TheCity

Tag: soccer

  • Richmond Park: The Home of Saint Patrick’s Athletic 

    Richmond Park: The Home of Saint Patrick’s Athletic 

    By Derek Price

    Richmond Park is the well-known venue, pitch, and home, of St Patrick’s Athletic football team in Dublin, in the heart of Inchicore in Dublin.  

    Photo: Derek Price

    According to the team’s website, the ground was originally used as a recreational area by the British Army, from Richmond Barracks. This barracks has since been demolished many years ago. 

    The pitch was then unused for 3 years.  

    Brideville Football Club, originally based in The Liberties, Dublin. then began using the ground in 1925. 

    Although St Pats were founded in May 1929, back then they played their home matches in the Phoenix Park. 

    In 1930 Brideville F.C. moved from the Richmond Park football pitch to the Harold’s Cross Greyhound Stadium, as St Patrick’s Athletic then took it over and moved in. St. Pats used the ground until 1951, and then entered the League of Ireland, but the league declared the pitch inadequate, and for the best part of 9 years, St. Pats had to play on different pitches in Dublin, while they redeveloped Richmond Park. 

    In 1960, the team returned to the Inchicore pitch. The ground then closed for a upscaling in May 1989. Due to St Pats suffering financial difficulties, the team did not return to the site until 5 December 1993. 

    The ground is situated behind a row of terraced houses in a natural valley off Emmet Road, and is regularly used for the Republic of Ireland youth teams, and women’s soccer matches.  

    Richmond Park also is usually the venue for the non-league clubs in surrounding areas if they qualify for the FAI Cup. 

    Some music acts such as the 1970s and 80s rock band Thin Lizzy, have also used the venue to stage their concerts in the past. 

    In 2020, St Patrick’s Athletic used Richmond Park as a hub for donated items, and a food bank to provide aid to the needy during the COVID 19 pandemic, which was reported on the St Pats website, and in The Irish Times. 

    There are numerous shops, restaurants, cafes, and pubs in the area, which one could imagine, must enjoy the influx of football supporters and their families, buying lots of food and items, and increasing their business and livelihood.  

    There is also a high level of security provided by An Garda Síochána, at every match, to ensure that law and order is maintained, with several Garda squad cars, vans, and motorcycles present, to keep the fans and patrons on the straight and narrow. 

    The St Patrick’s Athletics’ fans have been very enthusiastic about their team staying in Inchicore village, but how do the locals feel about the soccer fans etc., being around the surrounding area? 

    “I’m not a Pats supporter myself, but I drink in the pubs around the area, and I’m usually there on the weekends. The atmosphere is great because of the matches, and I for one am in favour of it. It wouldn’t be the same without it,” said Johnny Byrne (48) from Inchicore. 

    Susan O’Donnell from Bluebell is a fan of soccer. 

    “I drop down to some of the home games in Richmond Park. I’ve not seen much of any serious trouble at the matches, I have to say. A bit of monkeying around at times, with some young fellas messing, shouting at, and slagging the other team’s fans, but nothing that would stop me from turning up at the matches. They’re a good bunch of lads overall, as far as I’m concerned.” Susan said. 

    Patrick Evans (55) said: “I don’t live around here these days, but my parents do. I’m not a football fan myself, but I do watch the odd match when it’s on TV. I come up on the weekends when most of the matches are on. The buzz here on match nights is great and livens up the area. The supporters seem so loyal and mad into it. I’d recommend any football fans to drop up and take in the experience, and see it for themselves, whether they’re from Dublin, Ireland, or abroad,” he said. 

    Several shop workers from the Inchicore area where also asked for comment regarding this article, but unfortunately all declined to voice their opinions, and participate on the day. 

  • Ireland U21’s European Dream Ends, but Strong Foundations Are Set for the Future 

    Ireland U21’s European Dream Ends, but Strong Foundations Are Set for the Future 

    By Sandra Dudkiewicz

    Ireland’s hopes of qualifying for the UEFA U21 European Championship were dashed after a 1-1 draw against Italy in Trieste.  

    Ireland previously drew 1-1 with Norway on October 11, with Sean Roughan scoring for Ireland, only to see their lead vanish with a last-minute equaliser by Andreas Schjelderup. This result added more pressure as the Irish needed a strong finish against Italy.   

    Ireland’s Andrew Moran scored the crucial equaliser in the 66th minute, after Italy had taken an early lead through Cesare Casadei. Despite the draw, Italy booked their place in the 2025 European Championship that will take place in Slovakia. 

    Italy’s missed penalty in the first half by Gnonto, along with other squandered opportunities, gave Ireland hope, but they were unable to find that crucial second goal. 

    Ireland’s U21 team may have missed out on qualification for the 2025 UEFA European Championship, but their journey was filled with standout performances. 

    The boys in green opened the qualifiers with a 3-0 victory over San Marino in September 2023, with Sean Roughan and Sinclair Armstrong contributing key goals and a 3-2 win over Turkey in June. 

    Scoreboard: RTE

    The Republic of Ireland U21 team concluded their UEFA European Championship qualifying campaign in third place, level with Norway on 19 points, but missing out on the playoffs due to goal difference. 

    They recorded 5 wins, 4 draws, and 1 loss across 10 matches, scoring 24 goals and conceding 12, for a goal difference of +12. 

    Bristol City player and Republic of Ireland international, Sinclair Armstrong said: “The unity and mentality within the group was incredibly strong, largely due to the belief that Jim Crawford instilled in us which is that we could win every game.” 

    “We went toe-to-toe with big nations, and we didn’t shy away from any challenge, from any fight and we gave it 100 percent. For the experience to end so early is very disappointing but it has been unbelievable, we got to travel to so many different countries and experience different cultures in the process and it’s something I will never forget,” he continued. 

    Sinclair Armstrong (9)  Photo Via Instagram

    Armstrong received his first call-up to the senior Republic of Ireland squad on September 8, 2023, for their UEFA Euro 2024 qualifier against the Netherlands and made his senior debut on September 10, 2023. 

    While the Republic of Ireland team fell short of qualification for the UEFA U21 European Championship, their solid third-place finish and impressive performances throughout the qualifiers sets a promising foundation for the future. 

  • Dundalk Saved by Consortium with John Temple at the Forefront  

    Dundalk Saved by Consortium with John Temple at the Forefront  

    Via Dundalk Instagram  

    One of Ireland’s most successful clubs found themselves a couple of hours away from potential liquidation. 

    The club has struggled this season on the pitch as manager, Jon Daly’s side find themselves at the bottom of the league, as relegation to the first division looms over the club for next season. With six games remaining having suffered a 2-1 loss on the weekend to Sligo Rovers the club needs a big turnaround to try and stay up for another season in the premier division.  

    The last few years finances at Dundalk,show that out of the last six years at the club there has been only one season (2020) in which the club made a marginable profit of just €108,386. Over the course of these years, the club has lost a total of €4.9 million.  

    Statistics via James Rogers on X 

    In terms of player wages there has been a significant increase after losing some key players like Patrick Hoban who is the club’s all time top goal scorer in history, along with some key players who contributed to the success of the club such as Daniel Kelly, John Martin and Greg Sloggett. Even with these players departing, the wage bill still went up a staggering €100,000 between 2022 to 2023.  

    The club confirmed over the past week that they had been taken over by a consortium led by Dundalk native John Temple, after he bought an 80% purchase of the club from Brian Ainscough who only acquired the club in December of 2023. 

    A statement from the club after the takeover was announced read that they have agreed to underwrite the players current wages until the end of the season and will examine the viability of the club and its facilities going forward. (“TAKEOVER AGREED WITH JOHN TEMPLE – Dundalk Football Club) 

    Dundalk aren’t the first club to struggle financially in Ireland as in recent years, every club has struggled, including Shamrock Rovers, St. Patricks Athletic, and Bohemians.  

    Local league of Ireland fan, Shannon Lester, said; “I personally don’t think the league gets enough from the likes of the government. Other sports in the country even get more air time, which I don’t think is right. 

    “I don’t think there is enough backing from the FAI, I think they’re a shambles and to be honest I feel like they only get involved when things are already too far gone,” Lester said.  


    “It was sad to see with what had gone on with Dundalk, but I do think that something should be done as if it was the likes of Rovers or Bohs and there would be more fuss over the situation,” she said. 

    She continued, “I think the last few years the clubs have gotten way more fans through the gates, and you can see it every week in the stadiums. I just feel that without the support of the FAI or even the media coverage, you will see these teams like UCD or Drogheda who don’t have a massive stadium so they wouldn’t get as many home fans as the bigger clubs in this country and won’t take in as much money due to this.” 

  • Soccer Sisters launch virtual coaching for aspiring women’s soccer players

    Soccer Sisters launch virtual coaching for aspiring women’s soccer players

    Gavin Dalton speaks with FAI women’s administrator Rachel Graham about the recent, first of it’s kind virtual Soccer Sisters hub for the October Mid-term break.

    With Covid-19 preventing the usual week long camp style delivery of the popular Soccer Sisters programme, Aviva along with the FAI improvised to continue the coaching via a virtual delivery for participating girls to practice and hone their skills from the comfort of their own back garden. With video tutorials from Irish soccer stars Jessica Ziu and Isabeal Atkinson, the Soccer Sisters provided new skills and techniques for each day of the week for aspiring young women’s soccer players to replicate at home. Gavin Dalton spoke with one of the event’s organisers Shelbourne and the Republic of Ireland’s Rachel Graham about how the week went.

  • Watch: Life under lockdown –cricketers prepare for a new season

    Watch: Life under lockdown –cricketers prepare for a new season

    Cork Harelquins Cricket Club, June 2018. Photo: Ted Williamson

    TheCity.ie reporter and Munster interprovincial cricketer Ruadhán Jones has been looking at how cricket clubs and professional teams are preparing for the season under lockdown. He spoke to Ted Williamson, Munster Red’s interprovincial head coach and coach Cork Harlequins CC, and Kieran Sheffron — Munster’s strength and conditioning coach.

    Sports seasons have been cut-off, curtailed, or simply cancelled as a result of the coronavirus. As we enter the summer months, experts have warned that a return to contact sports is “a long way off”.

    But not all hope is lost. Speaking to RTE, Dr Paddy Considine — a sports economist — said that “there will be a hierarchy. Individual sports will have an advantage, while team sports or contact sports will be under pressure.”

    On top of this, Sport Ireland chief executive John Treacy said that non-contact, outdoor sports will be “a priority” when restrictions are lifted.

    For the likes of the GAA, soccer and rugby, this still makes a summer season unlikely. However, some non-contact outdoor sports have an outside chance of playing a shortened season – this includes cricket.

    As a member of an interprovincial panel, we have to do everything we can to be ready to hit the ground running. But it’s not all about the professionals – clubs are working hard to keep their members involved and active.

    To find out how teams and players are preparing, I spoke to Ted Williamson, head coach of the Munster Reds and coach at his local club Cork Harlequins CC, and to Kieran Sheffron, Munster’s strength and conditioning coach.

    Life under lockdown – cricketers prepare for a new season

  • Champions League Preview

    Champions League Preview

    City of Manchester Stadium. Photo by Bill Boaden- Wikipedia

     

    The race for Europe’s top prize heats up this week as the Champions League round of 16 ties continues. The City.ie looks ahead at what to expect from this week’s fixtures.

    Tuesday

    Manchester City v Barcelona

    This is undoubtedly the biggest match up in the round. City will be seeking revenge after losing out 4-1 on aggregate to Barcelona at the same stage last year. Despite boasting a front three of Messi, Neymar and Suarez, Barcelona aren’t as heavily favoured coming into the tie this year. A lot will depend on the performance of Messi’s compatriot Sergio Aguero: on his day Aguero has the ability to be the catalyst for a City victory over any opponent but he has been hampered by injury this season. City are also missing their key man in midfield Yaya Toure which will be a huge loss. Despite this however, City should have enough for Barcelona on the night. The return in the Nou Camp will be a different story however and the Catalans should sneak through over the two legs, but just.

    Juventus v Borrusia Dortmund

    Dortmund’s unexpected struggles in the Bundesliga this season have been well documented. Jurgen Klopp’s side, who reached the Champions League final in 2013, have been languishing in the relegation places for much of this season. However, their form in Europe has been good, and three wins in the league have pushed them up to 12th place recently so they will come to Turin with confidence. This form probably won’t be enough against Juventus though. They sit at the top of Serie A, nine points clear of Roma, and have only lost two of their last 28 Champions League games on home soil (W17 D9), both against Bayern Munich. With the likes of Carlos Tevez, Andrea Pirlo and Paul Pogba and top form, the Italian champions should win tonight and ease their way through over the two legs.

    Wednesday

    Arsenal v Monaco

    The Gunners have been on their best run of form this season and will be buoyed by leapfrogging Manchester United into third place over the weekend. Realistically Monaco were the best team they could have hoped to draw in this round and Arsenal should have too much for the principality both in this game and the return. Dimitar Berbatov will need to be well marshalled by the Arsenal defence, but aside from the Bulgarian, Monaco won’t pose much threat.

    Bayern Leverkusen v Atletico Madrid

    The Spanish champions reached the Champions League final last year, and while such a run might be beyond them this term they should progress against Leverkusen. The only fear is complacency. However Atletico have consistently overcome the ‘underdogs’ tag against domestic rivals Barcelona and Real Madrid so complacency is unlikely. Leverkusen will hope for an upset but this too is highly unlikely: they have never won a last 16 tie in the Champions League.

    By James Cox

  • Are we happy to accept failure?

    Are we happy to accept failure?

    Image courtesy of Wikipedia commons
    Image courtesy of Wikipedia commons

    Ireland’s agonizing defeat against New Zealand’s All Blacks in the Autumn Internationals last weekend signaled yet another disappointment for Irish sports. Having lead the game the whole way through, all it took was one try from the Blacks to crush Irish dreams in a matter of seconds.

    Within minutes of the final whistle being blown, Facebook and Twitter were awash with comments from members of the public expressing their anger and disgust. Then, just like that, the public’s words of resentment were replaced with words of consolation for a team that had “played so well.”

    In his post-match interview to BBC, Seán O’ Brien expressed his frustration at his teammates for letting such a monumental victory slip through their fingers. Despite receiving words of encouragement from the journalist, he summed it up for all of us when he said: “we lost.”

    The question that must be asked then is, are we as a country happy to accept failure?

    Ask yourselves, would New Zealand have been so quick to emphasis the positives had the roles been reversed? The answer: probably not.

    As the Irish sporting history books would suggest, we have come to be known as a nation of “second bests.” Back in 1990, Ireland suffered a harrowing loss to Italy in the world cup quarterfinals. Despite not managing to win a single game during the tournament, thousands thronged the streets to welcome home our “heroes.”

    Evidently, there are those who will argue that it was a massive achievement for a country so small, but Portugal and Switzerland who are of similar population size to us have both managed to reach the top level in various sports, so why can’t we?

    Ireland is a small nation that punches well above its weight in many aspects of life. We are home to some of the world’s greatest writers like Oscar Wilde, and great musicians like U2, so why doesn’t the same success transcend to sport?

    Of course, we have produced many champions such as Ronnie Delaney, Michael Carruth, Robert Herffernan, Eammon Coghlan, and Sonia O’ Sullivan among others, but in recent times, our results have failed to match our potential.

    Sports Psychologist Canice Kennedy believes that this is because “ we have a national inferiority complex which is typical of small, young nations previously occupied by a large foreign power.  This transfers into low levels of expectation in terms of sporting success in some sports particularly where we have not been successful in the past or where we do not have modern training facilities. In these sports we cannot compete with our neighboring countries…while we are never happy to lose, we are often happy not to lose badly.”

    The reality is that there is a very thin line between success and defeat. In his famous poem entitled If Rudyard Kipling said “If you can meet with triumph and disaster, and treat those two imposters just the same…you’ll be a man, my son!” However, Roy Keane, one of Ireland’s leading sportsmen is one who is unwilling to accept this mentality as he famously once said, “show me a good loser, and I’ll show you a loser.”

    Ultimately, if you can find happiness in defeat, then you’ll never be a winner. Keane has recently taken up post as assistant to Ireland’s new football manager Martin O’ Neill. Only time will tell if he’ll be able to communicate his winning ideology to a bunch of players who are in desperate need of some tough love. And, who knows, if he can succeed, then maybe other sports will follow suit.

  • A dream start for the Dream Team?

    A dream start for the Dream Team?

    The Irish dream-team of Martin O’Neill and Roy Keane have now presided over two friendly matches, and the country is once again tentatively optimistic about Irish soccer. We asked the people of Dublin what they thought:

    How do you think Martin O’Neill and Roy Keane will do? Let us know in the comments.

  • O’Neill and Keane appointed as Irish dynamic duo

    O’Neill and Keane appointed as Irish dynamic duo

    FAI chief executive John Delaney has confirmed that Martin O’Neill will be the new Republic of Ireland manager, with Roy Keane as his number two in what the Irish support hope will signal “a new era for Irish football.”

    O’Neill is expected to appoint his own backroom staff with the combined package estimated to cost the FAI more than €2 million per annum.

    Delaney has stated that an official press conference and unveiling will take place on Saturday 9th November.

    Interestingly, it was Martin O’Neill’s decision to bring Roy Keane into the frame, with Delaney claiming that the FAI had no participation in the decision.

    The new number one and two have a lot in common despite their almost 20 year age difference. Both have played for Nottingham Forest under the great Brian Clough, and both men have held the reins at Sunderland football club.

    With Keane and O’Neill  both having taken a brief hiatus from the game since their last jobs, the Ireland vacancy seems like a fantastic opportunity for the two Irishmen to get back into the game, albeit at an international level which neither have experience in managing.

    Keane will take his first step back into the game after his spell at Ipswich Town in 2011.
    Keane will take his first step back into the game after his spell at Ipswich Town in 2011. Credit: Figo29 on WordPress

    O’Neill and Keane are a perfect balancing act – O’Neill, the affable Belfast man with his modest personality and calm temperament. Keane, with his determined and infallible attitude, renowned for his hot-headed nature and no-nonsense take on the game.

    Neil Lennon stamped his approval on the appointment stating “they’re two great characters with a vast knowledge of the game, two very proud men as well. God help the players!”

    On paper, this looks like a potentially successful appointment, although the danger is also there for all to see. It would have been a huge mistake to hire another foreign manager after Trapattoni’s spell, but Keane and O’Neill are widely respected and influential figures in the game. And more importantly, they’re Irish!

    However, can two big characters and personalities work so closely together and generate a successful partnership to take Irish football forward, or will it be a case of one step forward and two steps back for John Delaney and the FAI?

    The Irish support has already taken to social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter, in particular, to voice their opinions on the matter. The decision seems to be met with a widely mixed reaction.

    Paddy Power have tweeted: “Ireland to qualify for Euro 2016 now 5/6! 3/1 to qualify for World Cup 2018. First to leave their job, 4/6 Keane v 11/10 O’Neill.”

    Featured image credit: Wiki

  • Déjà vu for title-winning Saints

    Déjà vu for title-winning Saints

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    St. Patrick’s Athletic manager Liam Buckley cemented his second spell in charge with another league title.

    Buckley was the last supremo to have taken the Inchicore side to glory fourteen years ago, giving the supporters every reason to ‘Party Like it’s 1999’.

    A draw would have sufficed for the home team against the holders Sligo Rovers, but a fantastic long range shot from Greg Bolger and a simple tap-in for Anto Flood followed the manager’s play-to-win orders perfectly.

    While both teams failed to score in the second half, it mattered little to the delirious Super Saints who were left reeling this time last season at the hands of the Bit o’Red.

    President Michael D. Higgins and former St. Pat’s and Ireland manager Brian Kerr, were special guests at the game and were given fond receptions by fans on the pitch once the final whistle blew.

    St. Pat’s will officially lift the league trophy this Friday against Derry City, but thoughts will soon turn to next season, which will include Champions League qualifying fixtures.

    Title defences are never easy, but St. Pat’s know they have the ideal person in command.