British Steel Challenge

So after a 3-4 month break from football, a job opportunity finally came up in Ireland, following the end to their domestic season, to be the manager of Cork City after their poor showing in the league that season, which allowed me to move to Ireland in an attempt to tick off some of the trophies there, and also gave me the opportunity to get the elusive Munster Senior Cup only playable by 3 teams currently.



A short background on Cork City:
Founded in 1984, Cork City are a semi-professional Irish club playing in the Irish Premier Division. The club play their home games at Turner's Cross and possess adequate training facilities and basic youth facilities. The club also has fairly basic junior coaching and an average youth recruitment network. The club is affectionately known as The Rebel Army and retains a fierce rivalry with St Patrick's Athletic and Shamrock Rovers.

The Rebel Army have a history they can be proud of, having won twenty-eight competitions. Boasting a total of twenty-eight competition wins, here are just some of their highlights. Cork City won the Irish top division in 1993 and 2005 and finished runners-up on five occasions, won the All Ireland Cup in 2008, won the Irish 2nd tier for the only time in 2011, and won the Senior Challenge Cup in 1998 and 2007 and came in second place three times.



A quick overview of the squad saw that there was some work to be done, although there was a lot of potential also, particularly in defense, with a pretty solid looking back-line!



It also saw me reunited with Brett Ormerod, who had signed for Cork City following his release from Wrexham 18 months ago. Although the defense looked good, the midfield needed some work done to it, and some new faces brought in if we were going to improve.

A rather long preseason with Cork City, having got the job at the end of November, and the first league game not being until the end of February gave me plenty of time to evaluate the squad and dip into the transfer market.



The transfer market was not a particularly busy one, only 3 players arriving, and 3 players leaving. Unfortunately the 3 players leaving were among the best players in the squad, the bigger clubs coming in to take them away from me.

As replacements we brought in Ian Sweeney and Jacques Morley to provide competition for the winger positions and also brought in Sean Brosnan as an understudy to leading striker Sean Maguire.




With the squad's main weakness now covered we could move forward to some preseason friendlies to try and begin lifting the confidence of the team, following a poor previous season, and also for them to start getting to grips with the new tactics that I had brought in.



Overall it was a good preseason, going undefeated, and also recording some very good wins over Tramore and Janesboro, but we also had a fairly poor draw against Ballynarty Rovers.

With the new season just about to start, we were given odds of 200-1 on the title, meaning that it looked like our focus would be on one of the cups this year rather than the league.

March brought a busy month with games in the league and also in the Irish League Cup.



We began the season at the end of February away against Mervue United. In a pretty dull first half, neither team really threatened the scores and at half-time the scores remained 0-0. As the second half kicked off, it looked like both sides were raring to go, and James Kavanagh opened the scoring in the 47th minute to put us 1-0 ahead. Mervue Utd equalised 5 minutes from time and it looked like they had rescued a draw until Brett Ormerod popped up in the box in the 91st minute to bury the ball into the back of the net, and give us an opening day victory.

Our first home game of the season saw us welcome Waterford Utd to Turner's Cross, and two first half goals from Ian Sweeney and Sean Maguire saw us race into a 2-0 lead by half-time. In a second half which was all about retaining the lead, Waterford managed to pull one back with 8 minutes remaining, but were unable to find a second goal to earn them a point.

3 days later we traveled to Shelbourne, and in a poor display, none of the team really performing to the levels they had been over the previous couple of games, fell to a 2-0 defeat, goals coming in both halves. Although the defeat was disappointing, Shelbourne are among the favourites for the league, and any sort of result against them would have been a good achievement.

Two disappointing home draws came next against Drogheda Utd and fierce rivals St Pat's Athletic, games in which we were expected to win. Falling behind in the first half against Drogheda, adjustments were made at half-time, which although made us more threatening, we were unable to grab a goal until the 84th minute, coming through Sean Brosnan and with little time left to find a winner the game ended 1-1. In a difference against St Pat's Athletic, we started the game very well, and Dan Murray scored with a fantastic free-kick in the 5th minute. Unable to hold onto the lead, we were pegged back 8 minutes after the restart, and again we failed to find the back of the net to grab all 3 points.

A resounding 5-1 victory in the Irish League Cup against Dundalk away from home was perhaps the highlight of the month. After falling behind in the 10th minute, a first-half hat-trick from Sean Maguire saw us leading at half-time 3-1. Two further goals after the break from Kalen Spillane and Sean Brosnan saw us run out as comfortable victors, and we were rewarded with a tough game against Shamrock Rovers in the second round.

A home game against Longford in the league was up next, and we got off to an absolute flyer, Sean Maguire scoring in the first minute of the game. The lead didn't last long however, being pegged back 2 minutes later. Despite our ability to create chances, we failed to convert them and the game finished as a 1-1 draw.

Our second Irish League Cup game of the month saw us welcome Shamrock Rovers. In a game that was going to be a tough ask to win, the players played fantastically, and first-half goals from Kalen Spillane and Sean Maguire saw us leading 2-0 at half-time. In the second-half we were more conservative, keen to ensure that we retained the lead, and a goal for Shamrock Rovers coming in the 79th minute threatened to take the game to extra-time, however an Ian Sweeney goal in the 90th minute settled the nerves of the home fans and saw us win 3-1, advancing to the quarter finals!

In a month of mixed form, we had progressed well in the cups, however our league form had been a bit hit and miss and we sat mid-table, with a gap already forming to the top 4 teams. With a good run of form we would be able to close the gap and get right into the mix, but we would have to wait and see what happened.

April was another busy month for us, with no fewer than seven games for us to play.



We began the month by traveling to Derry City, and in a game that had plenty of chances for both sides, neither side was able to find the back of the net mainly due to the fine form that both goalkeepers were in. It wasn't the best start to the month, but was at least a foundation to push on from and hopefully get a few wins to move up the league.

Four days later we welcomed Douglas Hall to Turner's Cross for the first round of the Munster Senior Cup. A thoroughly professional performance saw us run out 3-0 winners, goals coming from Sean Maguire with one in both halves, and a first goal for Jacques Morley 8 minutes from time.

An away game against Dundalk in the league was up next, who we had thrashed 5-1 last time we faced them, and this game didn't disappoint either, with 5 goals coming in the first 21 minutes. We fell behind in the second minute, before Sean Brosnan equalised for us in the 6th minute, and then put us ahead in the 9th. Sean Maguire then placed us further ahead with a well executed finish, which won goal of the month in the 11th minute. We were pegged back by Dundalk in the 21st minute, and at half-time the score was 3-2. Dundalk equalised 4 minutes after the restart, and after that neither side could grab what would have been a vital goal to grab all 3 points. Although disappointed not to be able to hold onto a 3-1 lead, it was a good game with some good performances from most of our players.



A home game against Sligo Rovers was up next, and in contrast to our previous game, there were very few chances for either team and a 0-0 draw was played out.

We then traveled to Ballynanty Rovers for the second round of the Munster Senior Cup, who had managed to grab a very credible draw during preseason. This time round, with the players more prepared was no such contest, with us comfortably 2-0 up by half-time, goals coming from Ian Sweeney and Danny Morrissey. A late third goal from Ian Sweeney capped a very good performance and advanced us into the quarter-finals of the competition.

A home league game against Shamrock Rovers was next, and despite a very good performance from the side, controlling most aspects of the game, the difference between the two sides was their ability to score, with their only goal coming almost immediately after the start of the second half. It was a disappointing defeat as we really deserved something from the game, but it showed that we were capable of pushing a very strong team, boding well for our league form after this game.

Our final game of the season was the quarter-final of the Munster Senior Cup where we welcomed Blarney, another side we had played during preseason. Although the game on that occasion had been quite close, this game was completely different. We spent most of the game camped in their half and were only able to get 3 goals, coming from Ian Sweeney, Sean Brosnan and Brett Ormerod, before they pulled one back in the 77th minute. There was no way we were going to let that lead slip and we finished the game well, winning 3-1 and progressing into the semi-finals of the cup.



Our league form during the month has been a case of simply not being able to win matches. We have been picking up points through draws, but we need to start picking up wins if we want to move up the table. The position we are currently in could see us move up the table quickly with a couple of wins, but could also put us in trouble if we continue our run of bad form.

Another busy month on the playing front saw us play 8 games in all as our patchy form continued.



We began the month with a good away victory against Limerick F.C.. We fell behind in the 22nd minute, but a good response from the players saw them turn the deficit around, goals coming from Sean Brosnan in the 28th minute, and a second goal in the 43rd minute from Sean Maguire. In the second half Limerick continued to press for an equaliser, as we attempted to get a third to put the game beyond doubt, but neither side could find the back of the net and we earned 3 points to begin the month well.

A credible away victory against Waterford came next in a game we were extremely unfortunate not to win having dominated most of the game. We went ahead in the 8th minute through an Ian Sweeney goal. With the scoreline at 1-0, we were very susceptible to being hit on the break as we tried to find a second whilst remaining responsible at the back, and Waterford grabbed an equaliser in the 87th minute to destroy the hopes of the traveling fans and the game ended 1-1.

A home game against fellow strugglers Mervue Utd was next up and after falling behind in the 13th minute, we pulled it back in the 26th minute with a booming free-kick from Dan Murray to go in at the break with the scores locked at 1-1. As the game wore on, it looked like a draw was on the cards until Kalen Spillane put us ahead with 9 minutes remaining from a corner. 4 minutes later Mervue Utd conceded a penalty, and Johnny Dunleavy made no mistake from the spot, extending our lead to 3-1. There were no major scares in the last 5 minutes, and we picked up our second win in three games.

A poor performance against league leaders Shelbourne at home followed, going 1-0 down in the 17th minute. Despite creating some chances, we were unable to find the back of the net, and they put the game beyond doubt in injury time, grabbing a second to win the game 2-0.

Perhaps still reeling from the defeat to Shelbourne, we traveled to bottom of the table Drogheda Utd, and in a game of extremely few chances, in the entire match there were only 7 shots on goal, it ended 0-0. Not the best result, but at least it wasn't a defeat.

We then faced Longford in the Senior Challenge Cup 2nd round. After falling behind again in the first half in the 8th minute, we managed to pull level through Sean Maguire in the 28th minute to go in at the break with the scores at 1-1. As the second half progressed, neither side was able to create any clear cut chances and it finished as a draw, meaning a replay would be needed to find a winner. The replay back at Turner's Cross played out very much the same. In a game of few chances, after 90 minutes the game was tied at 0-0 and extra time would be needed to find a winner. Garry Buckley scored his first goal for the club in the 93rd minute to grab us that all important goal for us to advance through to the next round.

Our final game of the season saw us play Limerick F.C. for the second time this month, and fresh from scoring his first goal for the club, Garry Buckley added a second, scoring the only goal of the game in the 25th minute to give us a very fortuitous victory, the defense having played brilliantly to ensure that we didn't concede. We unfortunately had 2 injuries in this match to key striker Sean Maguire, ruling him out for 4 weeks, and also Danny Morrissey, ruling him out for a minimum of 3 months.



As we went into the mid-season break, we were sat in mid-table, with a small gap beginning to open up between us and Longford below us, yet we were only 3 points off a European spot for next season. With a quiet June, hopefully our injury problems would not affect us too badly and we would be able to advance in the cup games that we had to face.

Its going well mate in the cup too! Keep it going!

A quiet month during the mid-season break saw us play a friendly against affiliate club Douglas Hall and then play two cup games.



The friendly against Douglas Hall allowed a few fringe players to be given a game as well as maintaining the match fitness of the first team squad. Thomas McKee grabbed his opportunity with both hands, scoring a brace within 10 minutes of the start of the game and Brett Ormerod grabbed a third in the 67th minute to give us a comfortable 3-0 win.

Our next game was the semi-final of the Munster Senior Cup where we faced Everton. We went ahead in the 6th minute thanks to Kalen Spillane scoring from a corner. Everton defended well, and it took us until the 34th minute to grab a second as man of the match Sean Brosnan grabbed his first of the afternoon. With the score at 2-0 at half-time, we were in control of the game, but with a potential to push on in the second half and grab a few more goals. A second goal from a corner came in the 63rd minute as Dan Murray scored with a header, before in the final 10 minutes, Sean Brosnan grabbed two more goals to complete his hat-trick and give us a well deserved 5-0 victory. We were rewarded by meeting Fermoy in the final.

Our last game of the month was against Drgoheda Utd in the quarter-final of the League Cup. A good first half performance saw Sean Maguire announce his comeback from injury with a goal in the 23rd minute, before Kalen Spillane grabbed a second 8 minutes later. Drogheda Utd managed to pull one back with 20 minutes left, but we were able to hold on and advanced to the semi-finals of the competition, leaving us with a real possibility of winning two cups at least this season!

July was an important month for us, as it gave us our first opportunity for silverware this season, as we faced the Munster Senior Cup final, alongside four further games in the league.



With the final our first game of the month, it gave us a fantastic opportunity to start the month on a high, and hopefully continue our form through the rest of the month. The players didn't disappoint in the game against Fermoy, getting off to a fantastic start with Sean Maguire putting us ahead after 10 minutes, and grabbing a second before the break. In the second half Ian Sweeney made it 3-0 in the 71st minute, before Sean Maguire completed his hat-trick 3 minutes later to ensure that the cup would be heading back to Cork. Fermoy did manage to pull one back in the 86th minute, but there was no way back for them and at the full time whistle, we had won the game 4-1 and also won the cup!



Following the high of winning the cup, we returned to a league game, away against St Pat's Athletic. In a poor first half display we were trailing 2-0 at the break. After giving the players the hairdryer treatment at half-time, they came out and performed much better and Ian Sweeney grabbed a goal shortly after the restart, lobbing the keeper from the halfway line to pull us back into contention. We continued to get stronger through the game and were very unfortunate not to take anything from the game, losing it 2-1.

A home game against Derry City was next, and another fantastic hat-trick from Sean Maguire saw us comfortably win the game 3-1, the only moment of danger being when Derry pulled it back to 2-1 midway through the second half.

We then traveled to Longford and after a brilliant start, we were ahead through Ian Sweeney within 2 minutes. We were playing well and restricting Longford to only long-shots which were very few and far inbetween, but the only real opportunity that they had throughout the entire game they converted, earning them a point and leaving us feeling a bit disappointed with only taking away a point.

Our final game of the month was a home game against Dundalk, and in a game where both sides created some good chances, neither side was able to convert and a goal-less draw was probably a fair result at the end of the match.



That left us sitting comfortably in mid-table still, within striking distance of the European spots, but the title was almost certainly out of our grasp now. If we were only able to turn some of our draws into wins, we would begin making a charge up the table.

Overall it had been a good month, securing our first trophy in Ireland, and with a semi-final to look forward to in the Irish League Cup, we still had plenty of silverware to play for.

Well done withanother cup mate!

Cheers mate, that's number 5 ticked off now, only 31 more to go!

A busy August saw us play 7 games, and our inability to really continue a small run of good form affected us badly during the month.



We began the month off well, where we played Wexford at Turner's Cross in the League Cup semi-final, and three goals within 5 first-half minutes settled the game before the half-time whistle, goals coming from Sean Maguire and a brace from Sean Brosnan. Although []b]Wexford[/b] managed to pull one back in the second half, there was too much for them to do, and we ran out comfortable 3-1 winners, progressing to the final where we would face Shelbourne.

An away game against Mervue Utd was up next, and a single Garry Buckley goal with just over 15 minutes was enough to decide the game, giving us our first league win in three games, and slightly closing the gap on the European football places.

Our next game was the first of two consecutive home games against Waterford Utd in the Senior Challenge Cup and in a brilliant first half performance, saw us leading 3-0 at the break, goals coming through a Johnny Dunleavy penalty, a Kalen Spillane header and an unfortunate own goal for their keeper, the ball bouncing back off the post from a Sean Maguire shot, onto the keeper and into the net. Although the second half was not as action packed, we kept the pressure on, and didn't allow them to score, the game ending 3-0.

Four days later we welcomed Waterford Utd back to Turner's Cross, this time in the league, and after playing so well previously, we needed to ensure that complacency did not become an issue. The players played fantastically and were extremely unlucky not to be 2 or 3 up by half-time. We continued the same after the break, dominating almost every aspect of the game, and our deserved goal came with 8 minutes remaining as Kalen Spillane headed in from a corner, and the game ended 1-0.

Our third home game on the bounce saw us welcome bottom of the table Drogheda Utd, and after some fantastic performances against Waterford over the last couple of games, morale and expectations were high. Unfortunately the players completely let me and the fans down, losing the game 3-0 as we were completely dominated from start to finish.

Our next league game was against Shelbourne which also brought up my 200th game in management, however I wanted to ensure that the players didn't pay too much attention to the milestone, and instead concentrated on getting the result that we needed.



In an even first half, we went in at the break 0-0, and 3 minutes after the restart we went ahead through Sean Brosnan. The lead didn't last long however, with Shelbourne equalising 5 minutes later. They further extended their lead in the 66th, 79th and 88th minutes to leave the scoreline at 4-1, before Sean Brosnan scored a late consolation goal in the 91st minute and we ended the game in another disappointing defeat.

Our final league game of the month saw us travel to Sligo Rovers, and in an eight goal thriller, breaking records along the way, the game ended 4-4.



We fell behind after 27 minutes, however 4 minutes later we had been able to completely turn it around to lead 2-1 until Sligo equalised right on the stroke of half-time. We went ahead again through Sean Maguire, but our inability to keep a lead let us down yet again as we were firstly pegged back in the 59th minute, and then went behind in the 73rd minute. James Kavenagh grabbed his second of the game in the 77th minute to pull us level, and as both teams went looking for a winner the game became really end-to-end, however the finishing, which had been so good for most of the game, suddenly became a problem and the game ended 4-4.

A thrilling but disappointing end of the month saw us lose a position in the league table to Waterford Utd and fall further behind the teams in the European spots. Our patchy form was really hampering us, with us seemingly incapable to string together a run of 3 or more good results.



An important September started, as we were to play Shamrock Rovers in the Senior Challenge Cup before playing Shelbourne in the Irish League Cup final a couple of weeks after, as winning the League Cup now seemed to be our only opportunity of qualifying for the Setanta/All-Ireland Cup, which is one of the other cups necessary to win here. Hoping for a reversal of fortunes, we carried on hoping for the best...

A truly frustrating month saw us play six games altogether in both league and cups, beginning with a run of cup games.



We started off by welcoming Shamrock Rovers in the Senior Challenge Cup quarter-finals, and after a good defensive performance, we got a goalless draw. Arguably we should have won the game having had by far the better chances, yet our strikers couldn't seem to hit the target at all, and the tie was taken to a replay. We then traveled up to their ground, and with a similar tactic of concentrating more on defensive responsibilities and hope to hit them on a counter worked well for all of about 15 minutes before they went ahead. At half-time the score was 1-0, and I was very disappointed in the performance shown by the players. 3 more goals followed in the second half, and we were comprehensively beaten 4-0.

Our next game was the important Irish League Cup final against Shelbourne, and in another poor display by the team, we fell behind to a cheap goal just before half-time, and then a second with 10 minutes remaining as we pushed forward trying to find an equaliser to take the game into extra time. A disappointing performance to go along with a disappointing result, that would mean it would be at least another year before I could tick off another trophy off the list.

We played our first league game of the month, and it was the third time we had faced Shamrock Rovers in 11 days. Despite going behind shortly after the restart, the players bounced back well, Gerry Byrne seizing upon a loose ball in the box and bundling it over the line at a corner, and then Ian Sweeney put us ahead in the 73rd minute. Shamrock were unable to find a reply, and we managed to win 2-1.

Hoping that we had finally come out of our rut of form, we traveled to struggling Derry City with hopes and expectations of making it 2 wins on the bounce, however, infuriatingly the players didn't put in the performance that they had done in the previous game, rarely threatening the scores, and allowing Derry far too many chances. It was not the performance I was after, and a loss would have been more befitting of the game, such was the extent that Derry outplayed us.

Our final game of the month was against Sligo Rovers, and we welcomed them knowing that it was going to be a hard challenge. We started the game off very brightly, and looked by far the more dangerous of the two sides. Sligo went ahead midway through the first half, but we were quickly back on terms, Kalen Spillane heading in at a corner. As we pressed for a winner towards the end of the game, a 35 yard free-kick in the 90th minute won the game for Sligo as the goalkeeper completely misjudged the ball and it ended up in the back of the net.



The league table looked like this with 5 games for us left to play. Although we were comfortably mid-table, and had also achieved a higher points haul than we had last season already, I was very disappointed as we had dropped an awful lot of points. It was also clear that for us to have a chance in challenging even the top-four the following season would require some serious investment in the squad, money which the board wouldn't allow me. Ireland was also beginning to increasingly frustrate me due to the two-tier system within the league, with the professional clubs (Shamrock and Sligo), running away with the league almost every season looking back at the history, so for me to have a chance of winning the league, it appeared that I would need to be at one of those two clubs. I can see Ireland taking me a long time to do at this rate, so it might be a case of moving on to somewhere else for a while before returning to try and complete conquering Ireland...

Well done with game 200 mate! Looks like the league form isn't amazing but sure it will pick up soon!

Has been hit and miss all season, they just can't get any consistency! Gets quite frustrating after a while!

So with the season coming to an end we faced our final five games with a very slight chance of still making the European spots in the league, and with that the extra finances that would come our way. Although it was very unlikely, and we would need plenty of results to go our way, it was something that we needed to push on with and just hope that it would happen.



We began the month extremely well, with a fantastic 4-0 victory against St Pat's Athletic, going 3-0 up by half-time, goals coming from Jacques Morley and Sean Maguire grabbed two goals. After the break Sean Maguire grabbed his third and our fourth to leave the result in no doubt whatsoever and we moved onto the next game in good form and high spirits.

In our second game of the month, we traveled to Limerick hoping that our good form would continue and two goals before the break coming from Sean Maguire to grab his fourth in two games in the 11th minute, and then a Ian Sweeney goal 7 minutes before the break had the game decided before half-time. We continued to press in the second half, but were unable to extend our lead, but another good victory and another vital 3 points.

Our next game and we welcomed Shamrock Rovers to Turner's Cross. With our form having been good going into the game, there was a slight chance of an upset happening, but it was not to be. A poor touch by Johnny Dunleavy allowed them to break through the defense and open the scoring on 35 minutes before they extended their lead, grabbing another three in the second half to condemn us to a 4-0 victory, and also guaranteed that the title would be theirs.

Our penultimate game of the season saw us welcome Longford, and in a good performance, Sean Brosnan grabbed a brace, one coming either side of half-time to put us 2-0 up before they grabbed one back with 9 minutes left, making for a nervy final 9 minutes, but we managed to hold on and claim victory.

Our final league game of the season we traveled to Dundalk, with European qualification now out of our reach, but wanting our final league table position to look more respectable, we were hoping for a win. We fell behind in the very first minute, and we were unable to respond throughout the whole game, making for a very disappointing end to the season.




The final league table looked like this, and despite us improving on our position last season, and also getting a greater points haul, overall it had been disappointing, only managing to achieve one piece of silverware. A case of too many draws, and being pegged back from winning positions during the season had cost us, but hopefully with the players more experienced, they wouldn't make the same mistakes again next season, and perhaps we would be able to challenge for a European place, or possibly even the title next season.

It had been a good season for our young striker Sean Maguire and he was duly awarded the Young Player of the Year award for his performances during the season. He had been linked with numerous clubs during the season, including Shamrock Rovers and some Scottish Division One sides, but I had been able to tie him down to a new contract meaning that he would be going nowhere for next season, one that we would require him to be able to bang the goals in on a more regular basis if we were to improve.



The financial situation of the club at the end of the season was good. We were €247k in the black, and had made a profit of nearly €200k during the season. Hopefully this will mean that I will have a transfer budget and a slightly higher wage budget to play with during the season as we look at improving the squad.



Dan Murray and Brett Ormerod decided to hang their boots up at the end of the season, meaning that we would need to find adequate replacements for them in the transfer market, but with a young squad who had improved over the season, the influx of just a few new players to help provide competition and a little bit more class in key positions, next season could be a good one for us.

A busy preseason on the outgoing front saw 9 young players leave as well as 3 players from the first team squad due to them not being good enough for the squad. 4 players were brought in to increase the squad depth and quality within the squad to hopefully give us a good chance of pushing on for a Europa League spot this season.



The players that were brought in were striker Carl Finnigan, who despite being 30 still has a couple of years of playing time left in him, and will provide competition to the current strikers in the side.



The next player who was brought in was David O'Connor to replace retired Dan Murray at the back, costing €5k from U.C.D.



John Mourtney was brought in on a free from Longford to provide cover for our attacking midfield positions.



Our final signing was that of John Sullivan from relegated Drogheda Utd, who despite costing €30k will help sure up our midfield, and also provide flexibility due to the positions that he can play.



We only had two preseason games before the start of the season, both against our affiliate clubs, and despite winning both of them only by a 1-0 scoreline, the overall play was good as the new players began blending into the squad.



With all the transfer activity, the clubs finances were still in good shape, €330k in the bank and currently with €164k profit, although it is projected to be by the end of the season a profit of €53.2k and a balance of €196k.



It was important that we started the new season off on a high note, and with a tough opening month of fixtures, if we could start well, then we should be in a good position to advance from our position last year and qualify for European football.

Your finances look very good mate! Hopefully a better season for you is coming!

So the start of the season was upon us, and we needed a good start to the season to have any hopes of fulfilling our ambitions of playing European football next season. In a fairly quiet opening month we faced 4 games, with a 3 week gap due to internationals.



We began the season by travelling to Waterford Utd, and in a positive first-half display, we were 2-0 by the break, goals courtesy of Gerry Byrne and Sean Maguire. After half-time the game continued in much the same way, with us dominating possession, and it resulted in us getting a third in the 64th minute, Sean Maguire grabbing his second of the game. Waterford grabbed a late equaliser in the 81st minute, but the damage had already been done and we ran out 3-1 winners.

Our second game was against Derry City, and we continued our problem against them the same as we had last season of being incapable to beat them, and it was only due to a very late equaliser from new signing John Sullivan in the 92nd minute that we rescued a point in this game after going behind just after half-time.

Our third game of the season was our toughest game, against Shamrock Rovers. In a very good first-half performance by the team, we should arguably have been 2 or 3 goals up at half-time. Unfortunately we were only 1-0 up, thanks to a 25 yard drive from Sean Maguire. After the break, Shamrock Rovers came out all guns blazing, but it was two set pieces that let us down, both their goals coming from corners within 10 minutes of each other midway through the second half, condemning us to our first league defeat of the season despite a very gutsy performance from the players.

Our final league game of the month was against Mervue Utd and two goals in 3 first-half minutes from John Sullivan put us 2-0 up at half-time. A third goal came through Ian Sweeney with 13 minutes left to play, and we should have grabbed a fourth when Gerry Byrne grabbed the ball near the halfway line following a corner, and despite being clear through, decided to pass the ball rather than continue running which gave them an opportunity to re-organise and the attack came to nothing. Despite that, we ran out comfortable 3-0 winners to end a very pleasing opening month.



At the end of the month the league table looked like this, with Dundalk having already created a gap at the top of the table, but they had played 1 game more than most teams. We were sitting in third, at the top of a group of teams who had already managed to get 7 points, on goal difference. If we were able to continue our good form that we had shown so far, then we would be able to make that spot our own, and potentially look higher up the league as the season wore on.

Much better start to the season however Dundalk have absolutely flown out the blocks!

We moved onto our second month of league games, hoping to continue the good start we had made. This was a busier month for us with 8 games having been played, both in the league and also in the cups as well.



We began the month by welcoming bottom of the table Limerick to Turner's Cross and in a game we dominated, we were 2-0 up by the break, goals coming from David O'Connor in the 14th minute, and Gerry Byrne getting a second in the 36th minute. Unfortunately John Mourtney was injured in the first half, resulting in him missing 3-4 weeks of football, and with limited squad depth in his position, the sooner he returned the better. The second half was less entertaining, particularly after James Kavenagh was sent off for two bookable offences in the 58th minute. We held on though and claimed all 3 points with a solid 2-0 victory.

Our next game was against Longford. We traveled there with form high, and expectations of being able to take all three points. Unfortunately the curse of injuries and also missing James Kavenagh through a suspension saw us particularly lacklustre in attack, although defensively we were very strong. With a 0-0 draw looking the most likely result at half-time, thats how it finished and both teams took back a well earned point.

Our third game of the month was our first venture into the Irish League Cup for this season, and once again for the second season running we were drawn against Shamrock Rovers. In a thoroughly pleasing performance we went ahead through Carl Finnigan scoring his first goal for the club in the 18th minute. Jacques Morley extended the lead in the 60th minute and David O'Connor sealed the victory in the 78th minute to make in 3-0. It was a very good result, and we let them have very few chances throughout the match, and also managed to tuck away our chances when they fell, meaning we advanced into the third round.

Onto our second cup game in succession and we faced Fairview Rangers in the Munster Senior Cup. A professional performance saw us go 2-0 up within 10 minutes, goals from Kalen Spillane and Ian Sweeney before we consolidated and allowed some youngsters the opportunity to play some first team football. A 2-0 victory saw us advance through to the next round where we would face Douglas Hall.

Back to the league games now, and our next game was at home against league leaders Dundalk. A fantastic first-half performance saw us leading 3-0 by the break, with John Sullivan grabbing 2 within 5 minutes of each other before Sean Maguire got in on the act grabbing a 3rd in the 27th minute. Although Dundalk grabbed one back early in the second half, we never looked like being caught, and Sean Maguire restored our 3 goal lead in the 91st minute to make the scoreline a much more reflective 4-1 victory.

An away game against Shelbourne was next, who had been underperforming so far this season, so we traveled to Tolka Park with slight anxiety. Shelbourne made a good start scoring in the 11th minute, and as much as we tried, we just seemed unable to create chances. Some poor performances by some players was partly down to this, however we can't take anything away from Shelbourne who defended very well. An 89th minute penalty took the game beyond our reach, and although I was disappointed and unhappy with the performance, Shelbourne had played very well.

Back to a cup tie, and we faced Douglas Hall in the Munster Senior Cup, and a 17 minute hat-trick, either side of half-time from Sean Maguire saw us run out 3-0 victors. Having already won this cup last season, I am using it to give some of the younger players an opportunity to experience some first team football, whilst also playing some senior players as well. It has been a successful cup campaign so far, and hopefully it will continue as we move into the next round where we face U.C.C.

Our last game of the month saw us face U.C.D. back at Turner's Cross. Sean Brosnan gave us the perfect start, scoring within 2 minutes, before he had to come off injured in the 17th minute. U.C.D. pulled level on the half-hour mark and the scores at the break were 1-1. A John Mourtney goal on his comeback from injury in the 56th minute took us ahead again, and David O'Connor scored against his old club in the 77th minute to confirm the victory and make it 3-1.



At the end of a busy month, we had been playing some very pleasing football, and also showing some very good form. The league table saw us sitting in 3rd on 17 points. A much better start than we had made last season. The victories against Shamrock Rovers and Dundalk had been particular highlights of the month, and we moved forward into May with high hopes of continuing our form and consolidating our position in the league.

Much better buddy, putting together a string a good performances now!`
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We faced six games in May, including opportunities to advance in two of the three cup competitions that we faced this season. Hoping to continue the good run of form we had shown through the previous month we began it by welcoming U.C.C. to Turner's Cross in the Munster Senior Cup.



With the trophy having already been ticked off the list, it gave me an opportunity to play some of the fringe/younger players in the squad alongside some more experienced players, and they didn't disappoint. We won a penalty in the 19th minute, which Sean Maguire duly dispatched to make it 1-0. In bright start to the second-half saw Sean Maguire double our lead and his goal tally scoring his second of the game, and also his tenth of the season so far. A number of substitutions then took place, allowing more of the youngsters the opportunity of first team football and we saw the game out 2-0.

Back to the league, and we were faced with a tough game against Sligo Rovers who had been on fine form so far this season. In an action packed first-half, both sides had a number of chances, however Sligo probably deserved to be ahead. A much better second-half saw Sligo take the lead in the 59th minute through a bit of a freak goal, an intended cross looping over goalkeeper Paul White and into the top corner, before Sean Maguire took control of the game by the scruff of the neck, firstly equalising in the 63rd minute, and then putting us ahead five minutes later. He managed to complete his hat-trick with time running out in the 89th minute, seizing upon a poor backpass before rounding the keeper and slotting home into the open net. A fantastic 3-1 win saw us claim a big scalp in our push towards the European places.

A home game against Waterford Utd was up next, and in a game which we dominated, it looked as though our luck had run out as the game wore on, hitting the woodwork on a number of occasions as well as some fantastic stops from their keeper. With time running out, and a 0-0 draw looking the likely outcome, John Sullivan managed to slot home an 88th minute winner through a crowded penalty area to keep our run going.

An away game against Derry City, who had gone on an alarming slide down the table since the last time we had faced them was next up, and the difference in confidence between the two sides was more than apparent. Derry City started the game well, creating some good chances, but a penalty in the 8th minute, which Gerry Byrne converted deflated them. A second goal from Byrne 12 minutes later saw the game over practically within the first 20 minutes, and Derry rarely threatened after that. A third goal 15 minutes into the second half from Kalen Spillane put the game well and truly beyond doubt, and we ran out comfortable 3-0 victors.

Up next was a potential banana skin game against relegated Drogheda Utd in the Senior Challenge Cup at United Park. A strong team was played for the game to try and ensure that we did advance, and two first half goals was all we needed to ensure we did. John Mountney gave us the lead in the 13th minute, finishing neatly after a good run into the box, and the lead was doubled 13 minutes later by Kalen Spillane, scoring a powerful volley from a corner. Drogheda had very few chances throughout the game, and we ran out comfortable 2-0 winners.

Our final league game of the month was at home against Longford who had been having a bit of a shocker in the league so far, sitting in the relegation play-off spot. A Sean Maguire (who else!) goal in the 16th minute opened the scoring, before Longford equalised just before the half-hour mark. A second Sean Maguire goal, and his 15th of the season in 17 appearances in the 67th minute restored our advantage, and we comfortably soaked up some late pressure from Longford to ensure that victory was ours, and continued our fine run of form.



After a brilliant month, going unbeaten in all competitions we were sat in 4th place with two games in hand over 2nd place Sligo who were only 3 points above us. It had also been a fantastic month for Sean Maguire who managed to score 7 goals during the month, yet was not awarded player of the month, or even came in the top 3! If we were able to win our games in hand over the teams above us in the league, it would put us in an extremely strong position to push on and possibly even challenge for the title!

Think its fair to say this is really proving to be one hell of a season your putting together! what a month!

I know! Everything is looking good so far! Expect some more updates tomorrow as haven't got any lectures so can plow through a few months. Hopefully this form will continue!

On a completely unrelated note to the career, have just noticed after going through the January transfers on the BBC website, that Sean Maguire joined West Ham! Maybe I should let them know how good he has been for me in this!

As we moved into the mid-season break, we still had two incredibly important league games to play before we could relax for 10 days and then face some cup games. It meant that we faced 5 games during the month, which also included a friendly against our affiliate club at Douglas Hall.



Our first game of the month saw us play one of our games in hand against league leaders Shamrock Rovers. A fantastic defensive display by the team saw us greatly limit the number of chances they were able to have during the game, and we took our only real clear cut chance of the entire game, with Gerry Byrne slotting home the all important goal 4 minutes before half-time. We were really holding on in the second-half as we just seemed to be unable to keep the ball or get out of our half, but some poor finishing from Shamrock saw us take all three points.

Our next game, and our final league game for a few weeks was against St Pat's Athletic. A fierce game against our rivals saw 5 yellow cards dished out during the game. We took the lead through Sean Maguire in the 38th minute, as he finished a very nicely worked goal, and we lead 1-0 at the break. With the intention to keep the style of play up in the second half, it couldn't have started any better really, as 10 minutes in we were 2-0 thanks to a John Sullivan free-kick, scored from all of 47 metres, after he noticed the keeper off his line! We continued to look solid at the back, and look threatening when going forward, but the scores remained the same, and we continued our fine form in the league.

A friendly game against Douglas Hall was up next, and gave me an opportunity to play some of the fringe players. Unfortunately they did not perform to their best ability and saw me have to bring on some of the first team players to win the game. (I know it's only a friendly, but I really hate losing!!) Two Sean Maguire goals in the last 10 minutes, and a Johnny Dunleavey goal won the game for us, but overall it had been a poor display against much inferior opposition.

The first of our two cup games was up next as we faced Waterford Utd in the Munster Senior Cup. A brilliant start saw John Mourtney put us ahead within 60 seconds and the scores remained that way until right at the end we were awarded a penalty, which was dispatched by Sean Brosnan to give us a 2-0 victory and saw us advance to the final where we would play Limerick F.C..

Our last game of the month was against non-league Tralee Dynamos in the Irish League Cup. A very professional display by the team saw Johnny Dunleavey open the scoring after five minutes, before Sean Maguire extended our lead either side of half time and a final Declan Duffy goal in the 67th minute, scoring his first goal for the club, saw us come away with a 4-0 victory and advance through to the semi-finals.



A second month which we had gone unbeaten in, although this month we had been very fortunate in our victory against Shamrock Rovers, saw us sit in third place in the table, 3 points behind leaders Shamrock, but with a game in hand over them. Some good victories in the cups saw us progress through as well, and another cup final appearance in the Munster Senior Cup gave us a good opportunity to defend our title, but also to give some younger players the opportunity to experience a cup final.

If we were able to continue our good run of form, where we have ridden our luck from time to time, then a shot at the title was a real possibility, however still extremely unlikely, but we moved into the second half of the season full of hope and still with the chance of winning a quadruple!

Not even conceding thismonth! awseome! Your game in hand is very important!

Stringing 13 victories thats amazing. The title is there for the taking!

We have been very fortunate with some of our victories but hopefully we can keep up the good form!

So we returned to league action after a short mid-season break and faced 7 games in July altogether, including our first chance at silverware this season, and also a possibility of defending our Munster Senior Cup.



We began the month by traveling to U.C.D. and in a fantastic first-half, John Mountney gave us the best possible start by scoring within 2 minutes of the kickoff. Sean Maguire doubled our lead on 9 minutes scoring a fantastic individual effort, picking the ball up just inside their half and ghosting past 3 defenders before accurately finding the bottom corner of the net. Johnny Dunleavey then made it 3-0 with 10 minutes of the first-half remaining, and the teams went in at half time with the score at 3-0. In the second-half, I'm not quite sure what happened, but all of a sudden we seemed to forget how to defend as U.C.D. pulled one back in the 59th minute and began to look extremely threatening. They did manage to pull it back to 3-2 with 6 minutes remaining, but fortunately couldn't find an equaliser, and we extended our winning run.

Next up was the Munster Senior Cup final against Limerick. We were heavy favourites to win, particularly on the back of our recent form, and also the dire form of Limerick so far this season, who are yet to win a game in the league, and the game followed the bookies, with us running out very comfortable 4-0 winners with goals coming from Danny Murphy, Kalen Spillane, Sean Maguire and a Kevin Cuthbert own goal. It meant that we had retained the Munster Senior Cup and the fans were delighted.



Back to the league, and our next game we welcomed Shelbourne to Turner's Cross. In a tight game, Gerry Byrne managed to grab the only goal of the game in the 37th minute, however we didn't deserve to win this game and it was only down to the poor finishing by Shelbourne that they didn't score.

Another home game against St Pat's Athletic was up next, and our luck finally ran out as we went down 1-0 thanks to a goal right on the stroke of half-time. We were perhaps slightly unfortunate not to get anything from the game as we had the better chances, but we were long overdue some bad luck, and it came during this game.

Hoping to immediately bounce back from our first league loss in a long time, we traveled to Dundalk with a real chance of creating a gap between ourselves and Dundalk who were in third place with a victory here. Unfortunately a terrible performance from the players resulted in a 3-0 loss, a scoreline which flattered us on the day, and Dundalk really should have scored another 2 or 3 goals. It was a terrible performance and I was worried about the impact it would have on morale as we moved forward to what had now become a very important match against Mervue Utd.

We traveled then to Mervue Utd hoping to stop the recent poor run of results, and for much of the game we looked the better side, although we were struggling to create chances. Disaster struck in the 80th minute when Mervue took the lead, but an instant response from Carl Finnigan saw us peg them back, and the game finished 1-1, stopping the losses, but was still a disappointing result in a game that if we wanted to challenge for the title we really should have been winning.

Our final league game of the month saw us travel to Limerick who had still not won a game in the league this season. They continued with their poor form as we appeared to return to some of the slick and impressive football we had been displaying over the past few months. Sean Maguire opened the scoring for us in the 11th minute, and although we had chances, we couldn't extend the lead by half-time. The second-half began very well for us, with Christian Peters doubling our lead in the 48th minute before Sean Maguire scored his second of the game in the 63rd minute to settle the game which ended 3-0.



After a month where we had finally lost, we were still sitting in a promising position in the league in third place and three points behind the league leaders. We had also managed to open up a 10 point gap on fourth place, which could become important if we were to qualify for European football and go on another poor run of form. We had also successfully defended our Munster Senior Cup so despite some negatives during the month, overall it had been a good month, and one that we would be able to push on from and continue with our title challenge.