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June 22, 2022 | News | No Comments
IRELAND INTERNATIONAL CONOR Hourihane scored the only goal, as Aston Villa beat Norwich 1-0 in the Premier League today.
The Cork native replaced Marvelous Nakamba in the 56th minute and struck the winner eight minutes later.
More to follow
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June 21, 2022 | News | No Comments
EVERTON BOSS CARLO Ancelotti has admitted Liverpool chose wisely when they rejected him in favour of making Jurgen Klopp manager in 2015.
Ancelotti will experience his first Merseyside derby in an FA Cup third-round tie at Anfield on Sunday.
The experienced Italian could have been on the other side of the divide had Liverpool selected him as Brendan Rodgers’ successor just over four years ago.
Ancelotti held talks with the Reds but conceded they were right to appoint Klopp, who has led the club to Champions League glory and a commanding position atop the Premier League.
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“It was after [leaving] Real Madrid, I had a chat with the owner,” Ancelotti told a news conference.
“They were looking for a new manager but I think they made the right choice with Jurgen. He is doing fantastic work at Liverpool, so well done. He has created a fantastic team and fantastic players.
“They are, in this moment, in a really good shape, really good condition, but we must not think a lot about the opponent.”
Everton last visited Liverpool in December and lost 5-2, a result that proved the end for Marco Silva.
The Toffees have not won at Anfield in any competition since 1999, but Ancelotti got the better of Klopp in a Champions League encounter while in charge of Napoli earlier this season and hopes to deliver an upset for his new club’s supporters.
“I know how Evertonians would like this and we have the same dream, to beat Liverpool at Anfield,” he said.
“It is a dream for us and an opportunity, so we will try. Usually there is a big rivalry when you have two teams in the same city. It was the same in Milan and Rome when I was there and I know how the supporters are excited to beat their rival.”
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June 21, 2022 | News | No Comments
JOHN DEMPSEY DIDN’T really know what he had signed up for.
Born and raised in London, he claims the decision to play for Ireland instead of England was an easy one. Yet he could be forgiven a few doubts as he boarded a plane for Dublin, not sure who would be there to greet him when he turned up for his first Ireland training session. The squashed dressing rooms he found in Phibsboro were a world away from the glitz and glamour of playing for Chelsea, but a love for Irish football soon blossomed.
More of that later, but first there is a major milestone to address. It is fast approaching 50 years since John Dempsey achieved his boyhood dream.
Old Trafford, April 1970. Chelsea 2 Leeds United 1.
Chelsea’s first FA Cup win is one of the most iconic in the competition’s storied history. The first game resulted in a bruising 2-2 draw in front of 100,000 spectators at Wembley. A record TV audience of 28 million tuned in to watch an equally physical replay which was eventually decided by a David Webb winner in extra-time.
“I’ve got old videos of the replay and sometimes I do look at it or see certain things on YouTube which bring back all those memories, and then it feels like only yesterday,” Dempsey says in a thick yet gentle London accent.
“The FA Cup was a big thing for me as a young boy. My Dad used to take me to watch football from the age of six. We used to go and watch Chelsea one week and then the following week we’d go watch Fulham because they were local. That was kind of the done thing. Football was in me from day one as such.
“When I seven or eight and playing with my mates in the park, your dream was to play just once in an FA Cup final. The fact of actually being involved in an FA Cup final with of those teams, which was the biggest thing at that time, meant a lot. It wasn’t about winning the league back then; it was getting to the cup final for the big day out.”
There were household names dotted all over the Chelsea team. The London club had Peter Bonetti in goal, John Hollins and Charlie Cooke in midfield, and Peter Osgood – who achieved the rare feat of scoring in every round of Chelsea’s cup win – up front. While remembered for their stylish approach to the game, Chelsea’s defence was as mean as it got, and even alongside a granite character like Ron ‘Chopper’ Harris, Dempsey, who signed for Chelsea from Fulham in 1969, stood out as a tough, hard-hitting defender.
He remembers facing a Leeds team who, while not shy of a tackle themselves, were equally comfortable in possession.
“Johnny Giles was in midfield for Leeds with Billy Bremner, and they were such an outstanding pair. Both were tough little individuals who put their foot in, and it didn’t matter if they went over the top of the ball or not. They were strong players. But Johnny Giles was also very skillful, a very good passer of the ball, and he could read the game so well and intercept balls. He was non-stop for 90 minutes and covered so much ground. A very difficult player to contend with. And then Bremner alongside him as well? You can imagine it. They had such a good team.”
Dempsey (second left), Peter Osgood (third r) and Peter Houseman (r) celebrate Chelsea’s winning goal against Leeds as Jack Charlton (second right) looks on
Source: PA Archive/PA Images
The launch of Match of the Day in 1964 and England’s World Cup win in 1966 heralded the emergence of the English’s game’s first real superstars. By the time Dempsey was cementing his place in that great Chelsea side of the early 1970s, Kevin Keegan was starting to make his name at Liverpool, Francis Lee was leading the line for Manchester City and Jimmy Greaves was still banging goals in for Tottenham Hotspur.
Yet one man was a cut above the best.
“George Best was only about 5’8″, but the thing is he could use both feet,” Dempsey explains.
“That made him very difficult to mark. If he had his back to you, you stood a chance, but once you let him turn and run at you, you had a major problem because you never knew which way he was going to go, left or right.
Chelsea had their own share of superstars, and winning the FA Cup only added to the aura of glamour that had attached itself to the club. The swinging ’60s had just pulled down the blinds on a decade of decadence and debauchery, but being a stone’s throw from the vibrant scene found along the King’s Road helped the West London club retain a certain level of chic.
“You had teams at the opposite end of the county, like Leeds for example, where it was more, ‘Have a cigarette and go to the pub.’ Completely different to what the King’s Road scene would have been like. You had all the fashion there, so it was all flared trousers and God knows what else.
Dempsey tracks Leeds United’s Mick Jones in 1970 FA Cup final replay
Source: S&G and Barratts/EMPICS Sport
“For us it was about playing football… but yeah, we had lots of famous people who used to come and watch Chelsea play because of where we were in London. Michael Caine would come, Steve McQueen came over from America, Michael Crawford was a big Chelsea supporter. Richard Attenborough was a director at the club. Eric Sykes, the comedian, Arthur Askey was in loads of films around the ’60s. Different people like that. That gave us a connection to the whole showbiz side.”
Dempsey’s international career could hardly have been further removed.
His first cap came during his time with Fulham. While expecting a call-up to the England U23s, an approach came from the across the Irish Sea, and Dempsey would soon become one of the first players to line out for Ireland under the ‘Granny Rule’. While the green jersey brought nowhere near the level of success he enjoyed at Chelsea, Dempsey says he never had any regrets about his decision to play for Ireland.
“My mother was from Kildare and my father from Waterford, but I was born in Hampstead in London. So that was the connection, and in those days it was probably a strange thing (to be born in England but play for Ireland), but it did start to become a thing around then. I was happy with the decision.”
His loyalty would soon be tested. With extremely limited resources, the Ireland set-up was a very different environment to what Dempsey knew from Fulham and Chelsea.
“We had professional players coming over from England, players like Jimmy Conway, Eamonn Dunphy, Don Givens, Shay Brennan, Johnny Giles, Tony Dunne, myself, but the thing was you weren’t sure who was going to turn up because people might be injured or whatever. Then we also had League of Ireland players, at the time it was Shamrock Rovers, Bohemians, Limerick and a few others.
“You didn’t know those players at all really until you joined up with Ireland. It wasn’t a wholly professionally team, it was a mixture of League of Ireland and players based in England. Then when there were injured players, they had to build up by getting more League of Ireland players in. It wasn’t very professionally run.”
The trips became easier when Dempsey’s Chelsea team-mate Paddy Mulligan, himself a graduate of the League of Ireland, also joined the Ireland team.
“Paddy was such a nice fella. An outstanding full-back, always getting forward and a good crosser of the ball. Being Irish himself he knew much more about the League of Ireland players and that side of things. We became room-mates and were quite close. He still comes over to Chelsea occasionally and I’ll see him there. ”
Paddy Mulligan and Johnny Giles during an Ireland training session
Source: PA Archive/PA Images
Given the make-up of the team, expectations were low throughout Dempsey’s international career. Ireland picked up just one point from six games in their 1970 World Cup qualifying campaign, and a 2-1 win against Iran at the Brazil Independence Cup – a tournament to mark the 150th anniversary of Brazilian independence – in June 1972, represented a first win since November 1967. In the middle of that 19-game winless run, Dempsey became the first Ireland player to receive a red card after he threw the ball at the referee during the first-half of a 4-0 loss away to Hungary. Fifty years later, he still protests his innocence.
Despite the lack of results on the pitch, Dempsey’s memories mainly focus on the raucous atmosphere’s that greeted the team at Dalymount Park.
“You noticed the difference because it wasn’t the biggest crowds like Stamford Bridge or Old Trafford or wherever, it was completely different, but the atmosphere was always really, really good. I enjoyed playing there and playing for Ireland.
“I played under Johnny Carey, then Noel Cantwell, Liam Tuohy, Mick Meegan. They were all different in their own way. Noel Cantwell was a tough sort of person, obviously an ex-Ireland player as well. They were all really nice men, but it was tough for them because of the situation.
“It became difficult for us in games because we were playing against a lot of international teams who were really well-drilled and well-coached. Not many teams we played against had a bunch of semi-professionals like us.
“We had League of Ireland players who were only training twice a week, and so they obviously would get tired quicker. That did come into it at times, where we would look drained of energy and that allowed teams to put pressure on us.
“Even though those League of Ireland players would never stop running, coming up against teams that were just so quick and had players with these great skills, it was completely different to what we had as a team. But everyone gave 100%, and I think we all found it an exciting time, whether you were based in England or were a League of Ireland player.
“There were loads of good League of Ireland players, they gave 100% and so did we, and in the end we became a team. We didn’t think about it as us and the League of Ireland players, even though results weren’t great and to win a match was a big thing really. If we lost, we lost as a team.
Dempsey’s Chelsea club photo from 1970
Source: PA Archive/PA Images
“It was hard. But the other thing was the association probably didn’t have the money to give us the best training facilities or improve the ground or whatever. We just accepted it.”
Dempsey admits that despite their semi-professional status, he was struck by the quality of the squad’s League of Ireland contingent.
It made a lasting impression. Dempsey’s Chelsea career ended in 1978, and following a two-year spell with Philadelphia Fury, he trickled down the leagues in England.
Then, in 1983, the phone rang.
“I was at Maidenhead, then I was player/manager at Egham, and someone in Dundalk found out I was with them and they gave me a call,” he explains.
“They asked if I would be interested in coming over to be player/manager.”
Dempsey was in the mood for a fresh challenge.
“The League of Ireland was another world completely. We were only training a couple of nights a week, and that was difficult because we had some players living in Dublin too. That was a bit of a headache. Teams like Shamrock Rovers and Bohemians had everybody all together for training, but two-thirds of our team were in Dundalk and the rest were down in Dublin training on their own.
“They were really nice people in Dundalk, all the supporters I met were nice people. It would be wrong to say it wasn’t 100% professionally run because you could see everyone was doing their best for the club, but it was just so difficult. We would train on the pitch and then it might be cut up for the games as a result. But that was the way it was for most teams, so we all got on with it. We never thought negatively about things. It was just a case of getting on with it and doing your best, and just look at them now. Dundalk have grown into a top team, playing in Europe and doing really well. It’s great to see.
“But like any team at that time, it was tough for them financially. Their facilities were not too bad actually, particularly when you think of some the grounds we went to in the 1980s. Tiny dressing rooms where the team would barely fit inside, but clubs didn’t have the money to improve things.”
His stay in Dundalk was brief but eventful. Following some run-ins with referees and a dip in results which saw Dundalk slip from third to eighth, his two-year contract was ended early by mutual consent. Fans would later pass a vote of ‘no confidence’ in the board following the decision.
It proved to be Dempsey’s last job in football, as he decided to dedicate his time to working with people with special needs at a care centre in London.
Now retired, the 73-year-old continues to cast a critical eye over Chelsea and Ireland, mainly from the comfort of his couch.
Yet every now and then he steps back into the limelight. His status as a Chelsea legend was rubber-stamped thanks to a fine goal in a 2-1 win over Real Madrid in the 1971 European Cup Winners’ Cup final – Chelsea’s first European trophy – and he is regularly invited back to Stamford Bridge as a guest of the club.
“We drew the first game against Real 1-1 and the replay had to be two days later,” he recalls.
“A lot of the fans weren’t prepared for that, so they had to go back to London because they couldn’t afford to stay on.
“It was unbelievable really. Charlie Cooke took the corner and the ball just dropped right to me around 18 yards out. Ninety times out of 100 that ball could go anywhere, but luckily it went into the roof of the net. As a defender, to score a goal like that in a European final against Real Madrid, I knew I’d remember that for the rest of my life. Real Madrid were the team at the time.
Dempsey is regularly invited back to Stamford Bridge as a guest of the club
Source: EMPICS Sport
“We came back the next day, a bus picked us up at Heathrow and brought us back. It was the same when we had won the FA Cup the year before. That time a bus brought us from Euston Station all through the streets of London up to Kensington, into Fulham and back to Chelsea. Both times there were thousands of people out in the streets and that’s when you realise what you’ve achieved, you know?
“Gosh, great memories…”
For the first time in our long conversation, Dempsey pauses.
Recent events have ensured some of the emotions of that time remain close to the surface. Earlier this month he was introduced at half-time during Chelsea’s defeat of Nottingham Forest at Stamford Bridge, as the club marked 50 years since the start of that milestone FA Cup winning campaign. Dempsey was joined on the pitch by old team-mates John Hollins, ‘Chopper’ Harris, Tommy Baldwin and Marvin Hinton, and while he enjoyed catching up with some old friends, those absent loomed just as largely in his thoughts.
“Peter Osgood’s ashes are in an urn under the penalty spot in front of the Shed End,” he continues.
“When we went out on the pitch for the Forest game, it all comes back flooding back. It becomes quite sad in some ways, but in other ways you’re happy. It’s a hard feeling to explain. The emotions all hit home when you step out there.
“Like I said, I started going to Chelsea with my father when I was six, and the biggest crowd I saw there was over 75,000. A few years later I was playing on that pitch in front of crowds of 60,000. When I go there now, it still feels like the same place despite the smaller capacity and how modern it is. And they still play ‘Blue is the Colour’, which we recorded in 1972. It’s amazing really. That always brings back memories.
“Sometimes I look down and think to myself, ‘Wow, I played on that pitch.’”
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June 18, 2022 | News | No Comments
IRELAND UNDERAGE INTERNATIONAL Anthony Scully has joined League One outfit Lincoln City on a permanent deal from West Ham.
The 20-year-old has been in fabulous scoring form for the Hammers’ U23s since making the switch from midfield to striker — bagging 14 goals and five assists in 16 appearances in the Premier League 2 and EFL Trophy this term.
Scully’s performances saw him earn the Premier League 2 Player of the Month award for September, while he was also nominated the following month.
A son of Dubliner Tony Scully, who played for a raft of clubs in England including Manchester City, QPR and Cambridge United, the London-born youngster has now signed up with the Imps on an 18-month contract.
The forward is capped for Ireland up to U19 level.
Source: Georgi Dimitrov/INPHO
At Sincil Bank, he will have fellow Irish players Conor Coventry (also on loan from West Ham), Zack Elbouzedi, Cian Bolger and Lee Freklington as team-mates.
Lincoln City currently sit 14th in the third tier of English football.
Scully has been capped at U19 for the Republic of Ireland and although he was called up to the U21 squad for the most recent qualifiers by Stephen Kenny, he has yet to make his debut at that level.
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June 17, 2022 | News | No Comments
REAL MADRID WERE knocked out of the Copa del Rey on Thursday as Martin Odegaard put on a creative masterclass against his parent club to lead Real Sociedad to a thrilling 4-3 victory.
Madrid conceded as many goals in 69 minutes as they had in their last 11 matches, torn apart at the Santiago Bernabeu by an electric La Real side, who deservedly advanced to the semi-finals.
Odegaard, on loan from Real Madrid but allowed to face his own club, scored the opener before the superb Alexander Isak hit two to give Real Sociedad a remarkable 3-0 lead.
Marcelo and Rodrygo both scored late in the second half and while Mikel Merino also added a fourth for the visitors, a Nacho Fernandez header set up a pulsating final three minutes, in which Andoni Gorosabel was also sent off.
Ten-man Real Sociedad held on for a sensational win to progress to the last four while Madrid’s run without success in Spain’s domestic cup extends to six years.
The only consolation might have been the display of the 21-year-old Odegaard, who is beginning to live up to the hype after signing for Madrid aged 15.
On loan at Sociedad, the plan was for Odegaard to stay one more year at Anoeta but this glittering display, that earned him a standing ovation from the home fans when he went off, may well persuade Madrid to recall him early.
Their 21-game unbeaten streak comes to an end after an uncharacteristically careless performance in which a rotated side highlighted the importance of the likes of Casemiro, Raphael Varane and Thibaut Courtois.
Courtois’ replacement Alphonse Areola was at fault for at least one of the goals while Marcelo was typically unpredictable at left-back, a position the more dependable Ferland Mendy has made his own in recent weeks.
Eden Hazard is training again but the wait for his return goes on while Gareth Bale was again left out of the squad completely.
Yet Zinedine Zidane’s changes should take nothing away from Real Sociedad, who showed why they were pushing for a place in La Liga’s top four earlier this season, before a dip in form has seen them slip to eighth.
– Warning signs –
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There were early warnings as Isak sped in behind but his shot was blocked by the diving Eder Militao and from the resulting corner, the Swede was picked out with a driven cross only to skew his finish.
Isak was involved in the opener too after 22 minutes, as his effort was saved by Areola, who then failed to readjust in time to prevent Odegaard firing through his legs.
Ander Barrenetxea had only come on at half-time but nine minutes into the second half, he had set up a second.
It was the first of two goals in as many minutes as the 18-year-old’s floated cross was met brilliantly by the acrobatic Isak, who then made it three shortly after, rifling in at the near post after the ball had deflected to his feet.
Marcelo had been the defender beaten but a wild five minutes saw the Brazilian make amends as he caught Alex Remiro off guard, also at the near post, with a driven shot from the angle.
Madrid had the momentum but remained two behind with 10 minutes left after Merino tapped in for La Real before Rodrygo kept hopes of a comeback alive by finishing off a Vinicius pull-back.
Even in injury-time, victory was not safe. Nacho headed in Karim Benzema’s cross with three of the six allotted minuets left before Gorosabel was shown a second yellow card.
Sergio Ramos might even have made it 4-4 but headed straight into the hands of Remiro.
© – AFP 2020
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June 16, 2022 | News | No Comments
Dundalk 1
Derry City 0
A 79TH-MINUTE winner from Dane Massey saw Dundalk edge past Derry and secure an opening day win in tonight’s SSE Airtricity League Premier Division encounter.
A rare defensive lapse from Derry allowed Massey to volley home the winner 11 minutes from time.
The Candystripes had successfully frustrated their opponents for most of the game, making the manner in which they conceded all the more galling.
Daniel Kelly had gone close on more than one occasion before the goal, while debutant Tim Nilsen missed a very good chance down the other end.
Dundalk kicked off the season amid high expectations, having won the title on five of the last six occasions.
Derry, meanwhile, were hoping to build on an encouraging campaign last year in which they secured European football by finishing fourth in the table.
They also travelled to Oriel with a total of nine new faces in their squad following a busy off-season. Last season’s top scorers Junior Ogedi-Uzokwe and David Parkhouse had both moved on, with Tim Nilsen and Walter Figueira making their first starts. Conor Clifford, Danny Lupano and Conor McCormack were also part of a new-look Derry side, with the latter handed the captain’s armband.
Dundalk had not been quite so busy in the off-season, though they still accommodated five new recruits — Darragh Leahy, Cammy Smith, Will Patching, Stefan Čolović and Greg Sloggett — in addition to having to cope with the loss of Jamie McGrath and Robbie Benson among others. Tonight, Smith and Sloggett both went straight into the starting XI, which otherwise had a familiar look to it.
Dundalk had found it difficult against Derry in recent times, drawing twice in the league last year against the Candystripes, while also picking up two wins and beating them in both the FAI Cup and League Cup. It quickly became apparent that toppling Declan Devine’s side this evening would be a similarly difficult task.
Vinny Perth’s men started brightly, with Pat Hoban heading over from a Sean Gannon cross.
There were then shouts for a penalty in the 10th minute. After being set up by Hoban, the onrushing Massey went down in the box under the challenge of Nilsen, but the referee ignored Dundalk’s protests.
The Lilywhites continued to dominate possession as the half wore on, but lacked the ingenuity in the final third to find a breakthrough. Down the other end, Nilsen and Jamie McDonagh were looking lively and threatening sporadically.
Just after the half-hour mark, Michael Duffy’s cross found Sean Gannon at the far post, but the full-back slipped and could not get a proper connection on his attempted volley.
Moments later, Sloggett beat a man in midfield, but his subsequent cross was headed to safety by Eoin Toal. From Duffy’s ensuing corner, Hoban’s header was deflected off target as the wait for the first goal of the season at Oriel continued.
For the most part, it just wasn’t clicking for Dundalk’s attack, with Derry doing well to frustrate them while offering little going forward themselves.
Dundalk’s Dane Massey with Daniel Lupano of Derry City
Source: Morgan Treacy/INPHO
Dundalk went close just after the break. Duffy’s cross was only half cleared, with Daniel Kelly firing just wide from the edge of the box.
Then, in a near-identical situation on 51 minutes, a corner fell to Kelly and his powerful shot was deflected onto the post.
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Moments later, Derry missed the game’s best chance up to that point. McDonagh escaped the attentions of Massey, and his cross picked out Nilsen, but the Norwegian attacker’s header could have been better executed, with Gary Rogers able to get a hand to keep it out.
Just before the hour mark, a stray backpass from Conor Clifford put Kelly through on goal, but Conor McCormack was alert to get back and make the tackle, sparing his fellow midfielder’s blushes in the process.
Shortly thereafter, Cammy Smith’s long-range effort forced Peter Cherrie into an acrobatic save, as the pressure on Derry’s goal intensified.
But then, after that brief flurry, the match quietened down again.
As full-time approached, Duffy was starting to see plenty of the ball. Teenage defender Danny Lupano — signed on loan from Hull in the off-season — had kept the winger relatively quiet. However, the former Celtic man did find space for a shot on 70 minutes, but Cherrie got down well to make the save.
Just as the game looked to be heading for a scoreless draw, Dundalk broke the deadlock out of nothing.
Substitute Jordan Flores put in a dangerous corner and lax defending allowed Massey to volley home virtually unmarked, with Cherrie only able to help it into the net.
Derry went all-out attack amid a frantic finish. There was still time for Rogers to keep out Ally Gilchrist’s close-range attempt after a free kick was launched into the box in the dying seconds.
Dundalk: 1. Gary Rogers 2. Sean Gannon 21. Dan Cleary 4. Andy Boyle 14. Dane Massey 6. Chris Shields 10. Greg Sloggett (Flores 72) 23. Cammy Smith (Patching 75) 27. Daniel Kelly (Hoare 87) 7. Michael Duffy 9. Pat Hoban.
Subs: 20. Aaron McCarey 3. Brian Gartland 4. Sean Hoare 6. Jordan Flores 15. Darragh Leahy 27. Lido Lotefa 18. Will Patching
Derry: 1. Peter Cherrie, 3. Ciaran Coll 4. Ciaron Harkin (Mallon 83) 6. Eoin Toal 7. Jamie McDonagh, 9. Tim Nilsen 10. Walter Figueira (Liddle 77) 16. Conor Clifford (Malone 63) 21. Danny Lupano 22 Conor McCormack 23. Ally Gilchrist
Subs: 13. Nathan Gartside 2. Colm Horgan 11. Adam Liddle 17. Moussa Bakayoko 19. Steven Mallon 24. Mark McChrystal 29. Jack Malone.
Referee: Neil Doyle
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June 15, 2022 | News | No Comments
“VERY BRAVE,” IRELAND manager Vera Pauw smiled earlier this week when asked about Clare Shine opening up on her mental health struggles a little over a month ago.
“She’s very brave and I’m very proud of her, the way she came out. She let me know before that she was planning to do so, and the only thing that you can do then is support her and to be there for her if she needs me.”
The Ireland striker confided in Pauw and her Glasgow City manager, Scott Booth, beforehand, and the two bosses have been in contact since.
“I was checking up if she was doing okay, if she needed anything from me but he reassured me that she was so strong, she’s absolutely okay,” Pauw added, before offering an insight into what the Cork native can bring to the Ireland squad ahead of two crucial Euro 2021 qualifiers.
“Her playing level is going up. She could become a key player again. She is so strong in her determination to get something out of her sport and that sport is the frame in which she wants to live. That brings an extra strength to her.”
***
14 January, 2020.
Clare Shine had just finished telling her story. Her personal story. One of how she battled the devil on her shoulder head on, and emerged from her darkest hour.
One can’t imagine how difficult it was for her to open up like that, but her main reason for doing so was to help others. On the day, there were nerves but there was also a sense of excitement of what would come thereafter. That excitement shone through most as she wanted nothing more than to talk football afterwards.
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Shine is thriving at Scottish Women’s Premier League [SWPL] outfit Glasgow City once again, where she finished 2019 on a high. She scored an incredible last-minute winner in the cup final, and was central as City were crowned 13-in-a-row league champions.
The 24-year-old is thoroughly enjoying her second spell at the Scottish kingpins — she played there from 2015 to 2017, and then spent two years at Cork City before returning to Glasgow in February 2019 — and is ready for their 2020 season opener against Celtic — for whom Keeva Keenan plies her trade, though is injured — tonight [KO 7.30pm].
“It was amazing, it was,” she smiled when that late, late cup final goal was mentioned. “We hadn’t won the Scottish Cup final since I was there in 2015. It was a long four years waiting to come back to Glasgow, but finally we got there.
Shine is ready for another season at Glasgow City.
Source: Seb Daly/SPORTSFILE
“It was a long season. We had a lot of games running up to the cup final and I think it just showed a lot of character within the team. Everyone dug deep and thankfully that went into the back of the net and we were able to celebrate afterwards.
“We have Champions League in March, and trying to get the league and the two cups back with us as well. It will be a big year for us as a club and I’m looking forward to tackling that.”
With two SWPL sides going fully professional in the off-season, Shine is relishing the challenge even more so.
There’s no two ways about it; City have been remarkably dominant through the years, so there’s question marks around a possible change of landscape this season.
“The standard, it is better than here,” Shine conceded that afternoon in a Dublin hotel. “Celtic and Rangers have gone professional now, so there is a bit of money being pumped into the women’s game over there, which is only good for the league. It’s good for women’s football over there.
“There’ll be more of a competition and players will have the hunger if they’re going to be training full-time football and around each other all the time. Next season is going to be interesting and I’m really looking forward to the challenge ahead.”
She’s thoroughly enjoying life across the water, both on and off the pitch. While the first time around, she struggled mentally and with home sickness, Shine has learned from her past mistakes and set herself up nicely in her home away from home.
Through the years, she’s come to learn that football is not the be all and end all.
“I’m living with my friend, Emily, she used to play for Glasgow but she had to retire early due to injury. She did something bad to her knee and she’s just not able to play any more. It gives me a massive insight into outside football as well, that there is another life.
Shine on the ball in the Champions League last-16.
Source: Jeff Holmes
“People have jobs, people do X, Y and Z. When I signed, I actually got a job with JD and I was in there three or four days a week, which was nice. It was good, I made new friends, other friends and I really enjoyed myself to be fair.
“Our schedule with football is changing this year but last year we had Saturdays and that off, so I was able to explore and do my own thing which was nice too. This year I’m looking to start driving, so that’s my next task,” she grins.
She, more than anyone, knows that football is not sustainable in the grand scheme of things, and doesn’t go on forever, unfortunately.
Being happy is her main priority, but Shine is looking to do different events and talk about her personal journey in schools over the next while, and she’s interested in furthering her education for life after football.
“I think an education is really important for people who are coming up now,” she nodded.
“I know football is taking flight in terms of being full-time and professional and the money that’s involved in it now. There will be a lot more opportunities for young players coming through which is exciting, and exciting for women’s sport in general too.
“Personally though, I definitely would [pursue education too]. I am interested in getting a college degree in something along the lines of football and that. I want to talk about my mental health, and open that door but other than that yeah, football.”
She wants to give back, after all the sport has given her.
While soccer certainly took over in her teenage years, Shine is never too far from her Gaelic games roots. A talented camogie player, she was involved with the Cork set-up in the past and featured in an All-Ireland senior final in Croke Park in 2012.
Does she miss it?
Facing Wexford in Croke Park that day.
Source: Ryan Byrne/INPHO
“Yeah, I do,” she concedes. “It’s a completely different ball game really. It kind of came naturally to me, playing camogie. I loved every minute of it.
“I actually have a hurley over in Glasgow with me. I like to have a little puck-around so it’s nice to be able to switch off from football and have another sport to lose yourself in, let’s say. I miss it.
“The All-Ireland final that I played in was the last game that I played in camogie… I nearly broke a rib in the first five minutes — something I will never forget, that!”
“It just kind of happened,” she adds when reflecting on how she fully focused on football. There was no real decision for the Ireland underage prodigy. It happened naturally.
“Football was always something that I wanted to do long-term, and there’s only so far you can go with camogie. More opportunities and exploring, I suppose…”
In November, Shine got the chance to explore Athens with Pauw’s Ireland side ahead of their 1-1 Euro 2021 qualifier with Greece. It was a special trip for the Douglas native, as it came as her first international call-up in quite some time.
Her first since 2017 came in August ahead of the campaign opener against Montengro, but Shine was forced to withdraw from the squad through injury.
She’s named in the provisional squad ahead of the return visit of Greece and trip to Montenegro, and Shine is just delighted to be involved again and back in the mix.
“It’s amazing,” she beamed. “It has definitely changed since I was in the last time. It’s obviously something that I’ve always wanted to do and something to push towards.
“With the campaign and the results — one of them didn’t go our way — but I think this year the girls are in the right place to go ahead and get the results that we need to progress. It’s definitely something that I want to be a part of.
In Ireland training with Katie McCabe in 2016.
Source: Ryan Byrne/INPHO
“Vera has been really supportive towards me personally anyway. She’s a great person to have involved with the FAI and to be looking after us. Her knowledge of the game is incredible, and she’s just bringing that spark to women’s football in Ireland that we needed and that we’ve been waiting for. It’s exciting to see where we can go from here.”
There’s a real familiarity in the set-up with plenty of Women’s National League [WNL] players involved, and Eileen Gleeson working closely with Pauw, and Shine is delighted to be part of the wave of talent.
It’s a really exciting time for women’s football in Ireland, as the national team push on with the goal of reaching a first-ever major tournament.
And Shine wants to be there each and every step of the way, alongside those she’s enjoyed good times with in the past.
“All the familiar faces, it was nice to catch up with them,” she concluded with a smile.
“Our goal is to reach a major tournament. It is something that we will definitely do as a group. I’m fully confident in that. With the personnel that are involved in the team and in the coaching staff, we’ll definitely strive to do great things in the future.”
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June 14, 2022 | News | No Comments
Cork City 1
Finn Harps 0
DENIS HURLEY reports from Turner’s Cross.
CORK CITY GOT their first points of the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division season as Alec Byrne’s goal early in the second half proved to be the winner against Finn Harps.
An attendance of 2,367 was present at Turner’s Cross for a game that wasn’t short of excitement despite the low scoreline, with first-half injury time providing a large dose of drama.
The visitors, with four points in their opening two games, had looked the likelier to score in the opening period, with Karl O’Sullivan drawing a good save from Liam Bossin early on.
When Bossin couldn’t hold Ruairí Harkin’s 46th-minute shot, debutant striker Alex Kogler came barrelling in to turn the ball home and referee Neil Doyle initially awarded a goal, despite City protests and the fact that Bossin was prone on the ground. Following consultation with his assistant, Doyle changed his decision and awarded City a free kick, though it was another matter of minutes before Bossin was stretchered off, replaced by Mark McNulty.
In the second half, City were better, with Deshane Dalling on the left of their attack offering a creative spark as he twice went close, sending a low shot wide and then drawing a save from Mark Anthony McGinley. When a Dáire O’Connor cross led to a City corner on 55, Dylan McGlade’s delivery was headed home by Byrne.
It was nearly 2-0 just after that, O’Connor netting the rebound after Dalling’s long-range shot came back off the post, but the flag was up for offside. Kogler almost equalised for Harps midway through the second half but he was denied by a Ronan Hurley block on the line and David Webster had a late attempt for the visitors but he volleyed wide.
Cork City: Liam Bossin (Mark McNulty 45); Kyron Stabana (Charlie Fleming half-time), Joseph Olowu, Joe Redmond, Ronan Hurley; Alec Byrne, Henry Ochieng, Gearóid Morrissey; Dáire O’Connor, Dylan McGlade (Cian Murphy 88), Deshane Dalling.
Finn Harps: Mark Anthony McGinley; Shane McEleney, Kosovar Sadiki, Sam Todd; David Webster, Barry McNamee, Ruairí Harkin (Adrian Delap 90), Ryan Connolly, Mark Russell; Karl O’Sullivan (Cameron Saul 78), Alex Kogler (Raffaele Cretaro 78).
Referee: Neil Doyle (Dublin).
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June 11, 2022 | News | No Comments
LIONEL MESSI HAS confirmed that he and his Barcelona team-mates will take pay cuts of up to 70% in order to reduce club losses during the coronavirus crisis.
La Liga has been suspended since 12 March following the outbreak of Covid-19, with an enforced two-week break later increased to an indefinite postponement.
With no games on the horizon meaning matchday and television revenue has dried up, Barcelona recently announced cost-cutting measures to keep the club viable as a business during the suspension.
Messi confirmed that he and the first-team squad have agreed to take significant wage cuts for the foreseeable future in order to help protect the jobs of the non-playing staff at Camp Nou.
In a statement in Spanish on his personal Instagram page, Messi said: ”We fully understand that this is an exceptional situation and we are always the first ones to help the club when asked.”
He added that the players, as well as taking 70% pay cuts, would make further contributions so that other Barcelona employees would be able to collect 100% of their salaries.
The statement also claims that figures within the club were putting pressures on the players to act, however there was always a plan within the first-team squad to make a gesture in solidarity with their fellow employees.
It reads: “Much has been written and said about the Barcelona team in regards to the salaries of the players during this state of emergency.
“We want to clarify that our will has always been to take a cut in the salary we receive, because we fully understand that this is an exceptional situation and we are always the first ones to help the club when asked.
“Therefore, it does not surprise us that from within the club there were those who tried to put us under pressure to do something we always knew we would do.
“The agreement has been delayed for a few days because we were looking for a formula to help the club and its workers during these difficult times.
“Apart from the reduction of 70% from our salary, we will also make contributions so that club employees can collect 100% of their salary while this situation lasts.
“We do not want to say goodbye without sending an affectionate greeting and a lot of strength to all those having a hard time in these very difficult times, as well as to all those who patiently await the end of this crisis in their homes.
“Very soon we are going to get out of this and we will all do it together.”
The Barcelona board and players across the club’s other professional sports teams, including “most” of the basketball team, have also agreed to salary reductions for the duration of Spain’s state of emergency, the club said in a statement.
“This additional contribution from the squad, plus the contribution that the club will make, will guarantee 100% of the salaries of all non-sport staff,” Barcelona announced.
The La Liga champions added: “The club would like to thank the professional athletes for their involvement in a situation as exceptional as the one caused by this health emergency.”
Barcelona said last week that certain measures would be brought in to “minimise the economic impact that the coronavirus crisis is causing”, although the club did not specify the precise degree of any wage reductions.
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June 9, 2022 | News | No Comments
ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC HAS been ruled out of Euro 2020 due to a knee injury, the Swedish Football Association has announced.
The 39-year-old sustained the problem during AC Milan’s 3-0 win at Juventus last week and faced a race against time to recover his fitness.
The SFA wrote on Twitter: “Today, Zlatan has informed [coach] Janne Andersson that his injury will stop him from participating in the European Championship this summer.”
The striker retired from international duty in 2016 but made a surprise return in March in the 1-0 win over Georgia.
In doing so he became the oldest player to represent his country, eclipsing the previous record of 38 years and 59 days held by goalkeeper Thomas Ravelli.
Commenting on his decision to reverse his retirement decision at the time, Ibrahimovic told reporters: “I can still do those movements, that ninja stuff. I still have it in me, even if I’m 39.”
Ibrahimovic limped off in the 64th minute of his side’s victory last Sunday, but had raised hopes of being fit for the Euros after subsequent scans revealed only a strain.
Sweden play their first match of the tournament against Spain in Seville on 14 June, before also facing Slovakia and Poland in Group E.
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