in translation, since Matthews speaks a mix of Gaelic and bullshit. Here are a few quotes from the interview, followed by This Guy’s interpretation of what Matthews meant to say.
Matthews said: I don’t dwell too much on a performance if we haven’t achieved the right result.
Matthews meant: I watch a lot of TV on the weekends.
Matthews said: I don’t do moral victories as a manager.
Matthews meant: We don’t do victories as a professional football club.
Matthews said: The reality is we’re not scoring goals, and we haven’t got an array of strikers to pick from.
Matthews meant: The reality is haven’t scored any goals, and I don’t see who the fuck is going to get one.
Matthews said: I’m confident that the first goal, and first win will come.
Matthews meant: I really, really, really hope that the first goal, and first win will come.
Matthews said: I saw Bohemians play at United Park last season and they won the game much easier than they beat us on Friday night.
Matthe – - wait seriously? This guy (not to be confused with This Guy) is trying to spin the positive aspects of his club, and the best he can do is “They didn’t kick our asses as bad as they did last time?” In the words of the immortal Carl Spackler, at least they got that going for them, which is nice.
This Guy’s Pick: Shamrock Rovers
FD’s Pick: Shamrock
Sligo Rovers vs. Dundalk – The Showgrounds, 20:00 (Saturday)
You know on Monday Night Football when you get stuck with a mind-boggingly underwhelming matchup like Oakland Raiders vs. St. Louis Rams, where both teams are 3-5 and going nowhere fast? Welcome to this week’s Saturday night showcase, at The Showgrounds no less, between lightweights Sligo Rovers(FD note – Fuck You) and Dundalk. Neither team impressed in March, although Sligo is coming off a somewhat surprising draw with Galway United. Dundalk was supposed to be better than this, but have managed only one win against three losses in their first four results, and that one win came against Rele-gheda United.
This Guy’s Take: Thank God the Final Four is on Saturday night.
This Guy’s Pick: Nil-Nil Draw
FD’s Pick: Sligo
Picks Results
This Guy: 3-2
First Derivative: 2-3
