IT’S that time of the year when the annual gongs for the domestic game are imminent so we’ll enter the realm of opinion ourselves by awarding virtual accolades.
Last Sunday’s FAI Cup final concluded a season that kicked off last February, delivering what many expected predictable outcomes at both ends of the table in each division.
Shamrock Rovers and Cork City, considered the two strongest brand names in the country, prevailed in the respective title races, at least starting to redress the geographical imbalance created by the lack of a Munster top-flight team for the first time in a century.
Premier Division Player of Year - Rory Gaffney (Shamrock) Rovers)
For all-round consistency, the Tuam native Reigns Supreme. Alternative candidates such as Hoops teammate, goalkeeper Alan Mannus, as well as defender Mark Connolly, who began on loan at Dundalk and ended with an FAI Cup medal for Derry City, have claims but the 15 goals of Gaffney give him the Edge. They came in various competitions too.
Whenever the archive of Rovers’ first three-in-row since the 1980s, Gaffney’s volleyed winner against Shelbourne will glisten. So too will grabbing the equaliser against Gent in the Conference League group phase.
First Division Player of the Year - Aaron Bolger (Cork City)
Make of it what you will that none of champions’ team made the three nominees as voted by their peers on the pitch but Bolger what monumental. The midfield dynamo started 31 of City’s 32 league games, acting as the screen in front of defence, breaking up play and initiating Attacks.
His first goal since reuniting with his former Ireland underage coach Colin Healy last year was impressive for execution and importance – sealing a 2-1 comeback win at Athlone Town at a juncture in June when Galway United were firmly in the running for the crown.
Manager of the Year - Stephen Bradley (Shamrock Rovers)
Probably the toughest category. Budget has to be factored in when measuring success, heightening the case for those who prosper on a shoestring. Tommy Barrett, operating with a fully amateur squad, succeeded in guiding Treaty United to the playoffs of the First Division well ahead of schedule.
Colin Healy too deserves credit for learning from last year’s mistakes to lead the table from the front but given the strain caused by his son Josh’s acute lymphocyticleukemia diagnosis, StephenBradley’s hat-trick accomplishment is enhanced.
Young Player of the Year – Phoenix Patterson (Waterford)
Applying the criteria of 23 years of younger, a multitude of contenders arise.
Any member of the Ireland U21 team that reached the Euro playoff, including Brian Maher and Andy Lyons, are worthy of Inclusion. Likewise Alex Murphy, the Galway United 17-year-old whom Newcastle United shelled out a six-figure fee for in the summer. Shelbourne’s Stephen Negru came late to the party too. All that said, Patterson’s 23-goal contribution to Waterford’s drive towards the playoff final and FAI Cup semi elevates him to a different tier. You get the sense that their new owner, Fleetwood Town benefactor Andy Pilley, won’t be allowing the prize asset to escape their portfolio.
Recruit of the Year – Andy Lyons (Shamrock Rovers)
Jack Byrne’s return to Tallaght was deemed a masterstroke until injuries punctuated his fitness but the latest recruit snared from Bohemians, Lyons, was consistent throughout.
Ruairi Keating at Cork, joint top-scorer with Barry Coffey by the end, as well as Sligo Rovers sharpshooter Aidan Keena share his company for candidates but the fact Blackpool shelled out €250,000 for the wing-back underscored the value Rovers accrued over the year.
Goal of the Year – Michael Duffy (Derry City v Bohemians)
Screamers by long-range specialists Matt Healy and Will Patching for Cork and Derry City respectively carry credentials, similar to a wondergoal by Treaty’s Jack Lynch against Athlone Town in June, but Duffy’s technique for the one he rasped while the ball was bobbling along the 18-yard line is Superior.
European Moment of the Year:
Having scalped fancied Slovenian side Mura over two legs in the second round of the Conference League, St Patrick’s Athletic went one better by beating CSKA Sofia away in the first leg through Serge Atakayi’s late strike. Suspect refereeing didn’t help their cause as they narrowly crashed out at their temporary home of Tallaght, where Rovers stitched together an incredible run of four straight wins on the way to Conference League participation. Beating Shkupi away to guarantee passing that watershed is the lingering memory.
Underwhelming Plotline of the Year:
This time last year, Stephen O’Donnell had rocked the game by walking out on St Patrick’s Athletic for Dundalk within three days of lifting the FAI Cup.
Grudge matches were predicted this year but bar from one touchline spat with his former coach Alan Mathews, friction was non-existent. Still, court threats do hang over O’Donnell from his former employer Garrett Kelleher.
Concerning Plotline of the Year:
The scourge of alleged match-fixing hasn’t gone away. Two series of Garda raids, under Operation Brookwood, took place in May and September, ascending the number of arrests to 14. “The Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB) of An Garda Síochána carried out a day of action in relation to alleged match-fixing in the League of Ireland,” they said two months ago. “This operation stems from an investigation carried out by detectives attached to the Anti-Bribery & Corruption Unit in 2019 following reports of suspected match-fixing received from the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) and Union of European Football Associations (Uefa).” One to watch and cringe over in 2023.
International success of the Year:
Not so much Irish as Stephen Kenny relies on talent from abroad but the season began with Rovers captain Pico Lopes being eased back into club action after representing Cape Verde at the African Nations Cup. In the summer, Sligo Rovers’ supremely gifted defender Nando Pijnaker was a regular for New Zealand in their World Cup quest, which marginally came up short in the playoffs against Costa Rica.
Welcome Development of the Year:
Confirmation last week of a minimum wage introduction for both full-time (€430 per week) and part-time (€130) players was long overdue. Nevertheless, implementation and enforceability were the subjects soon turned too, especially when various clauses exists. That UCD wants depend heavily on the educational allowance after retaining their top-flight status highlights the jagged edges attached to the scheme.
Derry’s billionaire benefactor bullish about catching Rovers
Can anyone stop a duopoly of Hoops and Stripes in next year’s League of Ireland?
Derry City are still celebrating Sunday’s FAI Cup success but Philip O’Doherty, the local businessman who hit the jackpot by selling his engineering business to a US giant Vertiv, is seeking the holy grail of a first title since 1997.
That hinges on outperforming – but vitally outspending – a Shamrock Rovers club €4m richer from their European progress this year and chasing a fourth title on the spin.
“We’re coming for the league next year,” warned O’Doherty. “People might think we’re arrogant saying that but we have to be ambitious.
“We have to be ambitious as a city but we certainly have to be ambitious for what we want this club to be. Saying it out publicly could be the right or wrong thing but it’s the truth.”
That scent of success is natural on the back of 20,000 fans trekking an eight-hour round trip for Sunday’s mauling of Shelbourne at Aviva Stadium.
Expectations have skyrocketed following the first full season of Ruaidhrí Higgins and his assistant Alan Reynolds at the helm but bridging and overcoming the 13-point buffer between the top two will require significant personnel reinforcements.
“Basically, we’re doing a bit of brainstorming,” O’Doherty added to the Derry Journal.
“Ruaidhrí and ‘Rennie’ will come up with a plan and I just have to put the finances together for it.”
Sounds ominous for the other eight top-flight teams.
Carusa stakes claim as Ireland’s Plan B solution
Kyra Carusa may reflect on her 27th birthday as the turning point in becoming Ireland’s poacher extraordinaire.
Vera Pauw entrusted Heather Payne throughout the successful World Cup qualifying campaign with the role of sole striker, a responsibility she performed gusto.
Although the Ballinasloe woman’s pace was the ideal outlet for the Irish against better opposition, Payne developed her reputation as a winger. One solitary goal from 30 caps illustrates that her strengths rest elsewhere.
As Ireland prepare for next summer’s World Cup, and attempt to turn qualification into regular rather than rare occurrences, sourcing a finisher to seize upon the few chances in close contests is paramount.
Whereas they once had Rianna Jarrett, Leanne Kiernan and Amber Barrett as conventional strikers, only the latter – as exemplified in Scotland last month – is still around capitalising on opportunities.
Carusa is another option and one attuned to Champions League levels from her Danish club HB Koge. Her deft header to complete the 4-0 rout over Morocco on Monday attested to her poacher’s instincts and the friendlies looming in February and April are windows to solidify her place.
“For my birthday, there was nothing more that I could ask for than to be back from injury, buzzing and putting the ball in the back of the net,” said the American-born forward.
Nobody is suggesting the undroppable Payne should be ditched; rather Carusa’s ascension offers formation flexibility for when questions are asked by opponents at the top table.
john.fallon@examiner.ie
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