UCD v Dundalk May 1 2023

[Martin Lawlor80]

Hoban played 90 minutes on Friday night against the drogs. I wonder if he’d be fit to play a full game 3 days later. It would be nice to see Paul Doyle get a good 30 minutes in the legs .

[magarnagle]

Very quiet on here, wonder why?

Objective was two wins this weekend and that was achieved. Not vintage but some green shoots. O'Kane coming into some form which is great to see. Disappointing to see Benson go off injured. Tough one on Saturday, Sligo one of the form teams at the moment.

[southerncomfort]

ship steadied 6/6 for the weekend , now the manager has some breathing space to sort out issues . No doubt he can if he gets time and space .

[GC.]

2 wins out of 2 is great. It has taken some of the pressure off O’Donnell. Onwards and upwards!

2 more injuries and the pitch in Oriel can’t be blamed.

Some goal by O’Kane.

[Pepsi]

6 point without playing great stuff. Still papering over cracks if we are all honest. Question has to be asked why Ryan wasnt in from the start of the season, was it bad form, was he carrying an injury or was he not exotic enough?

[Louth4sam]

Some decent individual performances but still lacking cohesion in the team. Hard to judge the performance against a very poor UCD team. Although it looked a slight improvement over past couple of games we need plenty more if we are to get Europe. We certainly looked more assured at the back with Williams returning, Davies continues to impress, O'Kane having found his mojo again in the last game, his confidence will rise further following that screamer.

Adding Doyle, Sloggett or both to this team will make a hell of a difference as we seem a little lost at times in central midfield. Might not be a bad thing that Doyle is being eased back in slowly to avoid him being injured further. We're having no luck with injuries at all this season with Benson going off.

[Louth4sam]

Question has to be asked why Ryan wasnt in from the start of the season, was it bad form, was he carrying an injury or was he not exotic enough?

Poor form in my opinion. Until last week he looked a shadow of the player that broke in to the team last season which I assume was due to confidence. He never seemed to take on his man and when he did he lost the ball. Something seemed to click last week once he got the goal and put in an amazing run following it that he over hit slightly or could have ended in another goal scoring chance. He looked a different player against UCD than the one that started against Drogheda and even aside from the goal did enough to earn his place in the first 11 back.

[magarnagle]

Question has to be asked why Ryan wasnt in from the start of the season, was it bad form, was he carrying an injury or was he not exotic enough?

Poor form in my opinion. Until last week he looked a shadow of the player that broke in to the team last season which I assume was due to confidence. He never seemed to take on his man and when he did he lost the ball. Something seemed to click last week once he got the goal and put in an amazing run following it that he over hit slightly or could have ended in another goal scoring chance. He looked a different player against UCD than the one that started against Drogheda and even aside from the goal did enough to earn his place in the first 11 back.

Agreed, no conspiracy there, so no point looking for an angle to feed your agenda Pepsi. Ryan just wasn't in form at the start of the season. Tulloch came in and started like a house on fire keeping him out. Ryan had to be patient, he came on against Shels and didn't make an impact but since the goal against Drogs and yesterday it looks like he has his mojo back which is great

[niall_hearty2000]

Very quiet on here, wonder why?

Objective was two wins this weekend and that was achieved. Not vintage but some green shoots. O'Kane coming into some form which is great to see. Disappointing to see Benson go off injured. Tough one on Saturday, Sligo one of the form teams at the moment.

I think it's honestly because unfortunately forums like this are dying out. If you think it's quiet because we won then sorry to say you're wrong. The traffic on here prior to the games is pretty much dead as well.

[magarnagle]

Very quiet on here, wonder why?

Objective was two wins this weekend and that was achieved. Not vintage but some green shoots. O'Kane coming into some form which is great to see. Disappointing to see Benson go off injured. Tough one on Saturday, Sligo one of the form teams at the moment.

I think it's honestly because unfortunately forums like this are dying out. If you think it's quiet because we won then sorry to say you're wrong. The traffic on here prior to the games is pretty much dead as well.

I'll agree with you that these types of forums are in decline, but I still believe that if had not won yesterday this thread would be a lot more active.

There are very few posters on here now capable of analysing a game, weighing up circumstances and forming a balanced opinion. Far too many jump the gun with opinions or have agenda's. No manager, coach or player should be immune to criticism but some of the nonsense on here at times is laughable. Maybe that's just the way it is now, hot takes and negativity are the in thing.

Unfortunately when you challenge the opinion you don't get anything back. They move onto the next thread in the same vein

[Louth4sam]

I'll agree with you that these types of forums are in decline, but I still believe that if had not won yesterday this thread would be a lot more active.

Of course it would. I read a stat somewhere where people are 50% more likely to leave a bad review than a good one so surely this is also true for a football forum. I'd also agree with Niall that the threads between games are in decline too which is sad as I really enjoy this forum for debate and chat over social media.

[mike]

Great win, great weekend overall with 6 points out of a possible 6.

I was worried at 1-0 even though we were far the better side, what a way to win it by young Ryan, has to be up there with league GOTM contender even on day 1 of the month.

Unbeaten in 4 and 2nd win on the trot, but Sligo will be a much different / harder task on Sat night, would take a draw now to keep the momentum going in the lead up to Cork at home. Ps our defeat away to them looking very poor now, was that the game we had no shots on target ? They were hammered last night.

[holidaysong]

Yeah that was the one with no shots on target and only one shot overall (I think).

Decent win but I never felt comfortable while it was 1-0 and the crowd as a whole was getting very nervy. The highlights online didn't show the disallowed goal which I'd love to see again. How did it look on the replays for those watching from home?

The middle of the table is so congested. Now that they've found their groove, it certainly looks like Rovers will streak ahead, with Derry as the other cert for top 3. I missed the first 15 minutes but watched the rest of their match when I got in from Belfield and they've got too much quality and depth not up be 2 of the top 3.

That leaves Bohs who have Rovers up next. Overall you'd have to still assume that they'll get pulled back into the mix at some point. In which case 3rd place comes up for grabs. At this point though, I'd probably bite your hand off for 4th (even though that's where we currently sit) and hope that it's enough for Europe.

There is such a general lack of consistency in the league that it'll be ups and downs until the end of October.

Controversial but even though I was there for the O'Kane finish, I preferred the first Rovers goal. I think it would pip him for GOTM due to being a better 'team goal'.

[Martin Lawlor80]

I can’t speak for others but I’ve been put off commenting on the forum due to our indifferent form. When we loose or scrape a point I’m too depressed to bother posting and I actually don’t look forward to games anymore. We’re not playing well and I fear for us in nearly every game. I think that could be part of the reason why the forum is quiet mid week.

Back to the UCD game. No comments on this but SOD started the game with Ryan on the left , Tulloch in the no 10 roll and Yili Kokko on the right. Anybody notice this? I don’t think it was working and we went more orthodox mid way through 1st half . Strange set up to start I thought.

[superman]

I can’t speak for others but I’ve been put off commenting on the forum due to our indifferent form. When we loose or scrape a point I’m too depressed to bother posting and I actually don’t look forward to games anymore. We’re not playing well and I fear for us in nearly every game. I think that could be part of the reason why the forum is quiet mid week.

Back to the UCD game. No comments on this but SOD started the game with Ryan on the left , Tulloch in the no 10 roll and Yili Kokko on the right. Anybody notice this? I don’t think it was working and we went more orthodox mid way through 1st half . Strange set up to start I thought.

Ha, the exact same. When Dundalk is playing poorly, the last thing I want to do is read about it and how other clubs are doing so well. I don't love the misery that much.

Happy with that result - kind of. UCD is a real bogey team for us. It's massive for O'Kane to find his scoring boots, especially for himself. In modern football, wingers need to be chipping in with goals. Sligo and Cork are next. While Sligo are a good team, the next four fixtures after that will be really tough, so it is pretty important to get at least 4 points from those two games.

Its disappointing that Elliot is struggling with fitness. It would have been good to see him try and prove himself with Hoban missing. Unless he gets back and shows something, getting a new striker in on loan or on a deal becomes the main focus for the summer transfer window. Freddy Draper would have been ideal in the winter instead of Elliot. Rumour is his loan is being cut short at Drogheda to return to Lincoln. Going forward in games, we aren't flowing as I guess we all would like. Its hard to put the exact finger on it because it feels like the talent is there but relying too much on someone doing something magical instead of having a solid pattern of build-up. Hoban playing changes it, and maybe if we got Benson into midfield, but it's an area that can be improved.

If Mueller can sharpen up, that would make a massive difference to us. Again, he's a player not really taking advantage of the situation. I would be hesitant to condemn him and the other young lads. It's really their first senior season, hopefully, they can grow out of it and realise there are no breaks in the men's game and you have to be at it for the whole 90.