The highly anticipated return of the League of Ireland season is here. After last season’s nail-biting conclusion, fans eagerly awaited the new campaign during the three-month break. Chief among them were Shelbourne fans, who saw their team hoist the Premiership trophy last November for the first time in 18 years. Under Damien Duff, Shels clinched the title with a dramatic last-minute goal in Derry. Among the other title-hopefuls are Shamrock Rovers, who narrowly missed a historic fifth consecutive title last season, and are aiming to build on this strong finish. Shamrock Rovers are currently in great form in the UEFA Conference League and St Patrick’s Athletic. Newly promoted Cork City will aim for a stronger campaign than in 2023, when they suffered immediate relegation.
With the League having experienced unprecedented levels of growth in recent years, there was more attention than ever on the opening round of fixtures: attention that was amplified by Virgin Media’s deal to broadcast 36 League of Ireland games this season, putting weekly LOI football on free-to-air TV.
Shelbourne F.C vs Derry City
It was the dream start for Shels at home in their title defence. One week removed from their President’s Cup win over Drogheda, Damien Duff’s men were comfortable 3-1 victors over Derry City in a rematch of last season’s title decider. The goals came early and fast at Tolka Park, Sean Boyd’s opportunistic volley caught Brian Maher off guard, giving the champions an early lead. However, Michael Duffy quickly equalised with a header just a minute later. Before the flares in the away end had even burned out, Evan Caffrey had restored the lead for the hosts with another volley that found the bottom corner. Shels kept piling the pressure on and got their third goal before half time thanks to a Sean Boyd penalty. A power outage delayed the second half by nearly an hour. After the return, the score held fast in the second half despite chances for new signing Mipo Odubeko for Shels.
It was a less than ideal start for Derry City’s new boss, Tiernan Lynch. Lynch, working with a side that has had to replace several established players like veteran defender Patrick McEleney and star Will Patching this last winter described his team’s performance as “poor” but was optimistic that they would “get better as they spend more time together”. Damien Duff however hailed his team’s performance, particularly the two striker tandem of Boyd and Odubeko which he described as a “bloody handful” for their performances in the match
Final Score: Shelbourne 3-1 Derry City
Cork City vs Galway United
At Turner’s Cross, Cork City marked their return to the Premier Division with a 2-2 draw against Galway United. The Rebel Army started strong and took the lead through Malik Dijksteel’s long-range strike, which slipped past Brendan Clarke into the bottom corner. Galway struck back right before halftime. Patrick Hickey, utilising his towering frame, headed home a Jeannot Esua cross to level the score.
Early in the second half Greg Bolger curled a brilliant shot into the far corner of Galway’s goal to put the hosts back ahead. Both teams traded attacks, with Bolger nearly adding a second before Vincent Borden struck to equalise for the Tribesmen after Cork failed to deal with a corner properly. Borden’s volley seemed to leave the entire defence paralysed as it floated into the goal.
Final Score: Cork City 2-2 Galway United
Saint Patrick’s Athletic vs Drogheda United
The only goalless match of the weekend played out at Richmond Park. St Patrick’s Athletic played host to last year’s cup champions, Drogheda United. With cup final hero Franz Pierrot departing for the Bosnian league, Drogheda set up with a low defensive block and employed a physical playstyle that Pats struggled to overcome. The Saints entered the match having finished last season with a nine-game winning streak, revitalised under the stewardship of Stephen Kenny. Despite having 16 shots, striking the crossbar and having a goal by Zack Elbuozedi disallowed for offside, Pats were unable to break the deadlock. After the match, Stephen Kenny described the game as one his team “deserved to win”.
Conspicuously absent for the hosts was Chris Forrester, who picked up a muscle injury during preseason warmup matches. His creative flair was a sore loss for a team struggling to unlock such a rigid defence. Instead new signing Barry Baggley took his place alongside Jamie Lennon in the double pivot, and while played well, his defensive-oriented playstyle didn’t help his team’s goal scoring chances.
Outstanding for Drogheda was centre back Conor Keeley, who looked like a one man brick wall at times with how he dealt with crosses and disrupted play in the final third. Keeley, who was actually let go by Pats at the end of last season to end up back at Drogheda, played like he had a chip on his shoulder.
Despite the dominance of Pats, Drogheda manager Kevin Doherty felt his team was unfairly denied a chance to win the game when a potential penalty was not awarded by referee Neil Doyle. Doherty, who received a yellow card for his protests against the decision, said after the game that it was a “bad, bad decision that cost us”
Final Score: Saint Patrick’s Athletic 0-0 Drogheda United
Sligo Rovers vs Waterford F.C
Waterford made the trip up to the Showgrounds for the Saturday fixture against Sligo Rovers. Sligo, having lost numerous key players in the transfer window, were leaning on a slew of new signings such as winger Jad Hakiki, and Waterford’s own shot stopper, Sam Sargeant. Meanwhile Waterford bolstered their squad with signings such as Conan Noonan on loan from Shamrock Rovers and Tommy Lonergan returning to Ireland after a spell with Waterford’s sister club, Fleetwood Town.
Noonan and Lonergan both got on the scoresheet for Waterford, while Rowan Alexander sealed the win with a long-range strike. Noonan, who also took the free kick from which Lonergan scored, was described by his manager, Keith Long, as “a live wire all night” for his performance.
It was a competitive match with both sides playing open, attacking football. Hakiki also bagged a debut day goal as Sligo looked to come back late on. Cian Kavanagh, signed from Pats last winter, had a less ideal debut than the other aforementioned debutants, having a second half penalty saved by Stephen McMullen with the chance to equalise.
Final Score: Sligo Rovers 2-3 Waterford F.C
Bohemians vs Shamrock Rovers
The weekend’s headline fixture was the Dublin Derby, as Bohemians faced Shamrock Rovers before a historic crowd of 32,000 at the Aviva Stadium. Bohs proposed moving the match to Lansdowne to capitalise on the league’s growing popularity and also marked the 110th anniversary of their first meeting with Rovers.
On the pitch Bohs brought a crop of new signings, most notably Conor Parsons and ex-Premier League striker Lys Mousset. Meanwhile Rovers arrived a team in form, having beaten Norwegian side Molde in the Conference League on Thursday. In that match new signing Michael Noonan made history by becoming the youngest goalscorer in the history of European competition at just 16 years of age. The Hoops hoping they have the pieces to return to the top of the podium and reclaim the title.
Rovers created some early chances with Graham Burke forcing multiple saves out of Bohs goalkeeper James Talbot. Bohs however found the net first through Ross Tierney’s rebounding effort after a great run by Conor Parsons, and the northsiders looked the stronger side throughout the first half. They kept Rovers constantly under pressure, suffocating their back line and keeping the ball in their third of the pitch. Rovers, on the other hand, looked sluggish, as the quick turnaround from their match three days earlier seemed to take its toll. Hoops boss Stephen Bradley, remarking on his team’s slow start admitted that “thursday was still there in their legs”
No longer able to turn to the likes of Johnny Kenny and Neil Farrugia, Rovers looked to their young talent. Michael Noonan started after his heroics on Thursday, while 16-year-old Victor Ozhianvuna made his debut off the bench in the second half. It was nearly a dream debut for Ozhianvuna, a driven pass across the 6 yard box by Graham Burke fell to him but his shot was blocked off the line. On the rebound Noonan, who already has experience playing Bohs from his time with Pats, latched onto the rebound but failed to beat Talbot.
After the match, a jubilant Alan Reynolds expressed his satisfaction with the result, the Bohs manager saying he was “absolutely delighted for everyone at the club”.
Final Score: Bohemians 1-0 Shamrock Rovers
