It was all about ‘belief' says Dundalk's Naomh Moninne manager Aiden Carter
The Argus
Down by eight points with seven minutes of normal time to go, Naomh Moninne looked dead and buried, and St Fechins seemed destined with claim an historic fifth Louth senior hurling championship title in-a-row.
However, in a frantic final few minutes that is sure to go down in Louth hurling folklore, the Dundalk side defied the odds with Conor Murphy scoring 1-1 in the first two of three additional minutes to snatch victory for Moninne and shatter St Fechins dreams.
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Irish Independent
13 hours ago
- Irish Independent
It was all about ‘belief' says Dundalk's Naomh Moninne manager Aiden Carter
Louth Senior Hurling Championship Final The Argus Down by eight points with seven minutes of normal time to go, Naomh Moninne looked dead and buried, and St Fechins seemed destined with claim an historic fifth Louth senior hurling championship title in-a-row. However, in a frantic final few minutes that is sure to go down in Louth hurling folklore, the Dundalk side defied the odds with Conor Murphy scoring 1-1 in the first two of three additional minutes to snatch victory for Moninne and shatter St Fechins dreams.
Irish Daily Mirror
a day ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
‘Shelbourne defender teases huge prize on offer in crunch Euro clash
Paddy Barrett says Shelbourne's players are just 90 minutes away from a 'life changing' experience. The League of Ireland champions can guarantee league phase football by finishing the job they started last week against Croatian giants HNK Rijeka, when they secured a shock 2-1 win in the away leg. The winners of the tie will progress to the Europa League play-offs against either PAOK of Greece or Austrian side Wolfberg, with the latter holding a 2-0 lead from last week. And the losers of that play-off tie would be parachuted straight into the Conference League proper. Barrett was a member of the Dundalk side that made it to the Europa League group stages in 2016. He is eager for a return to elite European competition. 'Obviously back then I was a lot younger,' said the 32-year-old, who went on to have spells in the USA (FC Cincinnati and Indy Eleven), and Cambodia (PKR Savy Rieng) before returning to Ireland with St Patrick's Athletic and then Shels. 'But it was an amazing experience that time, and it would be more amazing now that I'm more of a leader, older, a more mature player than I was back then. 'I had an amazing time back then but I want to recreate those memories again this time with Shelbourne. It's something that I'm driven to do at this club. 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 . 'Obviously the plan is to get to the group stages in European competition and I think it would be amazing to do so.' Dundalk became the second Irish club to compete in the group or league stages, after Shamrock Rovers five years earlier. They became the first Irish club to earn a point (away to AZ Alkmaar) and then a win (at home to Maccabi Tel Aviv) in the group stages, but lost out narrowly on progression to the knockouts. Paddy Barrett celebrates Dundalk's win over BATE Borisov (Image: INPHO/Ciaran Culligan) The Lilywhites returned to the Europa League in 2020 when they faced Arsenal, Molde and Rapid Vienna. Since then, Shamrock Rovers have appeared in the Conference League proper in 2022 and again last season, when they made history by progressing to the last-32. So, progress for Shels would be another huge step for Irish football, and a sign that clubs here could hope to compete on a regular basis at that level. 'We know the task ahead,' Barrett said. 'It's obviously not something that clubs from Ireland do year in, year out. 'But when it comes along, when the opportunity does come along, it's amazing and we know what's at stake, and you have to appreciate what's at stake, because these are life changing experiences, that you can travel and you can play against top quality opposition, and it's great to be a part of. 'It's life-changing experiences as in you are playing against top quality players, top quality teams, and you're playing against unbelievable fan bases like our own here. 'These are the experiences that you want as a player. So it's great to be a part of that.' Not that Barrett has been consumed by memories of the 2016 run in the build-up to tonight's game. 'To be honest I don't think back about any games. If that was the case I'd be sitting here all day thinking about all the mistakes I've made throughout my career,' he said. 'But look, it's all about (tonight) and it's one that we're looking forward to.' There are elements of his previous experiences that he can share with teammates ahead of the visit of Rijeka. Nine years ago it was BATE Borisov that stood between Stephen Kenny's Dundalk and the group stages - and on that occasion Barrett and Co were a goal down coming into the second-leg in Tallaght Stadium. He recalled the tension inside the ground ahead of that game - but tension is something that could work in Shelbourne's favour tonight. The longer they hold onto their first-leg lead, the more anxious their opponents will be. However, Rijeka welcome Toni Fruk back from suspension. The 24-year-old has recently been called into the Croatia squad, and is tipped to be the long-term replacement for Luka Modric in the international side. 'There was tension but it was also confidence as well,' said Barrett of the BATE game, which Dundalk won 3-0. 'We knew the quality of team that we had at the time, we were unbelievable, we had an unbelievable squad and we felt the tension from the ground as well. 'But once that first goal went in I think we knew ourselves as a full team, as a squad, even the staff, we knew we were going to go on and push on and win that game, and we did.' Acknowledging that tonight would have a different dynamic, with Shels defending, rather than chasing, he said: 'There's still a big game, there's a lot at stake. 'We know the quality of opposition, we know what they're like. We obviously got a feel of them last week, but again we just need to take our own game to them. 'We've worked on things this week that we want to put to them and put our best foot forward, as the gaffer said, and have a right crack off them.' Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email .
RTÉ News
a day ago
- RTÉ News
Can Tolka Park cauldron help Shels to famous victory?
Shelbourne are potentially 90 minutes away from securing European league stage football. They welcome Croatian outfit Rijeka to Tolka Park tonight with a 2-1 lead to protect after they plundered a brilliant win on the road in last week's first leg. This is the third qualifying round of the Europa League, so victory will send Joey O'Brien's men into a two-legged play-off against either Greek side PAOK or Austrian outfit Wolfsberger while also guaranteeing them a place in the Conference League league stage at a minimum. It would be a remarkable achievement for the Reds, and a raucous home crowd will play their part, according to Richie Towell and David McMillan. "What an opportunity," said Towell, appearing on the RTÉ Soccer Podcast. Referencing his experience of playing for Dundalk against Hadjuk Split, Towell went on: "(In Dundalk's match) the atmosphere was like nothing I've ever seen. It was incredible. "For Shelbourne to go over there and get a victory, honestly, that's one of the best victories I think a League of Ireland team has got in the European competitions. What a result that was to go over there and it sets them up perfectly now for the home leg." St Pat's had to decamp to Tallaght Stadium for their Conference League clash against Beskitas but Shels are staying on their own patch for this one - a factor that could prove crucial. "(Rijeka) are most definitely not going to relish going to Tolka Park and trying to get a result off Shelbourne," Towell added. "I think the Qarabag game (in the Champions League qualifiers) for Joey O'Brien - not just Joey O'Brien but the players as well - they'll take great learning from that. "They had a little bit too much respect for (Qarabag) in the first half (of the first leg). Qarabag just ran all over them. I think they'll have a slightly different approach now. I don't think they'll be gung-ho by any means but I think they'll put a little bit more pressureon Rijeka and just make sure they're not sitting back too much and inviting them on. "Joey's done an incredible job, I'm not sitting here telling him what to do, but I think he'll have great learnings from the previous round to take into this one." McMillan famously scored two goals when Dundalk beat BATE Borisov 3-0 in Tallaght to progress to the Champions League play-off stage back in 2016. Legia Warsaw beat them, but the Lilywhites dropped into the Europa League group stages in what was a breakthrough achievement. "I think having the game at Tolka is also a huge help," he said. "If you look at that Pat's game (against Besiktas), moving it to Tallaght on a big open pitch against a team like Besiktas certainly didn't do them any favours. "You look at Shels, it's a big advantage to keep that game at Tolka Park. It means you can keep the game compact, it's a tighter pitch, it's not as good a surface even as Tallaght. All of that should help them out in terms of trying to keep Rijeka out and use your pace, the likes of Mipo (Odubeko), the likes of Dan Kelly if they're playing to try and break. "Having the away game first, Joey probably set the team up in a way that was to limit chances and hit them on the counter-attack. He can probably keep that approach this week.
