Matt Healy loving life at Shamrock Rovers after ‘home alone' Belgian stint
MATT HEALY reckons his crowded house has helped him settle in quickly at Shamrock Rovers after 18 months of being home alone.
Corkman Healy, 23, has been one of the star turns of the first half of the season since his arrival in Tallaght from Belgian second division outfit Francs Borains.
2
Matt Healy admitted that he's loving life at Shamrock Rovers
2
Healy has featured in all but one of the Hoops' games this season
His importance is clear as he has featured in all but one of
Healy puts it down to how easy he has settled in to living with team-mates, including fellow Rebel County man Josh Honohan, near the club's training base.
He said: 'I'm in a house with Josh, there are a couple of us in the house, so we're all very close.
'I lived by myself in Belgium for 18 months so I quite like living with a few lads, you get close to them, out in the evenings, watch TV, hit a few golf balls.'
Read more on football
That helped him as soon as he arrived in Dublin.
And the Hoops have also hit their stride in the past two months to go six points clear at the top of the table — a gap they can extend tonight by beating Drogheda United.
Healy added: 'Even at the start of the season when results weren't going our way, I thought we were playing well and we knew we were going in the right direction.
'And the plan was just to stick to what we were doing.
Most read in Football
'We don't really change the way we play for anybody. We know if we stick to what we do, it will be tough for any team.'
That approach saw them beat champions Shelbourne 2-1 on Friday night at Tolka Park when Healy was man of the match and pal Honohan bagged the winner after earlier scoring an own goal.
Shamrock Rovers snap up Northern Ireland Under-21s goal-getter as Stephen Bradley gives exciting verdict
It capped an eventful week for
Healy added: 'I knew Josh from Cork, he only lives about 15 minutes away from me in Cork.
'He was the year above me. I played against him a couple of times.
'I was gutted for him that he didn't get on the pitch the other night. I thought he deserved to get a few minutes and get a cap.
'These things happen, the own goal happens, you can't do anything about it and he turned around and scored in the second half.'
As for tonight's tricky trip to Sullivan and Lambe Park, Healy added:
'Drogheda, they're very hard to beat. They're good at defending and they stay in the game. But we'll be ready and hopefully get three points.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Examiner
2 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Sarah Healy breaks personal best to finish second in Paris Diamond League
Sarah Healy produced another stellar performance to break her personal best and finish second over 1500m at the Paris Diamond League on Friday night, the Dubliner clocking 3:57.02. Healy's previous best was the 3:57.46 she ran at the same meeting in Paris last July, but having finished seventh in that race, this marked another step forward in what has been a superb year to date. The race was won by Kenya's Nelly Chepchirchir in 3:57.02, with Birke Haylom of Ethiopia finishing third in 3:57.50 and Georgia Hunter Bell, the Olympic bronze medallist and a training partner of Healy's in Manchester, sixth in 3:58.06. The race was a messy one, with 17 athletes bunching over the opening laps as 800m was reached in a swift 2:05. Healy played a patient game and then coasted into contention for victory on the back straight, unleashing a strong finish on the inside to move into second in the closing metres. Having won European Indoor gold over 3000m in March, Healy has been in sparkling form through the early part of the outdoor season, finishing third at the Rabat Diamond League over 3000m and taking victory in Rome over 1500m. As the second fastest Irishwoman in history at 1500m, she will likely have Ciara Mageean's national record of 3:55.87 in her sights later in the summer. Elsewhere, Mark English produced the second fastest time of his career to again dip under 1:44 in the 800m, the 32-year-old Donegal man clocking 1:43.98 to finish sixth in a loaded field. With 13 men on the track, it was crowded at the break from lanes and English wisely chose to stay out of trouble and run at the back as the leaders passed 400m in a rapid 49.15 seconds. He began to creep through the field on the second lap, navigating heavy traffic, and turned in a typically strong last 100m to claw his way up to sixth place. The race was won by Spain's Mohamed Attaoui in 1:42.73, with English's occasional training partner Josh Hoey of the US second in 1:43.00. After winning his fifth European medal in Apeldoorn back in March, English came into the outdoor season in the form of his life, his run in Paris being his fifth time under 1:45 in the past four weeks. He will race in Ostrava, Czechia next Tuesday and then complete a spell of altitude training ahead of the London Diamond League on 19 July. English has broken his own Irish outdoor 800m record twice already this season, becoming the first Irishman to go under 1:44 when clocking 1:43.92 in Hengelo last week. He finished seventh at the Oslo Diamond League three days later and while the depth in the men's 800m is better than ever, he's hopeful this might be the year to reach his first global final. 'There's a faster time in me,' he said.
Irish Examiner
2 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Runaway leaders Shamrock Rovers inflict more damage on Cork City
SHAMROCK ROVERS 4 (Michael Noonan 6, 29, Pico Lopes 26, Rory Gaffney 49) CORK CITY 1 (Alex Nolan 69) Orange was the appropriate colour donned by Cork City as despite the sunniest day of the year they felt a relegation gale warning. Their survival prospects won't be defined by another humbling from runaway leaders but the manner of this meek surrender, a week after Bohemians schooled them at home, will cause alarm. A bright start for the visitors was soon punctuated by 16-year-old Michael Noonan being allowed to slalom into the box and fire the opener for Shamrock Rovers beneath Tein Troost. Another pair of goals were conceded to Pico Lopes and Noonan merely over two minutes apart, leaving the game effectively over as a contest by the half hour mark. Rory Gaffney completed the rout four minutes after the restart before City substitute Alex Nolan bundled home a consolation. If that coming with 21 minutes remaining might have signalled a comeback, then the respective positions at the summit and foot of the table injected reality into the assumption. Rovers, resting several mainstays including Jack Byrne, Graham Burke and Matt Healy for Monday's derby against Bohemians, were always in cruise control. There was never any inkling of the 4-4 draw at Tallaght from City's last Premier Division campaign. City sit where they never were during that relegation season of two years ago, rock bottom, and the new management of Ger Nash and David Meyler will circle back-to-back home games against Drogheda United on Monday and St Patrick's Athletic four days later as pivotal. Eight-placed Waterford extending their buffer to 13 points reduces further the hopes of avoiding the relegation playoff but the pressing challenge as the games remaining dissolve is avoiding the automatic drop. City have lost over half their 20 matches with all Nash having to show from his four games to date a draw at home to Shelbourne. Holding the champions raised talk of a revival yet it can be perceived as a false dawn, for the traditional managerial bounce hasn't materialised. His decision to cull captain Charlie Lyons from the starting line-up spoke of decisiveness from his early takeaways but the central defensive duo in his place were given the runaround by rampant Rovers. Lyons was introduced at the break, along with another experienced campaigner, Seán Murray, in a bid to stem the bleeding. Those calls followed an impromptu discussion between Nash and his recently appointed assistant after being subjected to another sobering 45 minutes. Djanairo Daniels looked to have set the tone with a shove on Danny Mandroiu within moments of kick-off followed by a shot wide but the rest of the half would be spent predominantly inside City's half. Their livewire Cathal O'Sullivan was impeded from playing out of it in the passage of play leading up the opener. Once his pass inside was nicked off the toe of Kitt Nelson, two passes later and O'Sullivan was raiding into the box. He chopped beyond both City's centre-backs, Darragh Crowley and Freddie Anderson, before tucking a soft shot beneath an unusually poor Troost. Malik Dijksteel did test Ed McGinty and Evan McLaughlin fired over but two quickfire goals made it 3-0. O'Sullivan's clumsy 26th minute tackle on Trevor Clarke incurred a booking and free-kick, which Dylan Watts curled in for Lopes to elude Crowley and power home with a thumping header. City were dissected again from the next attack, Noonan slipping in between the two defenders to stroke home his second. Further slack defending on the turnover cost the Rebels when Mandroiu sent Gaffney clear past the lost Josh Fitzpatrick. All the veteran striker had to do was roll the ball into the net. It was keep-ball for Rovers thereafter with a spate of subs from both sides. Whereas Milan Mbeng hooked a clear sight on goal wide, Nolan didn't miss with his, despite defender John O'Sullivan attempting to prevent it crossing the line. SHAMROCK ROVERS: E McGinty; D Cleary, R Lopes, C O'Sullivan; D Grant (A McEneff 73), D Watts (C Barrett 52), J O'Sullivan, T Clarke (M Kovalevskis 46); R Gaffney, D Mandroiu (G O'Neill 52); M Noonan. CORK CITY: T Tein; M Mbeng (H Nevin 61), F Anderson, D Crowley, J Fitzpatrick; E McLaughlin, G Bolger; C O'Sullivan (A Nolan 66), K Nelson (S Murray 46), M Dijksteel (C Lyons 46); D Daniels (S Maguire 61). Referee: A O'Dowd (Dublin). Attendance: 4,355.
Irish Independent
2 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Michael Noonan's brilliant double helps leaders Shamrock Rovers to comfortable win over bottom side Cork City
That gap now stands at 11 points following an utterly dominant display against the rock bottom Leesiders, who proved no match for a Rovers side who are in frightening form having made it eight wins from their last nine here. Rovers were ruthless, racing into a three-goal lead inside the opening half hour with 16-year-old Michael Noonan bagging a brace in between Roberto Lopes' bullet header, as Rory Gaffney added the fourth shortly after the restart to copper-fasten the three points. A consolation from Cork's Alex Nolan proved too little too late for Ger Nash's visitors, who suffered the same scoreline as their last trip to Tallaght in April. Presumably with one eye on Monday's trip to Dalymount Park, Bradley opted for six changes as Cork native Josh Honohan, Aaron Greene and Graham Burke dropped to the bench while trio Darragh Nugent, Matt Healy and Lee Grace were rested entirely. The Hoops boss was in turn able to bring in Noonan, Gaffney, Dan Cleary, Danny Mandroiu, Danny Grant and John O'Sullivan, such depth in a squad that it's almost scary. It took only six minutes for the hosts to take the lead in front of the 4,355-strong crowd. A fine through ball from ex-Ireland U-21 cap Mandroiu put Noonan through inside the box. The teenager still had a lot of work to do through with Cork pair Darragh Crowley and Freddie Anderson hot on his heels, but the Dubliner cleverly skipped past both of them, cut back inside and snuck his shot underneath Tein Troost. The Cork 'keeper may feel he should have done better to keep the tame effort out, but the hosts didn't care Noonan's sixth goal of the year put Rovers in the driving seat early on. Nash's charges came back soon after as some nice link up play between Malik Dijksteel and Djenairo Daniels saw the latter force a good save out of Hoops number one Ed McGinty, but that was as good as it got for the visitors in a opening half to forget. It wasn't long before Bradley's men stepped it up another gear and on 26 minutes, they had their second. Dylan Watts stepped up to take a free-kick from the left-hand side and put it on a plate for Lopes, as the captain's bullet header gave Troost no chance. It was the Cape Verde defender's second goal of the season, and first since the sides last met in Tallaght, another 4-1 triumph for the Hoops. But barely 180 seconds later, it went from bad to worse for the visitors and their travelling fans. Full-back Trevor Clarke, on just his second start of the season, slotted Noonan through on goal on the left flank, after the forward made a superb run from deep. The Ireland U-19 striker kept his cool and dinked it past Troost for his fifth goal in his last six appearances. On the stroke of half-time, Milan Mbeng's cross almost saw Daniels convert at the back post but the former Dutch underage cap was too late to convert at the back post. If the first half was one to forget for Cork City, then the second began in the same fashion as just four minutes after the restart, the hosts had their fourth. It was all of Cork's own making, as a loose pass allowed Mandroiu to pick up the ball and release Gaffney with a textbook through ball. The Galway man charged forward and picked his spot, slotting it low to Troost's left for his fifth of the season. Rovers were cruising. ADVERTISEMENT Learn more Recent Ireland U-21 debutant Cathal O'Sullivan, who is being closely tracked by Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest and is expected to depart Turner's Cross this summer, saw a good effort saved by McGinty, who had been a bystander for the majority up to the hour mark. Cleary saw his header sail inches wide moments later, before substitute Nolan pulled back a consolation back on 69 minutes after a fine through ball from Greg Bolger. Having been reduced to silence for much of the night, at least the travelling support had something to shout about, but it was far too little, too late. The contest had been settled long before. All eyes turn towards Monday to see if Bradley's men can extend that lead out to 14 points with a win at Bohs. Andy Farrell's Lions may have kicked off their 2025 campaign in Dublin 4, but in Dublin 24, this 2025 title race took its latest step towards an increasingly likely ending. Shamrock Rovers: McGinty; Cleary, Lopes (Honohan 46), C O'Sullivan; Clarke (Kovalevskis 46), Watts (O'Neill 53), J O'Sullivan, Grant (McEneff 73); Mandroiu (Barrett 53); Noonan, Gaffney. Cork City: Troost; Mbeng (Nevin 61), Anderson, Nelson (Lyons 46), Crowley; O'Sullivan (Nolan 65), Bolger, McLaughlin, Fitzpatrick; Dijksteel (Murray 46), Daniels (Maguire 61).
