Longford Town away to Cobh and Dundalk in a tough schedule

Longford Town face a very tough weekend in the league when they take on the leaders Dundalk on the Bank Holiday Monday (kick-off 5pm) and second in the table Cobh this Friday (7.45pm) and both games are away from home. 

When the fixtures were being made out there wasn’t much consideration for part time Longford Town against full time teams and both being away is a big test for the Town’s small squad.

 At the moment Dundalk are top on 52 points and Cobh alongside Bray are on 46 points and after that it’s a scramble for the other two play-off spots. 

Over the weekend Dundalk cemented their place on the top of the division with a 3-2 home victory over a Wexford side that are two points ahead of the Town. Striker Gbemi Arubi scored twice for Dundalk and sub Keith Ward scored the winner with a superb long range shot to give the league leaders three vital points and that pushed them six points ahead of Cobh and Bray. 

You can see a big Cork City representation in the impressive Cobh first team. Barry Coffey is their main dangerman and he has 17 goals so far this season.

Shane Griffin has lots of Premier Division experience having played with St Patrick’s Athletic and Cork City which is good for any player’s CV. 

Niall O’Keeffe is a very good midfielder who has joined the club from Waterford. Cobh have lots of experience all over the team and the fact that they only conceded 24 goals to date in 24 games shows that they have a very tight defence and they have 41 goals scored which is the top scorers in the division alongside Bray.

When the Town last travelled to Cobh they were on the end of a 5-0 hammering on the first weekend in March. Goals from Bellis, Griffin, Coffey who scored twice and Bosnjak gave the Town a real footballing lesson.

 The second meeting between the clubs was in mid June at Bishopsgate and that game ended 1-1.

Matthew Whelan gave the visitors the lead after 67 minutes but the Town never gave up and they scored the equaliser in stoppage time when Fran Campbell netted for the home side.

There is no doubt that this Cobh outfit  are one of the teams to beat as they have an abundance of good players,   many who have Premier Division experience with Cork City. 

Last weekend Cobh travelled to Donegal to take on fast improving Finn Harps but they had to settle for a share of the points. Barry Coffey gave Cobh the lead from the penalty spot on 20 mins. Mpongo equalised for Harps on 38 mins but Coffey put his side ahead a minute later before the experienced Tony McNamee equalised for Harps on 65 mins in the 2-2 draw. 

Dundalk the opposition at Oriel Park on Monday

On the Bank holiday Monday the Town are on the road again when they travel to Dundalk to play the home side in Oriel Park. 

Dundalk are hot favourites to go back up at the first attempt. They are now being managed by Ciaran Kilduff who was a former player with the club.

Dundalk have a very impressive league campaign with 15 wins, 7 draws and 2 defeats to date. They have strengthened their squad recently as they chase victories to make sure they get back to the Premier Division.

Dundalk are possibly second in the all time successful clubs in the league and over the years the club were winning league titles on a regular basis but in recent times they have been struggling to keep up with some of the big spending clubs in the Premier Division. 

John Ross Wilson has joined the club from Sligo Rovers and this experienced defender will strengthen their defence. Declan McDaid joined the club, having played with Bohemians, but previously he featured at the highest level in Scotland. 

Daryl Horgan has played for the Republic and also for Hibs in Scotland. One of their latest recruits is Gbemi Arubi who previously played with Waterford. He scored twice against Wexford. The other goalscorer last weekend was the very experienced Keith Ward who has played at the top for many years. 

Two former Town players are two of Dundalk’s top performers. Aodh Dervin is playing superbly all season and his teammate Dean Ebbe is a top class striker who can score goals in any company.

 Dundalk lost one of their stars recently when he signed for Brighton. Sean Keogh who has been superb all season has been chased by many big clubs but he opted for Brighton which is a great move for the youngster. There is no doubt that this weekend’s games could have a big bearing on the destination of the First Division title but with twelve games to go it looks that Dundalk are odds on favourites to go back up.

 The games this weekend will also show Longford manager Wayne Groves how he is progressing as manager of the Town club. 

Last Saturday night the other team that is chasing that automatic promotion spot came to Bishopgate and one would have to say that they robbed the three points. 

The Town had a new face on the bench with Kyle Robinson making his debut in the second half after joining the Town from Athlone during the week and there is no doubt that he will strengthen the squad.

Billy O’Neill gave Bray the lead but Aaron Doran equalised but the 17 year old O’Neill sealed the victory very late on to give the visitors an undeserved victory.

Anyone present at Bishopsgate would agree that the visitors were more than lucky to get all three points in a game that the Town were on top for long periods. Aaron Doran played possibly his best ever game for the club.

 There is no doubt that we threw away gilt edged chances in the game and should at least have got a draw.  

Away to Shamrock Rovers in the FAI Cup

The Town got a tough draw in the next round of the FAI Cup against Shamrock Rovers who are currently top of the Premier Division. The fixture is scheduled to be played on Friday August 15 at Tallaght Stadium.                 

 Car Boot Sale

On Bank Holiday Monday

At Bishopsgate 4th August

Longford N39NX43

Contact 087 6727859

Gates open at 5am

Bus to Dundalk

Bus leaving for Dundalk on Bank Holiday Monday at 1pm. €25 a seat. Contact Bryan on 087 3810042.