After winning the FAI Cup for the first time in 53 years, St Patrick’s Athletic captain Ger O’Brien sat down with The City to share his thoughts on the season gone by. The defender also spoke about his own future as well as other pressing matters in the League of Ireland.
Republic of Ireland international Stephanie Roche is aiming to take her place among football’s elite when the three-person shortlist for the chance to win the 2014 FIFA Puskás Award in announced on December 1, 2014.
The 25 year-old from Shankill in Dublin would be the first woman to ever win the award should she ultimately secure a majority vote at the FIFA Ballon d’Or ceremony on January 12, 2015.
Established in 2009, the Puskás Award is given to the player – male or female – that has scored the best goal of the year in world football as voted for by the general public. Ferenc Puskás, the Hungarian legend who the award is named after, is one of the top scorers from the 20th century with 512 goals in 528 matches.
Roche’s strike for Peamount United against Wexford Youths on October 20, 2013 is the only goal scored by a female player on the list of ten candidates.
With a viral campaign on her side and the whole of the Republic of Ireland adding their support, Roche is certainly in with a chance of creating history. And with family and friends betting in her favour, Roche is trying not to get too excited.
“A few of them have placed bets yes, I haven’t done it myself so I don’t want to jinx it! A lot of people have been sending me Paddy Power screen shots and stuff like that,” said Roche.
“The support has been unbelievable to be honest with you. I would just like to say thanks to all of the Irish people, I’ve been trying to say it all week. I’ve obviously been away, but my family have been telling me there’s so much in the paper and on Twitter, so the support has been phenomenal.”
Back at the 2010 FIFA ceremony, Matty Burrows of Glentoran claimed third place in the Puskás Award after seeing off the likes of Lionel Messi, Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Neymar. With competition proving just as fierce this year, Roche is hopeful that a lesser celebrated league can gain recognition once again.
“Yeah definitely, I think someone mentioned that to me the other day,” said Roche. “It’s great to see that he got so far and hopefully I’ll be able to do that as well.”
Stars of last summer’s World Cup such as James Rodríguez, Tim Cahill and Robin van Persie will likely provide Roche’s sternest opposition. However, should the striker lose out to one of the leading names in world football, she has no doubt as to who deserves to win the award.
“I follow Manchester United, so I would probably say Robin van Persie. I like him as a player and I remember watching it at the time, thinking it was a great goal, so I’d probably say that.”
After signing for French Division 1 side ASPTT Albi in July from Peamount United, Roche is still settling in to life in the south of France. And after an encouraging start which has seen the striker score two goals in her first eight games, Roche is looking to take her form into the second half of the season.
“It’s been really good to be honest, the football has been great. Obviously, it’s a different culture and a different lifestyle, that’s the only difference,” said Roche.
“Football-wise I’ve loved it; I just want to play as much as I can. I played on Saturday and had a really good game so I just want to build on that and give them everything I can for the year.”
Voting is open on www.fifa.com until December 1 to reduce the list of candidates from ten to three, with the eventual winner being announced at the FIFA Ballon d’Or gala in Zurich, Switzerland on January 12, 2015.
Republic of Ireland boss Martin O’Neill has announced a 36-man provisional squad for the Republic of Ireland’s forthcoming Euro 2016 qualifier against Scotland in Glasgow on November 14. This squad will also play a friendly fixture against the United States in Dublin on November 18.
O’Neill has included the Everton duo of James McCarthy and Séamus Coleman in his squad after both missed the matches against Gibraltar and Germany in early October.
There is no call-up however for Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish who was tipped to make his debut in the USA friendly at the Aviva Stadium. Stoke’s Glenn Whelan is included despite a broken leg suffered in the Germany game but there is no place for Wes Hoolahan of Norwich, who damaged ankle ligaments with his club after returning from international duty.
Midfielder Whelan sustained a leg fracture in the 1-1 draw against Germany in Gelsenkirchen on October 14 and was all but ruled out of the Group D showdown against Scotland in Celtic’s Parkhead Stadium by his Stoke City boss Mark Hughes.
However, O’Neill says that Whelan’s injury is “clearing up” after naming him in his initial squad of 36. “Glenn’s in the squad at this moment,” O’Neill said. “Initially, I thought he was going to be out for some time and while he is still struggling, the injury itself is actually clearing up and he’s giving himself every possible chance.
“He’s getting better by the day, he’s still not weight-bearing but I’ll give him every opportunity. Even if I hadn’t included him in the squad here today, if he had felt he would be able to play, I would have reinstated him,” O’Neill added.
Former Cork City defender Brian Lenihan has also made his way into the squad after impressing in training in the lead up to the qualifiers against Gibraltar and Germany in October. However, the uncapped fullback is unlikely to remain in the squad when the panel is trimmed down to a suitable size on November 10.
“I thought for a young lad coming in with senior players he might have been a little bit nervous but he didn’t show it in the little games we played – in fact he did very, very well,” said O’Neill.
“It was always going to be an ask for him to be playing in those games [Gibraltar and Germany] and while he may be a natural right-back where David Meyler isn’t, we needed some experience down that side, particularly out in Germany.”
O’Neill went on to say, “It would have been harsh to have put him in there for that game [against world champions Germany], but he impressed enough to warrant being put in the squad at this minute. Obviously when we cut it down, we’ll see how it develops but he impressed everyone.”
With November’s clash against Scotland proving to be a significant fixture, O’Neill is hoping that his players’ boosted confidence thanks to their result against Germany will help them secure a potentially pivotal result against their Group D rivals.
“To score in the last minute of the game and get something from the world champions on their own pitch was really just fantastic. The players have naturally gained confidence from that.”
“Scotland will not be easy – absolutely not. They’re flying at the moment, Gordon Strachan has them playing very well and they had a great result out in Poland. If nothing else, we must go there with some confidence.”
Ireland currently sit in second place in Group D on seven points, three points ahead of Scotland.
As another year of Irish league football comes to an end, the time for reflection for managers, players and fans has arrived. Whether your club has won the league, embarked on a memorable cup run, exceeded expectations or spectacularly failed to live up to them, little will change the love we feel for the club we support. Here’s a round-up of all the Dublin-based Premier Division clubs for the 2014 season.
Bohemians
After retaining their SSE Airtricity Premier Division status in 2013 with a 10th place finish, the Gypsies pushed on in the 2014 season to surprise everyone at Dalymount Park and finish in a commendable 7th place.
Having only secured safety in the final weeks of the 2013 season, this campaign was a far more productive effort under now departed boss, Owen Heary. The 38 year-old, who spent seven years with the Phibsborough based club as a player and manager, guided his team to the latter stages of all three domestic cups. Bohs reached the semi-final stages of the EA Sports Cup, only to lose out to Shamrock Rovers 0-2. The FAI Cup brought more heartache, as the side were narrowly defeated by St Patrick’s Athletic despite threatening a late comeback in their quarter-final tie. The lesser acclaimed Leinster Senior Cup also saw the club excel, before being convincingly beaten by rivals Shamrock Rovers once again at the quarter-final stage.
Dinny Corcoran ended the season as the Gypsies’ top scorer, as he bagged 13 league goals to ensure relegation was never at the forefront of his teammates’ thoughts. Summer signing Jason Byrne also provided the goals for Heary’s men, but at 36 years of age, time is running out for the Dublin-born striker to break the League of Ireland’s all time scoring record of 235 goals, currently held by Brendan Bradley. Byrne still needs just over 20 goals to match Bradley’s feat.
Shamrock Rovers
Having previously secured a domestic cup treble in the 2013 campaign, Rovers were expected to improve on their 5th place finish and to challenge for the league title. However, the Hoops were to end another season without qualifying for Europe.
Midway through the season, manager Trevor Croly left the club by mutual consent as the club decided he was no longer the man to take the club forward. Pat Fenlon, the former Hibernian boss, took over the reins as the club desperately tried to secure European football for the first time in four years. With their league form proving indifferent, the cups took on more importance as the club searched for an alternative route into Europe.
The Hoops surrendered their EA Sports Cup to Dundalk, who claimed a 3-2 victory in a pulsating final. The club also lost its grip on their two remaining trophies, as they exited both the Leinster Senior Cup and the Setanta Sports Cup at the semi-final stages. Most painfully, Pat Fenlon’s side saw their last opportunity to qualify for Europe pass them by, as they lost to Derry City in their FAI Cup semi-final replay. The FAI Cup was high on the list of priorities for boss Fenlon, with the club having gone 27 years without claiming the trophy.
Gary McCabe ended the season as the club’s top scorer with seven goals, as the Tallaght-based club struggled to find a prolific scorer. Goalkeeper Barry Murphy was named as the club’s Player of the Year.
St Patrick’s Athletic
In claiming the SSE Airtricity Premier Division title in 2013, St Pat’s finally shook off their tag of ‘nearly men’. However, Liam Buckley’s side failed to recapture their title-winning form in 2014, as arguably the best squad in the league vastly underperformed to seal only a 3rd place finish.
In light of their league triumph, the Inchicore club’s struggles in the cup competitions were largely overlooked last season. This campaign, in contrast, will be remembered for their exploits in both European and the domestic cups. Having gained a remarkable 1-1 draw in their Champions League second-round qualifier first-leg against Legia Warsaw, those at Richmond Park began to dream of a fairytale meeting with Scottish giants, Celtic. Unfortunately, those visions would remain imaginary, as the Polish champions thrashed St Pat’s in the second-leg, to end their chances of progressing.
Liam Buckley and his players did claim the Leinster Senior Cup after beating First Division side Longford Town in the final. With Europa League qualification secured through their final league position, St Pat’s head into the FAI Cup Final on November 2 with little to fear, as they go in search of more silverware.
Christy Fagan marked a memorable personal campaign with 20 league goals; Conan Byrne and Chris Forrester also reached double figures. Keith Fahey also enjoyed a fine campaign as he made his eagerly anticipated return to the League of Ireland.
UCD
The perennial target for the Students is to remain in the SSE Airtricity Premier Division and they still have a chance of extending their five-year stay. In 2013, UCD sealed their safety after finishing in 9th place and in doing so, avoided the uncertainty of a relegation play-off. However, Aaron Callaghan’s side were not so fortunate this time around, as they will have to wait until Halloween night before their Premier Division status is decided.
With the club’s target of survival the only real aspiration for management and players, cup competitions always prove to be a thankless task at the UCD Bowl. The Students exited all domestic cup competitions in the early rounds, as they lived up to their low expectations. Striker Cillian Morrison left the club in July to join Cork City, in what has become a familiar scenario for UCD as they continue to lose their best players on an all-too regular basis. The likes of Michael Leahy, Craig Walsh, Dinny Corcoran and David McMillan have all left the side in the past 12 months. However, management encourage the club’s best players to move on, in order to further their careers at more ambitious sides throughout the division.
Time will tell if UCD are to prepare for life in the Premier Division once more, or whether they will finally endure relegation to Irish football’s second-tier.
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