Latest news with #Dundalk
The Irish Sun
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Stephen Bradley insists he has no doubts about loan signing's character despite issues at Sligo Rovers
STEPHEN BRADLEY has insisted he has no doubts about Connor Malley's character. Shamrock Rovers Advertisement 2 He'd previously impressed for Dundalk as well as Sligo Rovers 2 Bradley reckons he'll be a good addition to his already strong squad Malley impressed for Dundalk in 2023 and the Bit O' Red last year prompting both the Hoops and Their approaches were rejected and, after being an ever-present for the first nine games, John Russell had barely used him since with his last outing a 12-minute cameo against Russell suggested his performance in training and matches were not up to scratch but Bradley insisted a meeting with the player and speaking to others who have worked with him convinced him to bring him on board. Bradley said: 'I don't know exactly what went on behind the scenes. I've obviously met Connor before we signed him. Advertisement Read More On Irish Football 'We had a coffee and had a good hour and a half, two hours talking about everything, you get a nice feel. 'We've walked away from players in the past after meeting them and Connor was one we left where we said 'he's one we want'. 'We know his ability. He's shown his ability time and time again and we've seen it playing against him. That was never in question. 'I don't know what's going on in the background but I know teams made bids for Connor at the end of last season and they were rejected. Advertisement Most read in Football 'You're hearing different stories from the agent, from the player, from the clubs and you don't know what's going on. 'That's between them in terms of who said what regarding the bids. That can be unsettling for the player and the group. Heroic Man Utd legend Antonio Valencia talks young man out of suicide attempt and says 'life is very fragile' 'I can understand from John's point of view but from speaking to Connor I can also understand from his point of view. 'We were pretty clear after we left him that he was someone we wanted here in and around the group. Advertisement "I spoke to quite a number of people who have worked with him in the past and they all say the same thing. 'They all can't be wrong in terms of what type he is. We've no doubt: First of all, his ability is a really high level. "Second of all, he seems like a really good fella. A really good guy. He just wants to work, wants to play. "I'm looking forward to getting him around the group.' Advertisement The former Middlesbrough and Rochdale midfielder played 45 minutes of a friendly against Glenavon on Saturday and is due to get an hour for the Under-20s this evening as the Hoops look to get him up to speed. He will be eligible for the next round of the Conference League with Rovers enjoying a 4-0 first-leg lead against St Joseph's ahead of the second leg in Tallaght on Thursday night.
Irish Independent
2 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Bohemians and Dundalk pay tribute following the death of league-winning striker Sean Sheehy, aged 73
Bohemians and Dundalk have led the tribute to former players Sean Sheehy, the man who played such a key role in their league title successes 50 years ago. The Dubliner, who has passed away at the age of 73, began his senior career with Dundalk and had cross-channel spells with Preston, Huddersfield and Norwich before a move back home in 1974. He made an immediate impact with Bohs, winning a League Cup title in his first season there, 1974/75, while he also scored the decisive goal which landed Bohs the league that season.
Irish Independent
2 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Bohemians and Dundalk pay tribute following the death of league-winning striker Séan Sheehy, aged 73
Bohemians and Dundalk have led the tribute to former players Séan Sheehy, the man who played such a key role in their league title successes 50 years ago. The Dubliner, who has passed away at the age of 73, began his senior career with Dundalk and had cross-channel spells with Preston, Huddersfield and Norwich before a move back home in 1974. He made an immediate impact with Bohs, winning a League Cup title in his first season there, 1974/75, while he also scored the decisive goal which landed Bohs the league that season.
Irish Independent
3 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Dundalk FC made to sweat it out despite Gbemi Arubi double against Wexford
Dundalk might have strengthened their advantage at the top of the SSE Airtricity Men's First Division table on Friday night to six points, but the performance against Wexford FC was another reminder that we can't expect this side to do anything easy between now and the end of the season. While Ciarán Kilduff's side deservedly remain favourites for promotion, they once again managed to make difficult work of winning a game which they dominated. That's not to say there wasn't a number of positives to take from a victory that coincided with Cobh Ramblers being held to a 2-2 draw away to Finn Harps. Gbemi Arubi's double was the first time he has managed such a feat in his career. His first-half brace was also the first time that Dundalk had scored two goals in the opening 45 minutes at home in over 12 months - since the 4-2 victory over Drogheda United on July 12 2024. Indeed, on only two other occasions this season have the Lilywhites struck two or more in the first half – the 3-1 victory over Bray Wanderers in the Carlisle Grounds in March and the 2-1 win away to Cobh in May. The quality of Arubi's second and Keith Ward's goals were also worth the admission, but how soft goals were given up to the opposition remains a worry. Dundalk once again dominated pretty much every attacking metric but, as has been the norm of late, they're having to work far harder than their opponents to actually put the ball in the net. While three goals was a good return – particularly coming on the back of back-to-back blanks in the 2-0 defeats against Bray Wanderers in the league and Sligo Rovers in the FAI Cup – the fact that the three points was even in question entering the closing stages was somewhat alarming. Friday night, on the whole, was a great night for Dundalk – back to winning ways, three goals (two of the highest quality) and an extension of their lead at the top. However, the fact fans were left sweating on the outcome – not for the first time – was a reminder that if Dundalk are going to finish top, they're unlikely to do it by steamrolling their way to the title. Bar a small number of games, Kilduff's men haven't won many matches convincingly. Until they manage to turn their dominance into goals, they're unlikely to do so either, and you'd have to wonder whether it will happen at all. Yet two-thirds in Dundalk are on top, with a bit of room for error. There are definitely worse positions to be in. Having failed to score in their last two matches, the home side got off to a dream start when Arubi fired them in front after just 96 seconds, finishing from close range after Wexford goalkeeper Paul Martin was only able to parry clear Eoin Kenny's header from Daryl Horgan's cross. Dundalk continued to dominate and deservedly doubled their lead on the half-hour mark, with Arubi meeting Declan McDaid's flicked-on header with a superb first-time effort that flew past Martin to the right-hand corner. Stephen Elliott's side were gifted a route back into the game five minutes after the restart when Lilywhites keeper Enda Minogue let a punt forward from defence slip through his body, allowing half-time substitute Muhammad Haris to tap home his first goal at senior level against his old club. It looked like the Lilywhites had steadied the ship when Keith Ward volleyed to the net after a McDaid cross was headed up in the air by Dean Larkin on 63 minutes, but a nervous finish was ensured when Mikie Rowe finished from close range three minutes from the end after Larkin's header had kept a cross alive. Despite Larkin going close in the fourth minute of stoppage time, the home side were able to see it through, however, to take advantage of Cobh's slip-up in Ballybofey. Dundalk: Minogue; Wilson, O'Keeffe, Leonard, Tracey (Mulligan 90); Dervin, Groome (Paraschiv 56); McDaid, Kenny (Ward 56), Horgan (R Vaughan 78); Arubi (Ebbe 78). Wexford: Martin; McCarthy, Larkin, McCourt, Crawford (Browne 64); Harnett (Haris HT), O'Brien (Levingston 58); Rowe, McCormack, Oluwabiyi (Wasilewski 64); Dobbs (Flynn 71). ATTENDANCE: 1,632
Irish Independent
4 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Independent
‘I have to give credit to those three men' — How trying to become Bryson DeChambeau almost cost Jonathan Keane his South of Ireland dream
His mentor JD Smyth, who was the last local Lahinch member to pull off the feat in 1968, was by his side offering advice on the victory speech. It was an emotional end to a long, painful road for the 25-year-old second school teacher from Kilfenora, and perhaps the start of a magical new journey, as he recounted how he overcame a crippling back injury that almost ended his career and birdied the last to beat Dundalk's Caolan Rafferty one up and spark joyous scenes in Lahinch. Hundreds had given up the chance to watch Kerry win the All-Ireland football title, or Pádraig Harrington claim the Senior Open, to watch one of their own win the 'South'. Keane was emotional at the finish as he hugged his trusty caddie Noel Sexton, fell into an emotional embrace with his parents and supporters and then thrust his arms in the air as he was chaired from the green in triumph. We need your consent to load this Social Media content. We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. But what of the injury that kept him out of golf for almost three years? "I got injured at the start of Covid," he recounted. "I was doing a lot of practice. I kind of got into the mindset of trying to drive the ball an absolute mile — the Bryson DeChambeau effect. "I was doing an awful lot of gym work, but I had nothing to do during Covid, so I used to go down to the beach and hit about 250 balls a day. And after about six months of doing that nonstop and doing too much gym, the body just gave up. "I had herniated discs in my lower back. It was very bad, and I was about two-and-a-half years without any golf. I tried every sort of a thing. I didn't want to go down the route of surgery, and after about three years of being out of the game, I finally got back into it about two weeks before the South in 2023." What happened before that is a testament to the network at Lahinch Golf Club, the efforts of members Dr Gerry O'Sullivan and Dr Conor O'Brien to find a solution and the strength and conditioning expertise of former South of Ireland champion, Robbie Cannon. "Your mind is just thinking, will I ever golf again, because some nights you'd be waking up with pain and couldn't fall asleep," Keane said. "So it's just unbelievable now that I've come back from that and managed to win the competition I've always dreamt of.' Getting back to full fitness was no easy feat. "I tried a few things and they had failed, but Gerry O'Sullivan and Conor O'Brien came together. Conor O'Brien brought me up to Galway clinic and identified a nerve that was in trouble. "I got an epidural injection into my lower back that kind of numbed the pain for a while. And then during that time, I went up to Robbie, and we got a strength and conditioning plan, so gym work, and I kept at that. "I must have kept at it for about seven months and then I finally got back playing. So I have to give credit to those three men there for helping me come back from that injury.' Keane shot rounds of 82 and 78 at Lahinch to miss the cut comfortably in the 2023 South of Ireland. But he slowly recovered and started to show his potential this year, reaching the quarter-finals of the West of Ireland. It all came together on Sunday, when he beat Edmondstown's Liam Abom 2&1 in the semi-finals as 2018 champion Rafferty played the first five holes in five-under en route to a 5&3 win over Grange's Jake Whelan. Two up at the turn, Keane was just one up after 11 holes, but after winning the 12th to go two up again, he abandoned his policy of playing the 15th down the 14th, found heavy rough and lost the hole to Rafferty's incredible par-saving flop shot from heavy rough right of the green. "Maybe I wasn't thinking 100 percent at the time," he said. "I did hit a great tee shot in the morning. I said, I hit it down the middle of the fairway, and I did, and I tried to do the same thing this evening, but I probably should have hit it down the 14th like I was doing earlier in the week.' He lost the short 16th too, taking three to find the green after Rafferty hit a brilliant tee shot to 10 feet. Pegged back to all square there was a chance the dream could evaporate, but after making a nerveless eight-footer for par at the 17th to remain all flat, he drilled a 240-yard five-iron to 50 feet at the 18th and two putted for birdie and victory as Rafferty failed to get up and down from short of the green. "I don't know what to say, really," he said afterwards. "Absolutely delighted. "As I was saying, this has been my dream since ever I joined this golf club, and for it to come true, it's absolutely unbelievable. Just thrilled. Thrilled.' Pierse Motor Group South of Ireland Amateur Open Championship, Lahinch Semi-finals: Caolan Rafferty (Dundalk) beat Jake Whelan (Grange) 5/3; Jonathan Keane (Lahinch) beat Liam Abom (Edmondstown) 2/1. Final: Keane beat Rafferty 1 up.
