Back in ireland for the easter and in Dublin till Sunday morning so as I was at a loose end tonite myself and 2 former work colleagues decided to head out to Tallaght stadium for Rovers and UCD.
It was my first time out here so I did not really know what to expect
The stadium itself is a lovely little ground, with good facilities regards parking, grub and the jax,
There is a decent family section in the main stand that was well populated with a all age groups and the rovers crew made a decent racket throughout over the other side
There is something I always admire about LOI followers, they are an honest bunch, there is no airs and graces and never a smell of a bandwagon about this crowd, as we took our seats about 6 rows back from the UCD dugout i had to laugh as two of what must have been UCD squad memebers in team tracksuits in front of me were discussing the leinster and munster game and a man on the other side was trying to explain to his 2 kids that UCD was a university that rich people went to,
the game which ended in a nil all draw was a tense affair, UCD played some lovely football, Ciaran Kilduff their center forward is a good player and their center midfielder Gary Bolger had a brilliant game in the center of the park,reminded me of Wes Hoolahan the night I saw him for Shels against Deportivo in 2004.
What little chances there were on the night were created by UCD, Rovers were poor, they really miss Gary Twigg up front, Graham Barrett is not suitable at all,
Billy Dennehy out wide offered something and ollie cahill when he came on had potential.
I worry for them at the back, Dan Murray was skinned by Kilduff a number of times, I know pat Sullivan was out tonite but the rovers back 4 looked very static, Rice tried hard in the middle of the park but the UCD lads were too skilful for them.
The tension in the ground as rovers could feel the game slipping was ferocious, Michal O neil has the look of a man under pressure and the crowd let him know at the end,
The thing about LOI crowds is that there are never any “fine day men” present, these people live and breath the game and u could really see it meant something to them, the 30 or so lads following UCD deserve a pat on the back also…
Judjjing by the queues at half time to buy tickets for the Bowes match next week id imagine it could be quite an affair.
Overall it was a good night, and for 15 quid I cant really complain, I was willing rovers to score at the end due to the crowd around me as it would have sent them home happy but UCD were worth the point.
It’s a pity more don’t go to these games but you know sometimes its like outsiders aren’t welcome at these events, maybe they would loose some of their allure, I dont know, but surely for a so called nation of sports lovers it’s pretty sad that the event on the box tonite was what had people talking.
I cant see it changing in the near future to be honest.
Bohs will beat Rovers next week
