Latest news with #FAICup
Irish Daily Mirror
8 hours ago
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
FAI Cup second round details: Kick-off times and venues as fixtures confirmed
The FAI have confirmed all the dates, times and venues for the second round of the FAI Cup. 32 teams will compete for a spot in the last-16, with League of Ireland Premier and First Division teams entering the competition at this stage. There are plenty of potential banana skin ties, with Killester Donnycarney among the non-league teams to draw League of Ireland opposition. They were paired at home to Bohemians, but that fixture will now be played at Dalymount Park. Holders Drogheda United begin the defence of their title at home to Crumlin United, while the final will take place at the Aviva Stadium on Sunday, November 9 at 3pm. Click this link or scan the QR code to receive the latest League of Ireland news and top stories from the Irish Mirror. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. Bray Wanderers v Wayside Celtic (Carlisle Grounds) Cork City v Leicester Celtic (Turner's Cross) Drogheda United v Crumlin United (Sullivan and Lambe Park) Dundalk v Sligo Rovers (Oriel Park) Finn Harps v UCD (Finn Park) Galway United v Tolka Rovers (Eamonn Deacy Park) Kerry v Athlone Town (Mounthawk Park) Killester Donnycarney v Bohemians (Dalymount Park) Treaty United v Derry City (Markets Field) Waterford v St. Mochta's (RSC) Shamrock Rovers v Wexford (Tallaght Stadium, 8pm) Salthill Devon v St. Michael's (Drom*, 2pm) Bangor Celtic v Cobh Ramblers (Transport Club*, 3pm) Fairview Rangers v Shelbourne (Singland Park*, 6pm) Castlebar Celtic v Longford Town (Celtic Park*, 5pm) St. Patrick's Athletic v UCC (Richmond Park, 6pm) *Provisional and subject to approval
Irish Independent
8 hours ago
- Sport
- Irish Independent
As Kerry FC reach the 100-match mark here are 10 milestone moments on their journey
Between wins and losses, through League of Ireland games and Munster and FAI Cup ties, these are 10 landmark games among the first 100 competitive matches Kerry FC has played Kerryman Today at 06:06 Well, that seemed to whizz by. One day you're at a press conference in Mounthawk Park hearing of plans to bring League of Ireland soccer to Kerry, the next you're back there settling in for the visit of Bray Wanderers for what will be Kerry Football Club's 100 competitive match across all competitions. Two years, four months and three days seem to have shot by as Kerry FC reach the century mark – 91 in the First Division, five in the Munster Senior Cup and four in the FAI Senior Cup – as the Seagulls land in Tralee for what is the club's 100th game for the senior team.
Irish Daily Mirror
10 hours ago
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Recalling the League of Ireland's Crazy Gang - short-lived yet brilliant team
It doesn't seem like 20 years since Dan Connor was being struck by broken vodka bottles, scoring FAI Cup winning pennos, being sneaked out of football grounds to avoid an angry mob, and making a name for himself as a potential international. Remember that period from 2003 to 2008? Drogheda were running away with the league and then running out of money; Waterford were a milder form of Wimbledon's Crazy Gang; too many clubs didn't know how to balance their books. Read more: Kylian Mbappe hospitalised as Real Madrid issue update on star's health Read more: Trent Alexander-Arnold accused of lying as he makes Real Madrid debut And in the middle of all this madness was a young keeper who decided to take the biggest gamble of his life. In England's League One, a footballer's wages were secure. You couldn't say that about the League of Ireland in that era. Yet Connor, a Dubliner, was attracted by the idea of stepping up from being a No2 keeper at Peterborough United to being a first-choice at Waterford. Jimmy McGough, a straight-talking Belfast man, called. He answered. Connor says: 'I'd never met anyone like Jimmy. He was the blood and thunder type and his training could be chaotic. Like, we'd play a five a side game and each team would have a football each. 'It was madness … but he knew how to man-manage. The team gelled. He was strong enough to allow senior pros have their say. I loved it.' Sometimes too much. Against Cork City, Waterford were cruising to a 3-0 win one night when Connor decided to sit on the ball midway through the match. The insult wasn't forgotten. A few months later he was at Turner's Cross. The Cork fans went nuts. A broken bottle was fired at him, hitting him on the leg, leaving a deep cut. This was the night the League experimented with Scottish officials. 'What's up with you, keeper?' the ref asked Connor. He pointed to the vodka bottle lying next to him; the blood dripping out of his leg. 'Throw it off the pitch and get on with the game,' the ref told him. And he did. That was how players acted in that era. League of Ireland players got on with things. So when McGeough's successor, Alan Reynolds, told him to take a crucial penalty midway through the FAI Cup semi-final at the Brandywell, Connor didn't blink. His opposite number, David Forde, did, however - diving to his right. Connor fired his shot left. Waterford won 2-1. That put them in the Cup final, which they led 1-0 late into the game before controversy struck when Longford's equaliser came after officials failed to stop the game when two footballs appeared on the pitch. Connor said: 'The fact we didn't complain is a testament to that group of players. There were no whingers. We were really young men and we just got on with things. 'The dejection was raw. It still hurts to this day to be honest. 'But looking at the overall picture, that group of players really bonded. There were no cliques. We probably socialised too much, either going out for meals together, for drinks after matches, for golf days, but we fought for one another on the pitch. Always. 'Maybe we were like the Crazy Gang - but definitely not as wild. Reynie was a great character. The lads loved him. It was a great time in our lives.' And better ones followed when he switched from Waterford to a Drogheda team who were on the cusp of something special. They were spending big money - more, it turned out, than they could ultimately afford - and a title winning team was put together by Paul Doolin who Connor describes as the League's 'first head coach'. 'What I mean by that is that the League of Ireland up until then was full of managers rather than coaches," he says. 'Paul was meticulous, so professional. Every minute was planned in training. Get an injury, you got the best medical care. We were prepped with video analysis at a time when that was rare enough. 'When we won the FAI Cup in 2005, we all kind of realised the potential the club had. The subsequent League winning side stemmed from that Cup win because of the confidence it gave us. 'And at the heart of everything was Paul. He should still be working in Irish football. Maybe I'm looking back with rose-tinted glasses because I am sure he brought me down a peg or two at times when I needed it, but the respect I have for his coaching is huge. He was a great manager.' It was Doolin who brought him to Cork City into the lion's den, the ground where he once had to be sneaked out the back door after an angry set of City fans waited to berate him at the main exit. That relationship soon mended: 'I've nothing bad to say about Cork City as a club. Their fans are great.' But things soon turned sour with the then chairman, Tom Coughlan. Connor says: 'We went months without getting paid. We had Christmas without any money. Santa had to be paid for; friends, family members helped us out. I dug deep into my savings. It was a case of surviving.' Yet this is where the Dan Connor story really takes off. He did survive that Christmas and then the hip injury which ultimately ended his playing career and hastened his journey into coaching, which began with Hereford United in 2012 and has continued since, via Shrewsbury, Wigan Athletic and Forest Green Rovers, where he has been a successful assistant manager. From 16 until now he has stayed in professional football - his best playing years spent in the League of Ireland where ultimately he'd love to return some day to manage in. Connor says: 'The League of Ireland is a great place. I loved it when I was there. I'm in touch with nearly all the managers there now. It has come on leaps and bounds.'
The Irish Sun
11 hours ago
- Business
- The Irish Sun
Drogheda United's owners can't blame FAI or anyone else for European mess, the responsibility was Trivela's
THE TIMES reported on Tuesday that Liverpool are looking to buy LaLiga outfit Getafe. Manchester City are top of the City Football Group, Chelsea and Strasbourg have the same parent company and then there is Red Bull. 2 Kevin Doherty guided Drogheda United to an unlikely FAI Cup triumph last season 2 Board member Conor Hoey spoke to SunSport this week about the club's dilemma The energy drink group also has a minority stake in Leeds United. And the individual who chairs their largest shareholder is also part of Glasgow Rangers' ownership. Then you have Manchester United minority owner There are reports that Newcastle United's owners will buy it if he sells. There are also owner links between Crystal Palace and Lyon, Brighton and Royale Union Saint-Gilloise, Aston Villa and Vitoria Guimaraes plus PSG and SC Braga. Read More On Irish Football And of course, Last season, Manchester City and Girona, and Manchester United and Nice, were all passed to play in Europe after doing the legal bits necessary to satisfy Uefa. And this year, Nottingham Forest were put in a blind trust by Olympiakos owner Evangelos Marinakis for that same reason before Forest fell short on the pitch. But they did write to Uefa Most read in Football So the worms have long since crawled out of the can when it comes to multi-club ownership and that is not going to change. Just as members made way for rich benefactors, who were replaced by richer benefactors, oligarchs, investment vehicles and wealth funds, football finds a way to find more money. Watch Messi score stunning free-kick as Inter Miami stun Porto 2-1m We can question the pros and cons of them all, but the only truly bad owners are the chancers who leave a club high and dry when the funds run out. When the owners fund the good days, little else matters as James Montague's book 'Engulfed' highlighted in chapters talking to many Newcastle United fans. And it is why Drogheda United members voted 90-1 for their sale to Walsall's owners Trivela in 2023. And while the story of the Drogs since then will centre around Kevin Doherty's management and their players, it was made possible because of Trivela. The Drogs' FAI Cup victory as a part-time club was a fairytale last year. But it was only possible due to Trivela's largesse. Accounts on the club's website show Drogheda made a net loss of €792,848 last season, and total liabilities exceed total assets by €1,042,185. It is why board member Conor Hoey — who led the search for the investment that saw Trivela take over — is sure their expulsion from Europe under multi-club rules is just a blip. He told me this week: 'This changes nothing. Trivela are still the right owner. We won the Cup because of their investment in our players and management. 'Of course we're hugely disappointed, particularly for the players and supporters, but Uefa won't break us.' LOOK INWARDS The club can argue Uefa gave them a raw deal, and cite previous examples where they say clubs were given more time. And one of the three arbitrators at the Court of Arbitration in Sport agreed with the grounds of their appeal. They can also question the FAI on why they did not forward on the relevant rule changes regarding multi-club ownership to Drogheda. Everyone in the league can wonder why no club had their arm twisted to apply for a European licence in case Drogs were expelled. But just as clubs bear responsibility for fielding ineligible players after the FAI compounded clubs' registration mistakes, clubs should not rely on others to hold their hand. And Trivela's first statement on the Drogs in 2023 promised 'to increase investment in the club's front-office operations' before it mentioned football or fans. Club chairperson Ben Boycott said this week when he did list grievances, 'accountability falls on us at DUFC and at Trivela Group'. The problem is not that there was no leeway for Drogheda, but that it was hoped there would be leeway when the issue was spotted. Because while multi-club models are probably here to stay, it is up to clubs to navigate it. After all, Silkeborg's qualification for Europe should not have been a surprise given they had done so twice in the previous three years.
Irish Examiner
2 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Drogheda cockup a sore part of LOI's growing pains
THERE are worse things going on in the world, but if there's one bunch of people it's hard not to feel sorry for this week it's the players, management and supporters of Drogheda United Football Club. They should have been eagerly plotting their travels in this season's Europa Conference League, the reward for their FAI Cup final triumph over Derry City last November. This is exclusive subscriber content. Already a subscriber? Sign in Take us with you this summer. Annual €130€65 Best value Monthly €12€6 / month
