‘It's ridiculous' – Shamrock Rovers manager Stephen Bradley says it's time for FAI to extend length of League of Ireland season
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The Irish Sun
7 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Brawl breaks out during heated League of Ireland derby as FIVE cards are shown in fiery injury time
A win would have been huge for Treaty United to boost their promotion chances KICKS OFF Brawl breaks out during heated League of Ireland derby as FIVE cards are shown in fiery injury time A BRAWL broke out in Treaty United's first division clash with Kerry FC in the Markets Field. An overly aggressive, cynical foul from Treaty's Dean Owens on Ewan Lee sparked a large scuffle in the 92nd minute. Advertisement 2 Cian Brosnan was not pleased with Owens' challenge Credit: @emmakatedineen 2 Members of the Treaty and Kerry benches broke up the fight Credit: @emmakatedineen A Kerry counter attack had appeared to form as Lee got in behind Owens with Kennedy Amechi supporting him against a lone Treaty defender. The 22-year-old was then dragged down from behind by the shoulders from Owens to end the attack. The Kingdom's Cian Brosnan appeared to take particular offence to the challenge by Owens as he ran at the player before pushing him to the ground from behind. Darren Nwankwo responded with a shove of his own before trying to de-escalate the situation. Advertisement The heated gathering was eventually broken up after substitutes and coaching staff stepped in. Five yellow cards were dished out in injury time alone during the feisty Munster derby. Owens received a yellow card for the initial challenge while Treaty's Steven Healy and Kerry's Brosnan were booked for their involvement in the brawl. Oran Crowe and Sean McGrath were also booked for the visitors in the closing stages of the contest. Advertisement This incident comes at a tough time for Kerry as it's been just a week since the release of two first team players. The axed players were former PSG goalkeeper Mathyas Randriamamy and Shane Maroodza who they signed just FOUR days previous. The 21-year-old came through the Leicester academy before signing for Huddersfield and Barnet. Maroodza played just one game for Colin Healy's side. The fight came a short while after Lee forced Kerry's equaliser when he put pressure on Ben Lynch at the back post from a long throw in by Samuel Aladesanusi. Advertisement A second half glancing header from new signing Patrick Ferry on the end of an Evan O'Connor cross had opened the scoring, putting the Shannonsiders into the lead. Former England star Joe Hart reveals how close he came to a career in cricket The Super Blues had to make an early substitution in the first half with Limerick footballing legend Lee J Lynch being forced off with injury after just 24 minutes. Treaty United find themselves fifth in the table and just inside the promotion play-off places with a five point cushion over Wexford FC with 10 games to go. With just one win in their last eight league games, Tommy Barrett's side have fallen away from the pack leading the league table as they are now 15 points adrift from Bray Wanderers in third. Advertisement Kerry's promotion chances have taken a hit after yesterday's must win game finished level. They now sit eighth, 10 points behind their Munster rivals with just 10 games to go.
Irish Independent
12 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Irish soccer players invited to join group ‘owed billions' over contract and transfer rules
League of Ireland players and Irish players who took part in professional soccer in the UK and EU have been invited to join a 'potentially billion-dollar' class action claim against Fifa and possibly other soccer associations.
The Irish Sun
19 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Rory Gaffney reveals fitness battle before leading Shamrock Rovers' title charge with crucial goals
The 35-year-old has fired Shamrock Rovers to the brink of another league title with ten goals and a relentless work ethic that has won the trust of boss Stephen Bradley RORY GAFFNEY admitted he had to sprint before he could think of another Shamrock Rovers' run. Gaffney, 35, moved the Hoops' a step closer to their fifth title in six years on Sunday night with two goals to beat Derry City at Tallaght Stadium. Advertisement 2 Rory Gaffney has ten goals in all competitions this season for the Hoops. 2 Gaffey bagged a double against Derry City on Sunday and chipped in during their Euro clash vs St Joseph's It gives them a ten-point lead at the top with ten games to go, with Gaffney a key man in that run as he has also scored pivotal winning goals against Waterford and Galway United. He has ten-goals in all competitions this season and has had boss Stephen Bradley singing his praises all year. Yet, when the season kicked off last February, Gaffney - from Tuam - was out of contract and training without pay in a bid to prove his fitness after a write-off of a 2024 season. An ankle problem meant his season ended last April, and Gaffney - who turned down two-year offers elsewhere to sign a one -year with the Hoops last year - had few options. Advertisement But Gaffney never had any doubt as he felt he just had to prove his fitness. He said: 'When you get a bit older people kind of question your age, but I lived a clean life for 10-15 years. 'I've never been a big drinker, I've always been mad into training and coming from a GAA background, you do plenty of gym work. 'I know I've been unlucky and had a lot of big injuries, but I've only had three or four muscle injuries in 10-15 years, so I've been very lucky like that. Advertisement 'I know last year I was injured but I was training non-stop, I just couldn't sprint, that was the issue. When I was sprinting I'd break down.' Eventually, he and the club decided an operation was required which ended any hopes of being involved in last year's run-in or Conference League campaign. Guehi & Eze to STAY at Palace? Transfer Blow for Liverpool & Arsenal! And Gaffney set out to get back fit and remain a Hoop. Boss Stephen Bradley revealed: 'I just trust Rory, I've known him a long time, I played with him (at Limerick in 2012 and 2013), I've known him a long, long time. Advertisement 'And Rory's…there's no grey area with Rory. He's straight down the line, he tells you what he's thinking, what he's feeling. 'We spoke (during the winter), he asked could he come back and prove himself in pre-season. 'And I said 'I'd love that', and he did. And he came back, did his work, and you could see he was ready to go. If he keeps going like that, there's another few years left in him.' Gaffney - who joined the Hoops in 2020 and was player of the year in 2022 - was also confident he would earn a new deal once he proved his fitness. Advertisement He added: 'I just knew I had to get fit. I played a game against Bohs U20s on the Friday night or Saturday night (before the season started) and just proved my fitness in that. 'I was able to run. I didn't touch the ball, but I was able to run. The gaffer saw I could run and said 'that's enough for me'. 'I haven't missed a training session since I signed this season. I haven't played a whole lot at the start of the season but I was doing a lot of extra training.' Rovers' still look after him as Gaffney - who has featured in 21 of the 27 games in all competitions when he was available - has played just one 90 minutes. Advertisement NOT DONE YET And the 35-year-old agreed with Bradley that he also believes he can continue on next season, pointing to 37-year-old Padraig Amond at Waterford as an example. He added: 'How I feel now, if it was the end of the season, there is no question that I could play again next year. 'I think it's taking it season by season but the last thing I want to be doing is travelling up and down from Galway knowing I'm not going to play, being poor in training and not impacting matches or not getting a game. 'I've had a good run at it now, I don't want to drag it on if there's no reason to.' Advertisement But Bradley insisted that Gaffney's knowhow means he can make an impact even if as he gets older having changed his game since his Limerick days over a decade ago. Bradley added: 'He was raw, Rory was all power and pace then. That's what he relied on. It was a dream to play him as a midfielder, but now his whole game is refined. 'That just comes with age, understanding, experience.' Gaffney added: 'The league was a different league back then and it was part-time and nowhere as fit, didn't train as much, never recorded games so you couldn't watch games back. Advertisement 'Now I won't be able to sleep as I can watch that game back before I go to bed and you can pick out things you haven't done well and things that have gone well and you can learn from that. 'I didn't really start watching games back until I was 26 which is crazy when you think about it but it shows how far the league has come.' And it has helped Gaffney become a firm favourite in Tallaght since arriving just before the Covid-19 pandemic hit in 2020. Injured in his first season, he was a key man as Rovers won four-in a row with titles added in 2021, 2022 and 2023 before he missed most of last season through injury. Advertisement And Gaffney is confident the Hoops can reclaim the title this season as they now lead second-placed Bohemians by ten points with ten games to go. TITLE CHARGE Gaffney added: 'We've 26 games played, and 52 points. That's two points a game, that normally wins the league. 'You don't want to be arrogant or disrespectful to other teams but we'd back ourselves now if everyone was starting on no points with ten games to go. 'Why wouldn't we back ourselves with a ten-point headstart, plus our goal difference? And all the teams have to play each other again, there is going to be a lot of six pointers.' Advertisement But before that, the Hoops are in European action this week as they travel to Kosovo to face Ballkani in the Conference League third round first leg. Rovers' hope to be at full strength with Graham Burke and Jack Byrne both not risked with small injuries against Derry City on Sunday.
