On tee, Stephen Grant (@soccer2golf)
Irish golf is in rude health with four current Irish players with Major wins on their CVs and an Irishman top of the World Rankings. Hoping to join Rory McIlroy, Graeme McDowell, Darren Clarke and Padraig Harrington playing in one of the major golf tours is former Shamrock Rovers player Stephen Grant. Grant begins playing on the European Challenge Tour this month, the tour that is just one level below the European PGA tour.
It was in 2005 that Grant made the switch from professional football to professional golf having played over 150 times for Shamrock Rovers as well as playing with Waterford United and Stockport County amongst others. In 2007, he shot a course record 64 at the West of Ireland Championship in Rosses Point leaving a certain up and coming golfing star Rory McIlroy behind him in the field!
In recent years he has been living in Florida playing in events on the US Gateway Tour. Grant shares a coach with multi-major winner Ernie Els as he works with Butch Harmon and his son Claude Harmon III. He now has his sights firmly set on a place on the European Tour and the Challenge Tour is the stepping-stone for that.
I spoke to the former Ireland under 21 international footballer when he recently returned to Ireland from Rabat in Morocco where he had to withdraw from an event on the European Development Tour due to illness. “I’ve got a tournament on the European Challenge Tour on the 10 May in France,” said Grant about the forthcoming Allianz Open Cotes d’Armour Bretagne. “I’m going to playing a number of tournaments on the Challenge Tour. If you finish top 25 on the order of merit on the Challenge Tour, you get your full European Tour card.”
The man from Birr will be hoping to get his automatic card rather than having to go to qualifying school again to attain the coveted full European Tour place. Last year, he missed out on qualification for the final section of ‘Q school’ by just two shots. “If I can’t card this way,” said Grant about the Challenge Tour option, “I can always go to Q school. The last two years I’ve been getting really close to where I need to be to get my card.”
In the modern golf game, it is key to have a high level of fitness and that isn’t a problem for the former professional footballer. “To be honest, my fitness levels this time last year were unbelievable. I got my body fat down to 8%. I was training like crazy. I almost found I was probably overtraining and I was neglecting practicing my short game. This year I’m still really fit. I still train real hard and while I’m not as fit as last year, I’m playing better golf this year as I’m spending more time practicing my short game.”
It is on the greens that Grant feels he needs to improve if he is to make the step up to the top level of the game here in Europe. “Putting is probably the thing I’ve found the hardest. On the greens for me it has gotten a lot better as I’ve gone for a belly putter over the last four or five months and that has helped a lot. My course management is getting better. That has been costing me shots but that is down to experience.”
Experience is something that is only now beginning to come to Grant as he only became a golf pro at the age of 27. “I probably only played five or six times in my life before my mid 20s. I never played Youth or Boys golf or anything like that.” So does he feel he can realistically make the step up and get a card on the European Tour? “The difference is experience and that bit of consistency. The top players’ game is at a certain level and it is at that certain level more often. That really is the key. The gap is not massive at all.
“The thing that amazes me is that there is such a fine line. There are guys out there making millions of dollars a year and they are good but they are not that good. McIlroy is a player who I’ve played with and you see how stupidly good he is! But I play with guys who are good but aren’t that special and they are making a million and a half as a player.”
Grant regularly tees it up in Florida with players like Ricky Fowler (US Ryder Cup Player), Keegan Bradley (winner of the US PGA Championship in 2011) and US PGA Tour players Kris Blanks and Steve Marino. “If I’m playing with someone like Kris Blanks and he is handing my a**e to me every time we tee it up by five shots then I know I’m not good enough. But I’m playing money games with these guys and that is not the case. I’m taking money off them and they are taking money off me. I have the will to keep going and I’m seeing my scores get better.”
So what are the major differences between playing professional football, like he did for 10 years, and professional golf? “It is different in a sense that the golf is totally down to what I do myself. Soccer is different. It is opinions, how you play and the team around you. I can’t make any excuses. There is nowhere to hide.”
Shamrock Rovers 3 – 0 St. Patrick’s Athletic Match Report
From http://extratime.ie/fixtures/detail/18335/2/
Shamrock Rovers 3 – 0 St. Patrick’s Athletic
While many eyes on Monday afternoon were on Giovanni Trapattoni’s Euro 2012 Squad announcement that contained six former League of Ireland players, in Tallaght Stadium Shamrock Rovers and St. Patrick’s Athletic packed their Leinster Senior Cup teams with potential future stars of the domestic game. In this quarter final clash, it was a youthful Rovers team that prevailed 3-0 against Pats with goals from Sean Gannon, Dean Ebbe and Aaron Greene.
Both managers brought in players from their under 19’s squad with Rovers’ Conor McCormack being the only player to start in this cup game for either side who had also played in the League last Friday night. For Stephen Kenny he was able to bring the experienced Colin Hawkins, Kerrea Gilbert, Stephen O’Donnell and Aaron Greene into his Rovers team alongside the younger players.
Pats, who were captained by Pat Flynn on the day, created some good chances in the opening period of the game. The first chance saw the visitors force a corner just three minutes into the game. Ryan Coombes delivery was controlled by Ian Daly at the edge of the six yard box but Gilbert closed the midfielder down to concede another corner. Next Kevin Dempsey got free on the left and cutting inside, his low shot was held by Rovers South African goalkeeper Reyadd Pieterse low to his left on six minutes.
18-year-old Lorcan Shannon was a constant treat down the left for Shamrock Rovers throughout the game and put in a man-of-the-match performance. His side strung a series of first half corners together. Dean Ebbe laid off Shannon’s first corner on the left to Conor McCormack whose shot went behind for another corner on 11 minutes.
Half way through the opening period, Shannon cut nicely inside Eoin Hyland but his shot couldn’t trouble Lee Brandon in the Pats goal. Shannon then played a fine ball in to Rovers captain Stephen O’Donnell. Aidan Price was in a good position to get a block on O’Donnell’s shot to concede another corner.
Rovers couldn’t take advantage from Shannon’s good deliveries from the next set of corners as first Ebbe and then Hawkins had chances in the box. On the half hour mark Pieterse had to be on his toes to save from Coombes. McCormack had another opportunity for Rovers from a Shannon pass but his shot went well over the bar.
Rovers should have opened the scoring on 33 minutes as three players were queuing up to convert Shannon’s cross on the left. Hyland at right back was given a torrid time by Shannon and his ball fizzed across the six-yard box. Greene, Ebbe and Kerrea Gilbert, getting forward from right back, all dived to get a decisive touch on the ball but they couldn’t force it home.
Just on half time Rovers made it 1-0. The move came after Greene had got a shot away. Rovers were able to pick up the ball again through Shannon who played the ball across the box and eventually the unmarked Sean Gannon got on the ball. The 20 year old had time and space to slot the ball home low into the bottom left corner of the goal to give the Hoops a half time lead.
There was a great opportunity for Rovers to double that lead on 53 minutes as Greene ran onto a weak back pass by Hyland. Brandon did well to force Greene wide and Ebbe couldn’t finish the square ball back from Greene when he really should have. However, the home side did get their second goal on the hour mark with Ebbe getting on the score sheet this time. McCormack was fouled just outside the box but referee Darren Coombes played on as the ball ran to Ebbe inside the box. He managed to steer the ball into the goal off the left hand post to make it 2-0.
Liam Buckley switched his side to three at the back after this as they chased the game. They were unlucky not to score when Dean Kelly’s crisp shot hit the bar from a Kevin Farragher pass. Minutes later Kelly got another shot away from a free kick wide on the left. The Pats players and fans called for a goal but Pieterse diving on top of the ball on his line just about kept the ball out. Next Pats were calling for a penalty as Conor Pepper diving for a header with Gilbert in the box felt he was pulled back but the ref indicated it wasn’t a penalty.
It was Rovers’ turn to hit the bar on 76 minutes as Greene picked up an O’Donnell pass and got by Price to shoot. Brandon looked to get a touch as the ball bounced down off the cross bar and away to safety for Pats. Shortly after this let off for Rovers, there was a long delay as referee Coombes went down with a leg injury. The game was stopped for over eight minutes and the fourth official had to come on to officiate for the remainder of the game.
Ian Daly had a chance to score for Pats during the 13 minutes of injury time when Kelly’s touch came to him outside the box. Pieterse made a great double save following Daly’s chance to prevent a Pats goal. It was Rovers who got the final goal of this entertaining game as Aaron Greene got an opportunity in the Pats box to fire home and make it 3-0 just before the final whistle.
Shamrock Rovers: Reyadd Pieterse; Kerrea Gilbert, Colin Hawkins, Donal Branagan, Jack Memery; Sean Gannon, Conor McCormack, Stephen O’Donnell, Lorcan Shannon (Tom O’Rourke 98); Dean Ebbe (Sean Dixon 96), Aaron Greene.
Subs not used: Oscar Jansson, Lee Steacy, Karl McGrath, Dean Power, Paul Moffat.
Bookings: Donal Branagan 38.
St Patrick’s Athletic: Lee Brandon; Eoin Hyland, Aidan Price, Kevin Farragher, Jake Carroll; Dean Kelly, Pat Flynn, Ryan Coombes, Kevin Dempsey (Adam O’Connor 63), Conor Pepper; Ian Daly.
Subs not used: Brendan Clarke, Rob Cornwall, Jamie McGlynn, Aaron Behan, Mario Chindea, Niall Conran.
Bookings: Jake Carroll 51.
Referee: Darren Coombes.
Attendance: 750 (estimate).
extratime.ie Man of the Match: Lorcan Shannon
Where Eagles Dare? On tour with Stephen Grant
In 2005, Stephen Grant’s career was at a real cross road. It wasn’t simply a choice of whether the striker would stay with Shamrock Rovers or go to another League of Ireland club. He also had the chance to change careers from being a professional footballer to being a professional golfer and it was the set of golf clubs rather than a new football club that he went for. It was a brave move for the Birr native but his daring decision over the last number of years has led him to a place on the European Challenge Tour starting next month.
Last weekend Hoops Scene caught up with Grant, who is based in Florida most of the year, on a rare visit to Ireland. Grant had just returned from playing in Morocco. On Sunday, he was flying out for a couple of weeks practice in Portugal before his next tournament in France in May. Despite all this jet setting, Grant still retains a strong affinity for Shamrock Rovers. He not only follows the games on SRTV and Twitter (where is twitter handle is the apt @soccer2golf) but he is also a Shamrock Rovers club member.
“Ever since I was a kid, even down in Offaly, Shamrock Rovers was a big deal,” said Grant. “I played for Rovers on two occasions and that was a big part of my soccer life. I saw the opportunity with the 400 club to help give something back to the club. I felt that the club paid my wages and gave me good times and so I wanted to give back so I became a member. I always wanted to play for them and I was always really proud to play for them. It was amazing what the fans did taking over the club but the Rovers fans are hard-core. They love the club. It is a special club and we all know that.”
Grant was part of a special Rovers team that were the first League of Ireland team to win home and away in Europe in over twenty years. “It was a big night for the fans, the players and a big night for the club,” said Grant of the night he scored one of Rovers’ goals in the 2-1 away win over Odra Wodzislaw in 2003. This was during Grant’s second spell at Rovers following his return from Stockport where he had finished eighth in the Championship. “I really enjoyed my last couple of seasons at Rovers. I was playing really well and enjoying it. I scored against Bohs in a few big games too!”
Looking back though, Grant feels that those years were a missed opportunity for the club. “It was a team that probably unachieved,” admitted the former Ireland under 21 international footballer. “That was a really good side. We had a lot of good players. I always look back on that and I can’t believe we didn’t win anything. We got to the cup final but it was amazing to think that Rovers team didn’t win anything.”
“The season I retired was the season before they got relegated. I could see the writing on the wall at the club. I couldn’t see us doing anything at Rovers the way the investment was. I was out of contract and I was offered a new one. My choice was to stay on for another season of soccer but the way things were going I had a good opportunity to make a go at the golf as I was starting to get good.”
“Damien Richardson was manager at Cork City and they were in Europe and one of the best teams. He offered me a two-year contract with Cork City. I didn’t want to play for anyone else in the League of Ireland. I thought I’m going to play for Rovers or nothing. The golf was a big opportunity and that is why I retired from soccer.”
These days Stephen Grant, who works with the coaching team of Butch Harmon and his son, regularly tees it up at his new home club in Florida with top US PGA players like Major winner Keegan Bradley or Ryder Cup player Ricky Fowler. So do the golf professionals know he used to be a professional soccer player? “They do. They buzz off it too. They think it is great. The club I’m a member in over in Florida has a lot of top players who are members like Ricky Flower and Steve Marino. You get to play with them and see how you are and it is real good for your game.”
Grant has yet to see a game in Tallaght but, as he is based in Europe this summer, he hopes to get to a match here or maybe even link up with Rovers for a Champions League away game in Europe. “That would be sweet! I haven’t been to a game yet in Tallaght. In the last two years, I’ve been in Ireland maybe 22 days. When I finally get time at home, I will go to a game in the new stadium. When I first signed for Shamrock Rovers, Pat Byrne’s selling point for me as manager then was that we would be in the stadium next season!” That was in 1997!
Up until recently Grant was, like other former Shamrock Rovers players Karl Sheppard and Shane Robinson, watching Rovers games online through SRTV and he is disappointed that the FAI have asked for games not to be streamed online. “I was able to watch games online in Florida but I’ve been told now they are not allowed anymore. What is the idea of them not watching us to watch it?” questioned Grant.
It is clear that Grant is up to speed on all things Rovers and how the season is progressing under Stephen Kenny, a manager who tried to sign Grant when Kenny was at Longford Town. Grant was all praise for the man that plays in his old position at Rovers. “Twigg is a ridiculous goalscorer! He is like Tony Cousins who was an unbelievable. When you have an instinct like this guy, he is worth his weight in gold.”
It is Grant’s golfing instincts that will be put to the test over the next few months as he begins playing on the Challenge Tour, the second tier of professional golf in Europe. Grant missed out on the final qualifying school tournament for a card on the main European Tour by two shots last year but is hoping that a good performance on the Challenge Tour will avoid the requirement of going to Q school later on in the year. “The top 25 on the order of merit at the end of the season gets their full European card. I’ve got a tournament on the challenge tour on the 10 May in France. That is my first real big tournament of the season. The season starts from here for me.”
Published in Hoops Scene Issue 6 2012 (Shamrock Rovers v Derry City, 27 April 2012)
Glass looking forward with Rovers
Sitting beside Shamrock Rovers manager Stephen Kenny in the dug out tonight will be his number two Stephen Glass. Glass answered Kenny’s call when the new Rovers boss came looking for an assistant manager to work alongside him with the Hoops for the 2012 season. The pair worked together when Kenny was in charge of Scottish side Dunfermline.
“I was a player under him so I got to know him,” said Glass when he recently spoke to Hoops Scene, “but that was a player to manager relationship. He saw enough that he thought he could work with me in the future. He knew my character and was willing to bring me on board. When you are working for the biggest club in Ireland, you want to get it right. It is a good sign for me that he wanted to bring me in.”
It was just last season that Glass hung up his playing boots after a lengthy career that began in Scotland and included spells in Premier League with Newcastle and concluded in America. His playing CV includes a couple of trophy wins, an appearance in an FA Cup final at Wembley and an international cap with Scotland. So does the man from Dundee have a career highlight? “The biggest thing I did was winning a trophy with Aberdeen,” said Glass about his man-of-the-match performance in the 1995 Scottish League Cup final. “Anytime you win something it is got to be highlight. We won the championship last year in America and that was a good way to go out.”
The focus at Shamrock Rovers this year is not to sit back on last season’s Airtricity League and Europa League success but build on it and that was an attitude that Glass had during his playing career. “I was never one for looking back and saying that was great,” said the 35 year old. “I just enjoyed doing what I was doing at the time. I had great experiences playing with good players, playing with good clubs and playing in front of a lot of people.”
It was with the Carolina Railhawks in America that Glass ended his playing career on a high. The Railhawks last season won the North American Soccer League (NASL), the level just below Major Soccer League. So how did the move come about to play in the NASL, a league that includes teams from the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico?
“A mate of mine Greg Shields, from when I played at Dunfermline, had gone over to play there. The manager was a Scottish fellow called Martin Rennie. He knew of me and he started asking Greg about me and it escalated from there. I was out of contract and nobody was taking a chance on me. I went over to America for two weeks to get myself fit. The manager kept me in mind over the winter as their season plays the same way as Ireland. I went to Hibs over winter and trained with them to stay fit. I believed I could still play for another year and I managed to it so it was worth it.”
The decision to switch from playing to coaching was an easy one for Glass to make and it is been a decision he is happy he made. “I’m really enjoying it.,” said Glass about his new coaching role. “It was something I was hoping to get into. I was going to retire regardless, it was time. Your body tells you when its time to retire and my body was telling me! I hurt my hip towards the end of my time in America. If I trained on it there was a possibility that I would need an operation. I wasn’t willing to go through that for later life. I already have had three knee operations on each leg, so the wise thing was to stop before any big damage was done. I was waking up sore every morning and grinding through training.
“I got this opportunity to come to Rovers and I couldn’t have hoped for it to go better. It has worked out really well, working with the manager and the other staff that he has brought in.” There were a few familiar faces in the Rovers camp in addition to his former manager Stephen Kenny. “I half knew a few players from before which makes things easier. I played against Gary Twigg in a friendly game and Craig Sives was with Hearts when I was playing with their rivals Hibs. I’m enjoying the work and I’m enjoying the response so far.”
Glass’ time at Rovers has seen him coach a team competing at the top of the league and playing in front of large crowds. Rovers have played in front of close to 5,000 fans at each of the home league games to date including the delayed kick off against Shelbourne due to crowd congestion. Rovers also sold out their 1,000 away ticket allocation in Inchicore last Friday but the less said about that result the better! “For myself it is good to coach at this level in front of big crowds but for the players it is great. When the referee comes in and tells you that the game is going to be delayed five or ten minutes, they know why it is delayed. They know there is a big number coming there to watch them and to be fair it’s a majority of Rovers punters. It isn’t because someone is bringing that big an away support. It is because we are bringing big numbers in and that is home and away from what I’ve seen. We got that 94th minute equaliser (away to Cork City) and it makes that trip a lot more worthwhile for fans. Hopefully the lads will keep giving them plenty more to keep them coming back.”
Rovers have made good progress in the Leinster Senior Cup (against Bohemians) and in the Setanta Sports Cup (against Cliftonville) but have required penalties in both competitions to move on. Kenny and Glass have been utilising the full squad in these competitions plus the EA Sports Cup and this has helped integrate the new players with the full squad. “Sometimes a penalty win, like we had in Belfast, can be great for team spirit and the group. The two penalty shootouts Oscar (Jannson) has done really well and saved a good number of them.”
“All the new lads will be looking to contribute and get accepted by the group and the public in general – to show that they deserve to be a Shamrock Rovers player.
The manager brought in seven or eight players so it is never going to be easy to get that group together. Obviously last season was a great success so by changing the group too much there can be danger there. But we think we’ve got it right with what we’ve brought in. You can see the spirit is there already. Winnings bring spirit, we are growing and getting better.”
Published in Hoops Scene 5 (Shamrock Rovers v Dundalk/Derry City, April 2012)
Kenny pleased with second half comeback
http://www.extratime.ie/newsdesk/articles/7907/
Shamrock Rovers manager Stephen Kenny had to be satisfied with a point from their game with Bray Wanderers in the Carlisle Grounds on Friday night. Rovers had a very poor first half and found themselves 2-0 down at the break. However, in a much-improved second half, they scored two and could have claimed a winner.
The visitors might have been going in at half time just a goal down as, just before the break, Gary Twigg earned a penalty for the Hoops. Darren Quigley saved Twigg’s penalty before Billy Dennehy put the ball in the net on the rebound. But referee Paul McLaughlin ruled it out to the confusion of many in the ground.
Speaking to extratime.ie after the game, Stephen Kenny was able to confirm that a free out was “given for encroachment” by a Rovers player. If Twigg had scored with that encroachment, the rules state the penalty would have to have been retaken. As the penalty was missed, the referee was correct in awarding a free to Bray.
The supporters on the night spent much of half time discussing these penalty infringement rules but Stephen Kenny was plotting with his team how they could turn around the two-goal deficit. Kenny asked for his team to step up physically, especially in midfield, and they responded with a much better performance in the second half
“The midfield area was problematic in the first half,” admitted Kenny, “but in the second half it was much much better. We had to believe in ourselves and be physically stronger. I felt we had the capacity to get back into the game as we have the ability to score goals and create chances. We were much stronger in the second half.”
Additional strength was provided by second half substitute Daryl Kavanagh who played a key part in both of Shamrock Rovers goals. Just after the hour mark Kavanagh replaced Gary O’Neill who had taken a knock to his ankle. Having scored his first goal for the Hoops in last week’s 6-0 win over Dundalk, Kavanagh first got a touch to play the ball into Ronan Finn for Rovers’ opener. He then held off a couple of Bray challenges in midfield before sliding a ball through to Gary Twigg who got the equaliser eight minutes from time.
“Daryl had a good energy and gave us a good impetus,” said Kavanagh’s manager. “He did well for us getting us back into the game. The two goals we got were outstanding goals but the disappointment was that we couldn’t get the third goal that we needed.”
Shamrock Rovers now face into back-to-back games against Derry City. The Hoops travel to the Brandywell on Monday night for the second leg of the Setanta Sports Cup semi-final 3-0 down after the first leg. They will then play Derry again, this time at home, in the Airtricity League as Stephen Kenny faces the team he managed last year. “We’ve got Derry on Monday and Friday. Monday is a tall order. Friday is a big one as we need to get back to winning ways in the league.”
Bray Wanderers 2 – 2 Shamrock Rovers
http://extratime.ie/fixtures/detail/17893/2/
Shamrock Rovers were lucky to escape from their trip to the Carlisle Grounds in Bray with a 2-2 draw. Kieran ‘Marty’ Waters scored both of Bray Wanderers’ goals. However, his first half goals were cancelled out by Ronan Finn and Gary Twigg, who got the equaliser for Rovers eight minutes from time.
Bray Wanderers dominated proceedings in the first half. Dane Massey and Waters were constant thorns in the visitor’s sides. Massey went close after just three minutes when his shot hit the side net. Rovers could have conceded a penalty 10 minutes later as Conor McCormack’s hand flicked away a ball that Waters had lifted inside the Rovers right-back.
Some nice build up play from Bray saw Adam Hanlon get down the Rovers right. He played a dangerous ball into the box and Jason Byrne stepped over it to allow Waters get a shot away. Oscar Jansson saved that shot but could do nothing four minutes later when Bray opened the scoring. It was a great move with some lovely linked up play between Massey and Byrne. Massey played in Waters whose crisp left foot finish hit the back of the net from the edge of the box.
Rovers finally came into the game on the half hour mark with Gary McCabe floating in a couple of crosses but first Chris Turner and then Gary Twigg wasted headed chances.
On 35 minutes Rovers keeper Jansson came running out of his box to head a Bray through ball clear. McCabe picked the ball up for Rovers but was sloppy in possession allowing Waters to try a speculative shot from 40 yards that went over the bar.
Two mintues later Wanderers double their lead with Waters getting his second of the night. Dean Zambra passed to Waters wide on the left. He showed great skill as he cut inside Craig Sives and with his right foot slotted the goal away nicely.
Controversy reigned just before half time. Gary Twigg was fouled by Pierce Sweeney in the Bray box and referee Paul McLaughlin pointed to the spot. Twigg put it away but the ‘keeper and referee were not ready. The ref was busy sending off Keith Long from the Bray dugout as he protested over the penalty concession. When eventually Twigg retook the penalty, it was saved by Darren Quigley. Billy Dennehy slotted the rebound home but he had encroached into the area. As the penalty had been saved, the ref ruled that it wasn’t goal and play was restarted with a free out to Bray.
Bray looked to protect their lead in the second half and defended resolutely until they were picked apart by Rovers on the break. Second half substitute Daryl Kavanagh slotted Ronan Finn in on goal in the box. Finn’s fine finish low to Darren Quigley’s left made it 2-1.
Bray’s discipline began to let them down. Jason Byrne picked up Bray’s fourth yellow card when he conceded a free in a dangerous position. Dennehy’s free beat the wall but not Quigley in goal who claimed it at the second attempt.
Daryl Kavanagh provided great impetus for Rovers when he came on and he set up the equaliser. He picked up the ball in midfield and holding off a couple of Bray challenges played the ball to Twigg in the box. Twigg took once touch and tucked it away to make it 2-2.
Rovers had one final chance to get a winner that they really wouldn’t have deserved. McCabe picked up a return ball thanks to Finn’s flicked back heel but the winger shot high over the bar as the game ended in a draw.
Bray Wanderers: Darren Quigley; David Webster, Danny O’Connor, Pierce Sweeney, Kevin Knight (Adam Mitchell 83); Adam Hanlon, Dane Massey, Dean Zambra, John Mulroy, Kieran Marty Waters; Jason Byrne (Daire Doyle 86).
Subs not used: Brian Kane, Stephen Last, Graham Kelly, Jonathan Kelty, Anthony Bolger.
Yellow Cards: John Mulroy (52), Dane Massey (58), Darren Quigley (60), Jason Byrne (75).
Shamrock Rovers: Oscar Jansson; Conor McCormack, Craig Sives, Ken Oman, Conor Powell (Aaron Greene 79); Gary McCabe, Chris Turner, Ronan Finn, Billy Dennehy; Gary Twigg, Gary O’Neill (Daryl Kavanagh 64).
Subs not used: Reyaad Pierterse, Sean Gannon, Graham Gartland, Stephen Rice, Dean Ebbe,
Bookings: Conor Powell (41), Ronan Finn (56).
Referee: Paul McLaughlin.
Attendance: 1,500 (estimate).
extratime.ie Man of the Match: Kieran Marty Waters (Bray Wanderers).
Difficult decision on Euro squad awaits Tardelli
Article for extratime.ie
http://www.extratime.ie/newsdesk/articles/7879/difficult-decision-on-euro-squad-awaits-tardelli/
With just 50 days to go to UEFA 2012, there is much for the Irish management team to concern themselves with. However, it was a relaxed Marco Tardelli who met with the Irish media pitch side at the Aviva Stadium on Thursday.
Tardelli’s task, along with Giovanni Trapattoni, will be to decide who to leave out of the tournament squad. Deliberations will be difficult with a number of players having injury concerns and others looking to play their way into the squad as the domestic football season reaches its conclusion.
Speaking at the Aviva following a Show Racism the Red card function, Tardelli gave an update on the injury status on Ireland’s key player Richard Dunne. “I spoke with him and I think he will be with us maybe for 17 May,” said Ireland’s assistant manager. “He is starting to prepare and I think it is very important for us that he is fit for the cup.”
Giovanni Trapattoni and Tardelli will have to disappoint a number of players when they name their squad for the Euros. “We need to decide on 23 players and we have 30 players so it is very tough on us to decide. All positions are up for grabs and it is possible things will change for injuries.”
“James McCarthy has played well this season,” said the former World Cup winner. “His personality, his physicality and understanding of where the ball is means he plays very well. McClean is possible. Wes Hoolahan is a good player and maybe in the future it is possible he can be with us.”
When asked by extratime.ie how much preparation has there been looking at Ireland’s opponents in the Group Stages, Tardelli responded by saying “Everyday me and Giovanni watch the DVDs and sometimes also we watch the matches live. We know the teams very well and know that those teams are very strong.”
With Chelsea having beaten Barcelona in the Champions League semi-final first leg on Wednesday night playing a certain defensive system against an attacking Barca side, does it give Tardelli a template for Ireland against World Champions Spain? “I don’t think so,” explained Tardelli. “It is better to press Spain. Spain are a different team from Barcelona as they are without Messi.”
The Rice Review
Shamrock Rovers will be looking to put Good Friday’s bad league result against St. Patrick’s Athletic behind them as they face into games against Dundalk in the league and Derry in the Setanta Sports Cup. The 5-1 loss in Inchicore to Pats was Rovers’ first domestic defeat in 16 games stretching back to September 2011.
That was the month that Rovers travelled to play Tottenham in the Europa League. It was one of the many great nights that the club had last season alongside the famous win in Belgrade, defeating Dundalk in the Setanta Sports Cup final at Tallaght Stadium and the late drama in winning the league title against UCD in Belfield. Whilst Rovers lost to Spurs 3-1 back in September, the game will be forever remembered at Rovers for Stephen Rice putting his team 1-0 up in the second half. His celebration in front of the 4,000 or so travelling Shamrock Rovers fans was one of the iconic images of 2012 for Rovers fans and the 900,000 or so viewers who watched the match live on TV that night.
Photo by George Kelly
Following last week’s game against Pats, Hoops Scene chatted up with the goalscorer from that night in White Hart Lane and asked him are the great nights in players careers made even better when juxtaposed with low points such as the loss to Pats? “I wouldn’t have thought so,” said Rice. “We all have low points in our careers but when you go through a result like Friday, the important thing is how you react to that. The good nights come because of hard work. We have a great bunch of lads who are willing to work hard and have so much ability. Hopefully we will have more of those great nights this year. They are enjoyable when they come because you know what you’ve put into it, rather than necessarily that you’ve had low nights. The work you’ve done off the pitch and on the pitch is why those nights are good for us as players.”
Rice is a player that plays with his heart on his sleeve and brings a high level of intensity to Rovers’ play on the pitch. What does that mean for him off the pitch when his team suffers a defeat like in Inchicore? “It is not easy,” admitted the 27 year old. “You can’t put football to bed when you go home. When you get a result like that, it effectively ruins your weekend until you have another game. We’ve had a bad result on Friday. It is a blip. We know the manner in which it happened wasn’t acceptable to us as professionals. Pats were fully deserved of their win. Any chance they got, they took but it doesn’t make it any easier for us to swallow. We spoke about it after the game. The most important thing is we learn from it. We have to make sure that is doesn’t happen again and we take what we need to take out of it. The beauty of football is that there is always another game like in Galway on Monday and luckily we have another league game on Friday to put it right and put it right quickly.”
As expected for the EA Sports Cup tie away to SD Galway last Monday, Rovers manager Stephen Kenny made several changes to his starting 11 from the previous game. There were seven changes to the team including a debut for goalkeeper Reyaad Pieterse following confirmation of the South African’s work permit late last month. It was still a very strong Rovers team that included Colin Hawkins coming in to play against the club where he started his career and Conor McCormack getting another chance to play as he returns from injury. Stephen Rice, who captained the team in Ken Oman’s absence, anchored the midfield in a game that Rovers dominated from start to finish. The Hoops won 2-0, progressing to the competition’s quarter final, thanks to Gary McCabe’s two first half penalties.
The management team of Stephen Kenny and Stephen Glass were no doubt working hard in training during the week in keeping the playing squad focussed as they faced three games in eleven days including that game against SD Galway in the EA Sports Cup alongside games against Dundalk and Derry. So how intense has training been this season?
“The sessions are sharp,” said Rice, “and that comes from the manager Stephen and Glassy (Stephen Glass). Glassy is a good coach who he has played at the highest level. He has respect from all the lads. Training is driven by them and by the group of players. They determine how training is, the tempo and standard of it and it has been really good. We are talking about how it is important we keep working as hard in training.”
“There are a lot of games. It just means that everyone is getting games and that is really important when you have a squad the size we have. But the league will always be the priority. The other trophies are very important. Even the EA Sports Cup is important as I haven’t won it and I haven’t won an FAI Cup. They are targets for us as we want to win those things as well.”
Rice is one of the few Rovers players to have work commitments outside of playing with Shamrock Rovers but this work is very much complimentary to his playing career as he is a community football facilitator with the FAI. Previously Rice was President of the Professional Footballers’ Association of Ireland (PFAI) and has done some work as a player ambassador with SEAT last season before the company came on board as Rovers’ main sponsor this year.
With Rovers training in the morning, it enables Rice to work in the afternoon with the FAI and the Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council sports team. “I work for the FAI 25 hours a week. It is in communities and schools around the Dundrum area and I also am involved in educating coaches for the Kickstart 1 and 2 courses.” The Kickstart programme course is designed to assist parents and coaches to introduce children from the age of six to football and then to develop their skills up to the age of 12.
This coaching role provides Rice with a break from Rovers whilst still being involved in a professional basis with football. “It is nice to be involved in it as for 10 years all I did and all I played was club football. Sometimes it is nice to have another thing to focus on. The job can come in handy as you have another focus and have other things to concentrate on but football with Rovers is the priority.”
There is still plenty of footballing years ahead for Rice with Rovers but is the coaching role something he will look to do long term? “Yeah, it will be. At the moment, the work is very much community based so you aren’t really working with elite players. Certainly the coaching element is something I am pursuing and hopefully I will be starting my A licence soon.”
Published in Hoops Scene 5 (Shamrock Rovers v Dundalk/Derry City, April 2012)
Hoops mark Milltown 25th anniversary
http://extratime.ie/newsdesk/articles/7856/hoops-mark-milltown-25th-anniversary/
Article for extratime.ie
This week marked the 25th anniversary of Shamrock Rovers’ last game in Milltown. On Friday to commemorate that last game, Shamrock Rovers and their club’s Heritage Trust organised a walk from the monument outside Milltown to Rovers’ new home in Tallaght.
The walk began with a small ceremony in Milltown that was addressed by former Rovers player Mick Byrne, scorer of the last Rovers goal in Milltown, in front of a crowd of around 200 club supporters. The fans then set out on the 10km walk to Tallaght Stadium ahead of that evening’s game against Dundalk.
Extratime.ie spoke with Mick Byrne and asked him about his memories of Milltown.
“I used to walk through the gates here on Sunday and know we were going to win the match,” recalled Byrne who was an integral part of the Rovers team that won four-in-a-row league titles in Milltown in the 1980’s. “My fondest memory is just coming here and scoring goals here.”
The journey on Friday night took two hours to complete as the fans walked from Milltown through Dartry, Rathgar, Terenure, Templogue before arriving in Tallaght Stadium. The highly controversial decision by the Kilcoyne family to sell Glenmalure Park in 1987 meant it was a 22-year journey for the football club to get from Milltown to Tallaght.
Addressing the crowd on Friday evening was James Cooke who was involved in the Keep Rovers at Milltown (KRAM) campaign and is now a member of the Rovers Heritage Trust. “When those gates closed 25 years ago, this football club was effectively thrown on the scrap heap of Irish football,” said Cooke. “To have survived 22 years not knowing from season to season where we were going to play was a miracle. This football club is stronger now than at any other period in our history.”
At different stages after leaving Milltown, Rovers played games in Tolka Park, Dalymount Park, RDS, Morton Stadium, Richmond Park and even played one home game 200km from Milltown in Turners Cross in Cork. Rovers eventually played their first game in Tallaght three years ago.
When the club organised a ceremony at Milltown for the 20th anniversary back in 2007, at the time it remained to be seen would Rovers even get to Tallaght as the GAA had taken out a High Court Judicial Review over access to the stadium. This 25th anniversary has seen some ghosts laid to rest as in the five years since that last ceremony, the club is now firmly embedded in Tallaght Stadium, playing in front of crowds in excess of 3,000 and are back-to-back League of Ireland champions.
In the month that Louis Kilcoyne died, the club are in as strong a position as they have been since Kilcoyne sold Glenmalure Park for housing. So can the club close the chapter on the controversy of the sale of Milltown? “I think we should do now,” said Mick Byrne. “It is unfortunate that it happened at the time. But I think the club is in a much better place now and we have to get over it.”
When the fans arrived in Tallaght after the walk, the club laid on some drinks in the ‘Glenmalure Suite’ function room in the stadium as reward for making the 10km trek to Tallaght. On the pitch Rovers rewarded the fans with an impressive 6-0 victory over Dundalk.
Brennans Bred for Football
There is a band of Brennan brothers playing in the Airtricity League Premier Division this season. Three of the brothers are playing with their hometown club of Drogheda United and the remaining brother Killian Brenna is playing here at Shamrock Rovers.
Football obviously runs deep in the Brennan blood. “Football has been in my family for years,” said Killian, the oldest Brennan brother. “My father was a footballer and his Dad was a footballer as well. My Dad was a top player in the Leinster Senior League. I remember watching him when I was younger and I looked up to him. I used to travel around the country watching him play for Boyne Rovers. I used to try and do things that I saw him doing on the pitch.”
Killian’s brothers Ryan and Sean have joined Gavin at Drogheda this season. “It is great for the lads,” said Killian about his three brothers playing with Mick Cooke’s team. “Two of them came from Monaghan last year. They are flying at the moment. We have a bit of banter in the house! They love playing football. I know Ryan is progressing well. He is only 19 so he has a lot of years ahead of him. Hopefully he can get a couple of seasons under his belt and maybe get across the water.”
The three Brennan brothers play in midfield for Drogheda and that is normally where Killian also plays. However, he lined out at left back for Rovers last week against Shelbourne as Stephen Kenny made changes to his starting line up.
“Obviously Conor (Powell) got suspended against Cork and we didn’t have much cover at left back so Stephen asked me to play there,” said Brennan. “I knew the role as I’d played there a bit at school boy level. The last time I played left back was for Derry.”
Brennan had an excellent game helping the Hoops get their first clean sheet of the league campaign. As well as changing the team personnel, Stephen Kenny also had the team line out using a 4-2-3-1 formation. “The first few games we played 4-4-2 so we went a bit more attacking than before,” said Brennan. The set-up certainly helped the Hoops who ran out 4-0 winners over Shels, helped by the early sending off of the visitor’s goalkeeper. “I thought it was our best formation as we can play football with the team and the attacking options that we have. We’ve got players with speed on the wings and plenty of speed up front. We can utilise Billy Dennehy’s and Aaron Greene’s pace. We are going to be a handful for everyone.”
It is expected tonight’s match against Bohemians will be played out in front of another massive crowd. The large crowd at last week’s game with Shelbourne, which included President Michael D Higgins, meant the kick off was delayed for ten minutes due to crowd congestion. “The game the other night with 5,000 people coming to watch was fantastic,” said Brennan. “When we played in Cork, there was another great atmosphere. If we can get 5,000 people to come watch our games and maybe get more, it would be fantastic. You want to play in front of big crowds.”
It was a large crowd against Monaghan United for Rovers’ first home game of the season and Brennan played a crucial part in the Rovers win that night. Trailing 1-0 at half time, Rovers got back into the game thanks to a moment of inspiration from Brennan. He got on the end of Billy Dennehy’s corner to volley the ball into the net for the Rovers opener and the Hoops would go on to win 3-1.
“The ball came to me when I got a bit of freedom in the box and it was a side foot backheel. It was good to get off the mark. Monaghan played well that night so obviously it was a nice time to get the goal and get back to 1-1. It was a pivotal point in the game to score the goal and for it to be my first goal for Shamrock Rovers was brilliant as well.”
Whilst Rovers are top of the table tonight facing into a game against Bohs, who are surprisingly bottom having yet to score a league goal, it hasn’t been all plane sailing for Rovers. Rovers played Bohs in the Leinster Senior Cup and only progressed on penalties. Similarly, Rovers moved on to the Setanta Sports Cup semi final despite losing a 2-0 lead in the quarter final against Cliftonville. The Reds took Rovers all the way to penalties on their ‘plastic’ pitch. The story could have been different if one of Brennan’s shots off the post or crossbar had bounced favourably for Rovers.
“We are not making it easy for ourselves having gone to penalties against Bohs; that was 120 minutes and then we had another 120 minutes against Cliftonville. I thought we played quite well on the night (in Solitude). It was tough as they are not a bad side. Obviously they play on that surface every week and that is a big advantage to them. It was quite sticky and hard to run with the ball but I thought we played all right. They never really looked like scoring until they scored the first goal. They scored at important times as they got one just before half time and then just before full time.
“I thought we showed our character really well in extratime. We kept our heads and deservedly went through on penalties. The lads who took the penalties did very well. There is room for improvement. We mixed it up with lads coming into the team as some of the lads hadn’t played much this season.”
Oscar Jannson was the hero for the Hoops saving two penalties that night in Belfast, having saved two in the previous week during the 5-4 shoot out against Bohs in the Leinster Senior Cup at Tallaght Stadium. “Oscar has done brilliant since he came in with the two penalty saves against Bohs and also against Cliftonville. He will get great confidence out of that.”
Tonight Brennan will face his former club Bohemians for the first time since he made the switch from Dublin 7 to Dublin 24. He is not the only man involved with Rovers tonight who is a former Gypsy. Last season Bohemians lined out with six former Rovers players in their starting line up. This season Rovers can go the other way and more. Hoops boss Stephen Kenny managed Bohs previously and if we add in Kenny, his goalkeeping coach Stephen O’Brien and Brennan then Rovers have an ex-Bohemians XI with Conor Powell, Ken Oman, Colin Hawkins, Chris Turner, Stephen O’Donnell, Stephen Rice, Gary O’Neill and Aaron Greene.
However, unlike the other former Bohs players in the Rovers squad, Brennan is making the direct switch from the red and black stripes of Bohs to the Green and White hoops of Rovers. So what kind of reaction does he think he will get from the away fans tonight?
“I don’t really know what to expect,” said the Drogheda native. “I will understand if I get booed because I used to play for Bohs and now I play for Shamrock Rovers. The clubs are big rivals. It is all good on my side. I have a lot of mates there at the club. I will be looking out for them. I always hope they do well. If they can get things right off the pitch, then Bohs will come good again.
“I had four and a half great years at Bohemians but financial constraints behind the scenes for reasons that have been well documented means the money is gone. I felt that I couldn’t stay at Bohemians with what they could offer. I told a lot of managers that I was going to go travelling as that was the main aim for me at the start of the season”
It seems that, like with Pat Sullivan, Irish football was going to lose a player from the league due to his desire to travel. That was until his former manager got in touch with him in January. “I was packing my bags and going travelling until Stephen Kenny rang me and said he wanted me to come here. He was the main reason for signing for Shamrock Rovers but also that Rovers are a fantastic football club. I feel they are really the only club going forward in Ireland. Shamrock Rovers wanted to sign me and I’m delighted that I signed.”
Published in Hoops Scene 2012 Issue 4 (Shamrock Rovers v Bohemians, 30 March 2012)
