
Ellen Molloy at her brilliant best as Wexford women overcome Shamrock Rovers in Tallaght
Shamrock Rovers 2 Wexford FC Women 3
Wexford People
Today at 13:30
WEXFORD'S UPTURN in form produced another strong result as they took all three points away from Tallaght Stadium in the SSE Airtricity Women's Premier Division on Saturday.
The Ferrycarrig Park side fell a goal behind against the run of play in the first-half but turned the game on its head, with Ellen Molloy scoring twice and Charlotte Cromack also on target to propel Seán Byrne's side to success.
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The 42
3 hours ago
- The 42
Club by club guide as League of Ireland resumes after mid-season break
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The future of Josh Honohan is also up in the air with interest from across the water. 2nd – Drogheda United Drogs could be forgiven for not being able to enjoy the mid-season break at all given the situation with their place in this season's UEFA Conference League qualifiers being up in the air. Owners Trivela Group also have a controlling stake in Danish side Silkeborg IF, and their cup victory, combined with a higher league place domestically, means they should take priority in the European competition. Missing out on €525,000 in prize money would be a blow, but at least they remain well equipped to earn a place in Europe on league form. One thing is for sure, Kevin Doherty and his players won't have time to dwell on things, they face St Patrick's Athletic tomorrow and host Rovers on Monday. 3rd – Bohemians There are two standout moments involving Bohs during the first half of the season. The first was boss Alan Reynolds motionless in the centre circle looking towards the away fans at Tolka Park after Shelbourne scored a late goal for a 1-0 win on 11 April. The travelling supporters were being kept back and the mood was low. Bohs had nine points from as many games – three wins and six defeats – and it looked like an uphill battle to salvage the season. Well, Reynolds got Bohs climbing and in the nine games that followed before the break they amassed 21 points – seven wins and two defeats. The second standout moment was the delirium that resulted from a stunning comeback to beat Shamrock Rovers 3-2 after trailing 2-0 at half-time in Tallaght. Bohs need to kick on, starting away to Cork City tomorrow, to ensure that derby day doesn't turn out to be the highlight of their season. 4th – St Patrick's Athletic June 2024 was the last time Stephen Kenny's side lost at home, that defeat coming against a Dundalk side now in the First Division. 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RTÉ News
6 hours ago
- RTÉ News
What the chasing pack must do to give us a proper LOI title race
Ten years ago, the Conroy Report was delivered to look into the development of the League of Ireland. Although there was much discussion around its findings at the time, it has largely been forgotten about by now. Fair enough, fans prefer to remember goals, games, players and managers. But it is interesting to look at a key recommendation from it which was adopted: the 10-team Premier Division. The decision was made to switch from 12 to 10 for the 2018 season and that has been stuck with ever since with no indication of a future change. While it was not a new concept, the two previous moves to 10 were never given the chance to get off the ground, lasting only three seasons from 2002 to 2004 and 2009 to 2011. The main aims were to have more games between the top clubs and to produce a tighter league. In terms of having a more exciting title race, it did not get off to a good start coming in during a phase of Dundalk dominance and their quick replacement by Shamrock Rovers. The average gap from first to second from 2018 to 2023 was 13 points (if you double Shamrock Rovers lead for the 18-game 2020 season). In the first three years the average gap from second to third was 17, though this dropped to 10 by the end of 2023. But 2024 brought the tightest league in a long time with the gap from first to eighth (21 points) closer than the gap from first to third (22 points) in the last 12-team season. One season is too small of a sample size to predict a future of close title races but 2025 started along promising lines. However, Shamrock Rovers five-game winning streak through May took them ahead of the chasing pack. It was their longest winning sequence since May 2023 and something only two teams (Shelbourne in early 2024 and St Pat's in late 2024) have done since the 2022. 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They will hope the returns of some key parts of last year's defense help as Sean Gannon, Paddy Barrett and Tyreke Wilson have a combined 19 starts in 2025. St Pat's – Away form Part of Stephen Kenny's revitalisation of St Pat's after his appointment in May last year was having the best away record in the league from that point to the end of the season. That included a run of five straight wins to the finish line which was their longest winning sequence since their 2013 title-winning team. That form has not continued into 2025 with their 10 points won away only leaving them ahead of basement dwellers Sligo Rovers and Cork City. They did win their last game on the road at Sligo Rovers, but it is just one of three this year, all against the league's bottom three. The victory ended a run of four consecutive losses which was their worst in seven years. 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United have taken just one point from 21 available in the last seven meetings with Shamrock Rovers. The aggregate score from those fixtures is 18-2. They will first need to correct the flow of goals against them. In the first nine this season, Drogheda allowed just 0.55 per game but in the 10 since that is well up to 1.4. This is especially key against a Shamrock Rovers side scoring 2.27 since Jack Byrne entered the starting lineup 11 games ago. A lot has and can change in a league with a lot of big games packed into a short amount of time. At the end of April, more than half the league had legitimate thoughts of a title contest. But Shamrock Rovers' impressive run through May has cast doubts on that. With this weekend's big double-header and Europe on the horizon, more swings could be seen. Shamrock Rovers showed an ability to improve by leaning on proven stars like Byrne, Graham Burke, Arron Greene and Rory Gaffney. The teams below can all clearly make improvements, but time is quickly becoming of the essence if they are to be genuine title contenders.


Irish Daily Mirror
20 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Stephen Bradley says he left Ireland interview after FAI bosses turned up late
Stephen Bradley has revealed that he left an interview for the Republic of Ireland manager's job after FAI bosses were late for the 40-year-old, who has led Shamrock Rovers to four League of Ireland titles, interviewed for the vacant national team role after the departure of Stephen Kenny. Bradley told Off The Ball: "I was approached through back channels at the start, asking if this was something that I would be interested in, and having that conversation."Obviously the answer was yes. So a meeting was set up between myself and Mark Canham and Jonathan Hill, and unfortunately both Mark and Jonathan were late for the meeting, 15 minutes late, so I left." He added: "That probably summed up how serious the interest was for me to have the job, which I found disrespectful and not good enough, to be honest with you. "If I was someone who they were really serious about having that job, they would not have been late for that meeting." Bradley's long-time assistant manager Glenn Cronin offered his own perspective on the incident. Cronin said: "When he [Bradley] spoke to me about it, initially he said, 'You're going to kill me.' And I said, what? He said, 'I came off the call.' "I asked him why. He said, 'They left me waiting, whatever amount of time it was'. And I thought, good, that's how I felt really. "It's not an arrogance, it's respect. They wouldn't leave Jose Mourinho waiting 10 minutes. He was there on merit, and deserved to be respected the same as everyone else, but he wasn't. "He's no less valuable than anyone else, so I think it was the right thing to do." Despite ultimately seeing Icelander Heimir Hallgrimsson be given the Ireland job, Bradley has not been deterred from his ambition to manage at the highest level. Although his biggest priority remains the health of his son, Josh, who was diagnosed with leukaemia at the age of eight in 2022. "I've made no secret of the fact that I want to manage at the highest level. I want to manage at the highest level possible, and that's my ambition, that's my hunger, that's my desire. "Has there been opportunities in the last few years? Yeah, there have been opportunities, but the personal circumstances don't allow for that. "Please God, in the future we get good news and the whole picture becomes clearer. In the last two and a half years, there's no job in the world that would have taken me away from my family situation." Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email.