Setanta Cup 2006, Group Stage: Round Two

MrJoeSoap

Group One:

27th Feb:

Cork City vs Drogheda, Turners Cross (8.00pm, live on Setanta now)
Dungannon Swifts vs Portadown, Stangmore Park (7.45pm)

Group Two:

28th Feb:

Derry City vs Shelbourne, The Brandywell (8.00pm, live on Setanta Sports)
Glentoran vs Linfield, (7.45pm)

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Latest scores are 0-0 at the Cross, and 0-1 at Stangmore. Cork game is on live, but its absolutely woeful so far.

Derry-v-Shels News:

Derry City are likely to be without influential winger Pat McCourt for the Setanta Cup game against Shelbourne at the Brandywell on Tuesday (2000 GMT).

McCourt is struggling with a groin injury and is unlikely to be risked.

Manager Stephen Kenny also awaits news of Kevin Deery, who sustained an ankle injury in last week's 1-1 draw with Linfield at Windsor Park.

Mark McChrystal will be absent as he is on duty with the N Ireland U21 squad in Wales on Tuesday night.

"With so many games coming up in the next five weeks, it is probably wiser to give Pat a chance to recover properly," said Candystripes boss Kenny.

"Shels are a formidable team and they had a good win over Glentoran last week, so it has the making of a very good game," he added.

Most of the attention on Derry City in the Setanta Cup has been on their prospective battles with Belfast's Big Two.

And even though they beat Shelbourne three times last season, manager Stephen Kenny knows the Dubliners are, if anything, an even bigger threat in the Setanta Cup 'Group of Death' as they meet at the Brandywell on Tuesday.

Privately both clubs will fancy their chances of making it through to the knockout stages at the expense of the Irish League pair, even if Kenny is too canny to be drawn at this stage.

"You can't tell after one game how it's likely to go," he said.

"We were very pleased to come away from Windsor Park with a point and looking back we might have taken all three.

"Both Linfield and Shelbourne lost their opening games last year and both made the final."

It must be said that Shelbourne's relative problems last season ? as reigning champions they finished only third in the eircom League behind Derry and Cork ? was largely down to a poor run early in the season when even their mighty resources were stretched by an unfeasibly long injury list.

Their 3-0 demolition of Glentoran on Monday evening showed they are back with a vengeance and have very real designs on winning this competition after losing out in the final to Linfield last time around.

Kenny was delighted with the new central midfield pairing of Ken Oman and Peter Hutton in last Monday's 1-1 draw in Belfast.

"Having both Clive Delaney, who was first choice last year, and Mark McChrystal both out inured was a blow, but Ken Oman did exceptionally well given that it was his first game," he said.

"There were a lot of positives to take from Windsor."

MrJoeSoap

1-0 to Cork, a Behan cracker. Loving the "bench-cam", how very ground breaking!

blu_sonic

Denis Behan Stunner 57min cork 1 drogs 0

blu_sonic

portadown 1 swifts 0

MrJoeSoap

Here's big Glenn the super-sub!

blu_sonic

Portadown 1 - swifts 1

blu_sonic

RED everyday intentional, but that refs a knob

MrJoeSoap

9 men now, this referee is a joke. Fahey is man of the match by a mile.

That was never a yellow card. Drogs will do well to come back from losing those two to suspension.

Behan has had two blatant hand-balls in the Cork wall from free-kicks, and then the ref sends off two Drogs players and completely ignores that poor challenge. Hope this clown in black doesn't get any Shels games to ref.

blu_sonic

2nd red
refs a twit

blu_sonic

every game i've been to that he's been at something that that refs done has been the talking point, kelly isn't it?

blu_sonic

joe gamble fluffed it there

blu_sonic

Its all cork OG jason Gavin

MrJoeSoap

2-0 Gavin o.g.

blu_sonic

The Refs ruined the game, the 1st red i agree but the 2nd was indulgent at best

blu_sonic

Full time, Cork may have went on to score 4 or 5 but never seemed too pushed. After an uneventful 1st half we were given a 2nd marred by 2 decisions by a poor Ref, what can you say. The sending off's ruined and finished the game

blu_sonic

oohhhh fat pat introduced Rico as "the man who won the title for cork last year" tongue in cheek?

MrJoeSoap

Cork deserved the win but the first half was quite poor and the second ended very poorly.

Not a brilliant advertisement for the competition but Cork fans won't / shouldn't care.

gimmick

That was a nice pre-season work out for City. Its been said may times before, but its a measure of a team who play awful, and thats how City were tonight, yet comfortably win a game.

I honestly dont think the red cards had any bearing on the game. As far as Im concerned is that Drogs had the better of the play for much of the game, but created nothing, once they went one down, they lost their discipline. The first red was crazy - i honestly thought Bradley was better than a childish swipe like that, the 2nd red, well Fahey was fouling all night. He was booked for desent about the red, and the 2nd was a foul, not a bad one, but a foul none the less, about his 10th of the night, so it was deserved.

Regarding the game itself, objectively, Drogs are a very good side, and I was amazed that a team managed by Paul Doolin actually played some slick ball. They will be challenging come the end of season, no doubt. Their centre half (Steven?) Gray is outstanding, one of the top 4 centre halves in the eL, and by God he must be considering the donkey next to him - Jason Gavin. On tonigts performances and results it will be City and Drogs to progress.

On another point, the cynical fouling of George O Callaghan is pathetic.

blu_sonic

9 playing 11 would have a bearing on the game, the drogs were slightly stronger before the 1st red, i agree a straight red for intent, but i think the ref was a little over zealous, a stern talking to after the bad tackle would have served the same purpose, obviously the lad was fired up by the red, the ref should have used common sence, but if it was kelly which i think it was he certainly doesn't have any, he is a glory hound who likes the spot light

_blank_

Wasn't the referee from Cork?

gimmick

^ yes, but he went out of his way to be neutral if you know what I mean. Every decision right up to the minute of madness was given against City. And If im not mistaken this was the first time in about 6 years that a Cork referee took charge of a game with City playing in it.

9 playing 11 would have a bearing on the game

Very slight, as I stated above, Drogs lost their discipline after the first goal, and were never going to equalise anyway.

KdjaCL

9 playing 11 would have a bearing on the game

We beat Cork with 9 down there, just thought i would throw that in there

Fahey is a good player but loses the head very easily and shouldnt tackle ever. Shame he wanted to leave us and then come back


kdjac

Roar

i thought the two red cards were fair enough TBH..

City were poor enough last night, some flashes of genius from Roy and George, front two never got a decent ball into them all night, dont even think denis behan had a shot on target before that goal (and what a goal!)..

Dan murray looked a yard off the pace again, and was relying on Bennett to do his tidying up, again. Without a left winger city lacked shape big time, and playing Roy O'Donovan out there just dont work. Mick Devine's injury means he still cant take kick outs, which is slightly worrying. Thought Joe Gamble had a solid enough game too. Colin O'Brien's past his best I reckon, but still a valuable squad member.

Drogs were good in spells it has to be said, especially after City's first goal the applied a lot of pressure.

But shure, its still pre season, both teams looked some way off full fitness. Bring on Dungannon next week.

mchurl

It shouldnt be allowed to happen that a cork man referee's a Cork Game. This reflects badly on the competition and the FAI or whoever appointed the ref needs to make sure this doesnt happen again.

Töpher

gimmick wrote:

On another point, the cynical fouling of George O Callaghan is pathetic.

But, on a counter point, so is George O'Callaghans cynical fouling.

Derry 1 - 2 Shelbourne
I hope.

Should be a good match, wonder if its snowing up there? Shels seem intent on playing total football this year, so if we can get a rythym going up there fingers crossed things work out alright!

Wanna see the Glens take some points off Linfield, as I feel Glentoran won't be there at the end challenging for a semi-final spot, but Linfield will, so any points dropped is good!

Roar

mchurl wrote:

It shouldnt be allowed to happen that a cork man referee's a Cork Game. This reflects badly on the competition and the FAI or whoever appointed the ref needs to make sure this doesnt happen again.

dublin referees take charge of games involving dublin teams all the time

gimmick

Derry 0 - 0 Shels
Glentoran 3 - 3 Linfield

Good result for Shels. Its going to be a tough contest for 2nd place between Derry and Linfield I'd say, though I would think Derry will take it.

blu_sonic

The belfast game was just a case of bad defending. Neither of the norn iorn teams would worry derry or shels imo

the shels v derry game was a case of 2 teams showing too much respect for each other, shels will be happier