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Irish Examiner
3 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Colin Healy sees Kerry take care of Longford
SSE Airtricity Mens First Division: Kerry FC 2 Longford Town 0 Kerry FC moved up to seventh place in the First Division table and just five points off the play-off spot after an impressive 2-0 win over lowly Longford Town. The win was Colin Healy's first on the line at Mounthawk Park. It means Kerry have collected 10 points from a possible 15 from their last five games and a nice way to enter the mid-season break. The opening half was a slow burner as the sides battled for midfield supremacy with Ronan Teahan doing well for the home side while Emre Topcu was working hard for the visitors. But it was typical fare between two sides at the wrong end of the table though the home side squandered two decent goal-scoring opportunities. Kerry struck for a deserved lead in the 43rd minute when Oran Crowe crossed from the right side and Kevin Williams rose highest to head the ball goal-wards and in nipped 17-year-old Luke Palmer who smashed his fourth goal of the season. The hosts almost made it 2-0 early in the second half when Palmer struck the post but in the 51st minute he became provider as he put Daniel Okwute through and Eric Yoro was forced to take him down inside the box. Yoro was shown a straight red and Sean McGrath drilled the ball low to Harry Halwax right and Kerry was now 2-0 in front and playing against 10 men. KERRY FC: Tim-Oliver Hiemer; Kevin Williams, Niall Brookwell, Chris McQueen, Samuel Mujaguzi ; Sean McGrath, Carl Mujaguzi, Oran Crowe, Ronan Teahan; Luke Palmer, Daniel Okwute Subs: Sean O'Connell for Carl Mujaguzi (31), Joe Adams for Ronan Teahan (56), Kennedy Amechi for Luke Palmer (65) LONGFORD TOWN Harry Halwax; Pharrell Manuel, Osaze Irhue, Andy Spain, Dean O'Shea, Joshua Harsani Giurgi; Eric Yoro, Emre Topcu, Luke Wade Slater, Aaron Doran, Daragh Murtagh Subs: Francis Campbell for Giurgi (76), Mohammed Bodief for Topcu (76), Emmanuel James for Murtagh (76) Referee: Daryl Carlon (Limerick)
The Irish Sun
08-05-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
I'm ex-League of Ireland star who lost over three years with injury – now I'm finding my feet at storied club in Europe
CRISTIAN MAGERUSAN is relishing his Romanian rejuvenation. Magerusan has played a key part in CSA Steaua Bucharesti's bid to win the country's second tier, even though they cannot get promoted. Advertisement 2 Cristian Magerusan played for the likes of Bohemians, Longford Town and Bray Wanderers Credit: Sportsfile - Subscription 2 Now he is at CSA Steaua Bucharesti And a move into full-time football in his native country has helped him reach peak fitness after losing 3½ years of his career in Magerusan moved to Ireland aged 13, although his entry into the senior ranks was delayed by a compensation demand by the Gheorghe Hagi Academy. He went on to play for Bohemians, Longford Town and In January, he was signed by Steaua until the summer with the club having an option to extend for a further 12 months. Advertisement Read More on League of Ireland He has scored twice in five starts and five substitute appearances to leave Steaua second in the play-off round with two games to go. Ordinarily, second would be enough to win promotion. But the old army club is still owned by the country's Even so, Magerusan said there is no lack of motivation as they bid to snatch the league title from FK Csikszereda Miercurea Ciuc. Magerusan told SunSport: 'I haven't won silverware since underage level so it is a great motivation for me. 'Because the club doesn't have a private owner the club can't go into the top league. They are trying to do something about it but they are trying to do something about it for the last three years.' Advertisement Most read in Football Live Blog It is not the only complication with two separate outfits claiming the legacy of the club which won the European Cup and European Super Cup in 1986. In 1998, the football side of the club was taken into private ownership but the legality of that was disputed. Cork City fans watch League of Ireland clash against Dundalk in cinema Eight years ago, Magerusan's employers won a key judgement in the Romanian courts which resulted in their rivals — who are in the top division — being forced to change their name to FCSB. That also ensured that the Ministry of Defence-owned club — which relaunched again in the Fourth Division in 2017 — were assigned the domestic and international honours won up until 1998. But Uefa lists FCSB as being the champions of Europe 39 years ago. If all of that is not confusing, what is clear is that moving home — although Bucharest is 450km from Bistrita where he spent his early childhood — has been good for the striker . Advertisement In 2018, Magerusan scored within four minutes of his first-team debut for Bohs and netted twice more in five further league and cup outings before the end of the season. He was primed for a big season in 2019 but broke his metatarsal three times and tore his cruciate ligament twice with an attempt to avoid surgery the second time around ultimately not working out. His next competitive match was in April 2022, his first three outings off the bench for Longford all coming in the 90th minute as he was eased back in after so long out. His eye for goal had not deserted him. In his first non-cameo role, in May, he scored — as well as providing an assist — against Cobh Ramblers. Advertisement In June, he bagged a brace against Galway United. 'BIG CHANGE' He missed the start of the following season but netted ten times in 19 games for a team which finished third from bottom in the First Division. That form led to a move to Bray, for whom he scored ten times in league and play-off appearances in a promotion push which fell short against In the Advertisement Magerusan said: 'It's a big change football-wise and fitness-wise, going from part-time to full-time. 'I wasn't sure how it was going to be because of the injuries I have had but it has been good for me. When I was at Bohs they weren't full-time so it is my first time being full-time. 'It was always hard juggling football with work in Ireland. I was getting injured a lot more easily but all I've had here are niggles which have kept me out for two or three days.' 'I do miss my family and I am looking forward to seeing them but the offer would have to be good because I won't lie, the money here is great!" The football, he says, is slower but more intense, with players better on the ball, and he is getting used to the different mentality having adopted an Irish psyche from his decade living here. Advertisement He said: 'It's hard to explain but it's more from the heart in Ireland.' Other differences include staying in a hotel the night before every home game. His game-intelligence has, he believes, improved from working alongside experienced players like Adrian Popa, a starter for Romania at Euro 2016. Although crowds have dwindled from when they could attract five figures, they play out of an impressive €95million 31,254-seater stadium rebuilt four years ago. Advertisement And, although reduced in number, the club still has some fanatical followers. He said: 'There are maybe 1,000 fans who sing the whole time. They are crazy.' Whatever happens, in terms of whether or not they win the league or Steaua exercise their option to keep him, the move has been good for Magerusan. And he is excited about what happens after a summer break with friends including his ex-Bohs team-mate Danny Grant, now at Advertisement 'There have been no talks yet but we have two games left. 'I have loved it and now I have seen what full-time is like, I know it's what I want to do. 'I am 25 now, I haven't hit my potential, I know that, but I am going towards my peak and I know I can get better. I have been playing against smarter defenders here and that has already helped me to improve.' MONEY MATTERS How he has fared in Romania might prompt a top-flight club here to move for him when, perhaps, his previous injury profile might have put people off. Advertisement And he does not rule out coming back to Ireland where his mam, dad and brother all still live, but admitted there are certain things he would have to consider. He said: 'I do miss my family and I am looking forward to seeing them but the offer would have to be good because I won't lie, the money here is great! 'And the other thing is the weather in Ireland is killing me. 'I came to Romania in January and there was proper snow , up to my knees, for a week but now it's 25 degrees. Advertisement 'And I think it's only rained once since January. 'It makes you feel so much better when you wake up in the morning when it's not raining.'
Irish Independent
04-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Wexford FC hit by late sucker-punch as Oluwafemi grabs winner for Longford Town
Longford Town 2 Wexford FC 1 Wexford People Wexford FC were hit with a late sucker-punch as substitute Emmanuel James Oluwafemi pounced for an injury-time winner to lift Longford Town off the foot of the SSE Airtricity First Division table with a 2-1 triumph in Bishopsgate on Saturday evening. Darragh Murtagh gave the midlanders the lead in the 53rd minute, but Ryan Kelly looked to have rescued a point for Stephen Elliott's side when he grabbed the leveller with 16 minutes remaining.
RTÉ News
26-04-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Dean Ebbe helps Dundalk snap winless run at Longford Town
A brace from Dean Ebbe and one from substitute Andy Parashiv helped Dundalk get back to winning ways and extend their lead at the top of the SSE Airtricity Men's First Division to three points. Bray Wanderers had capitalised on the Lilywhites drawing two games in a row to go level on points with them at the top after the previous night but Ciaran Kilduff's side responded by picking up their 10th win of the campaign at Bishopsgate. The first chance of the game fell to the home side inside the eighth minute; Fran Campbell picked up a poor back pass but Dundalk keeper Peter Cherrie was quick off his line to save. Dundalk had possession but couldn't muster up much. Eoin Kenny wasted a great chance to open the scoring in the 20th minute; Harry Groome found Leo Gaxha, he laid the ball off to Kenny who blasted the ball over the bar. In the 21st minute the game was paused as players and officials joined supporters in a minute's applause for former Longford Town academy player Cian Neary. Town lent their support before the game to the charity Cian's Kennels in memory of Neary. Dundalk had two chances as they tried to expose the home defence. In the 24th minute Gaxha brought a save out of Harry Halwax and two minutes later the Town netminder easily gathered Daryl Horgan's free. Halwax denied Gaxha again in the 34th minute. The visitors started the second half brightly. Halwax was called into action to deny former Town player Ebbe in the 47th minute. The deadlock was broken in the 54th minute; Horgan's corner was headed into the path of Ebbe and he flicked the ball to the net. Ebbe got his and his side's second goal in the 62nd minute when he got onto a pass from Parashiv and he made no mistake. Darragh Murtagh headed over the bar for Town while Josh Giurgi's free was easily gathered by Cherrie in the 81st minute. A clearance from Luke Wade-Slater fell nicely to Parashiv in the 87th minute and he made it 3-0. Longford Town: Harry Halwax; Osarze Irhue, Eric Yoro, Aaron Walsh, Dean O'Shea; Luke Wade-Slater, Aaron Doran (Pharrell Manuel 84), Emre Topcu, Mo Boudiaf (Josh Giurgi 63); Fran Campbell (Emmanuel Oluwafemi 63), Darragh Murtagh (Dean George 84). Dundalk: Peter Cherrie; Conor O'Keeffe, Mayowa Animasahun, Vincent Leonard, Sean Keogh (Sean McHale 89); Harry Groome, Aodh Dervin (Andy Parashiv 46), Daryl Horgan (Shane Tracey 89); Eoin Kenny (Keith Ward 69), Leo Gaxha, Dean Ebbe (Gbemi Arubi 86).
Irish Independent
22-04-2025
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Kilduff's concern as Dundalk's hard work not translating into goals
Twice at the Easter weekend, the 36-year-old saw his side battle hard to make a breakthrough against both Treaty Utd on Good Friday and against Finn Harps on Easter Monday only to see them squander the lead cheaply on both occasions. That has seen the Lilywhites' lead at the top of the table cut from seven points heading into last weekend to just three points now. While Dundalk have scored in every game and remain unbeaten, only twice this season have they won a game by more than a single goal, with top scorer Dean Ebbe now having gone over a month since he found the net from the penalty spot in the 2-1 victory over this Saturday's opponents Longford Town on March 21. Kilduff, who scored 31 goals in 82 appearances for the club in his own playing days, said it was a concern how hard his side were having to work for goals right now given their dominance. 'Massively, it's something that we're aware of,' he said when the goals issue was put to him on Monday. 'We're trying to convert now. We've seen everyone ourselves and we know that we're dominant in possession and we know that we're trying to really impose ourselves and dominate the games and we're doing that to a point but unless you're putting it on the scoreboard then you're not dominating anything. 'You might dominate possession and chances created but we've got to get that killer edge now back into our game. Again, it's Vinnie coming up with a goal – a huge goal in that moment – and you think that might be the one because we were knocking on the door for a long time but it's just a frustrating evening for us. 'We've given away two leads this weekend but this (Finn Harps) is worse because we had Treaty to remember but when you do it again it nearly feels unforgiveable. 'The league is hard. We're in the second round now and teams know what we're trying to do and we know what they're trying to do so there's an element of them setting up to frustrate to then try and nick one and we've allowed the same pattern happen twice now. 'Instead of going for the jugular like we spoke about and really burying the game, we'll never get to coast home. We're not built for it. We're built to go the other way and it's a frustrating thing.' ADVERTISEMENT Learn more Despite seeing his side's lead cut at the top, Kilduff said it was just important to learn the lessons from a bad weekend ahead of this Saturday's trip to Bishopsgate (kick-off 7.30pm) to face a Longford Town side who are the only team who have led against Dundalk this season. 'It was too early even if we won the games to be talking about leads. It's neither here nor there. We're just trying to learn as quickly as we can and in football you've got to because it's never easy. 'Tonight it's that feeling of we were dominant, we were in possession, we got the goal and then we nearly celebrate because we got it but the game is not over. That's the overriding feeling for me. Football gives you nothing and it is summed up in that last 72 hours of football for us. 'Sean (Keogh) didn't mean to make the mistake but he has left it short. It doesn't matter. He has put in a great corner for the goal and he's a huge player for us. Everyone makes mistakes and usually when defenders or goalkeepers make mistakes it costs a goal. 'It was probably just symptomatic of how we approached that last 10 minutes which was similar to Treaty where we needed to keep going and doing what got us ahead. I don't want to call it complacency because we're adamant that is never going to happen here but it's hard to say after doing it twice now that that can't be a term that we've got to consider. 'We're not going to panic or anything like that. We were never entitled to anything this year. 'We had a good start but I said from day dot that all we've had is a good round of games. The second round of games was always going to get harder and there's still the third and fourth round to come. We're learning the hard way and we've got to learn quickly but if we can dust ourselves off now. 'It's probably great that we don't have a full week to wait. We play again in five days and hopefully we can get that out of the system and get the sting in the tail again. We're on a journey here, rebuilding as a club and as a team but we just need to learn from this so it doesn't happen again.' While his side remain unbeaten, Kilduff said he isn't too concerned about that. 'They feel like losses but at the other side of things we're still unbeaten. No one has turned us over yet but at the same time we know against Treaty twice and again tonight they were ones where three points got away. 'If you look at all the results so far this year, no one is blowing anyone away with cricket scores or anything like that. It's quite the opposite. They're tight games, they're cagey and they're going to come down to fine margins and tonight we learned that if you don't do the basics right then you can drop points on any night. 'Of course it's a huge positive to be still unbeaten. Still no team has managed to beat us yet and we'll take resolve from that but I would have had more points if I had lost tonight and won on Friday so I don't really read too much into that. 'Of course it's a nice little thing to be unbeaten but you might not win the league if you draw all your games. You've got to be winning football matches and you've got to be turning good performances and great opportunities and great phases of play into wins and goals. I'm hoping that it is coming but we've been threatening that it has been coming for a while. 'It's a disappointing one tonight but we'll dust ourselves off and go again,' said Kilduff.
