Fixture List 2010

There’s been more than enough ink, or bandwith, wasted talking about the long, painfully slow demise of Cork City FC. After putting up with endless speculation for months now I’ve little desire to read much more, let alone add to the obituaries. Very briefly though, I’ve very little sympathy for Cork City or FORAS. The fact that FORAS were entertaining the notion of getting in to bed with yet another potential ‘saviour’ at the 11th hour shows just how badly they’ve missed the point. Being handed a First Division licence is good news for the future of football in Cork, they can now finally get their house in order, instead of another farcical season in the mould of the Coughlan and Arkaga years, simply to get an extra year in the Premier Division (presumably even FORAS recognsied they’d not be able to play in Europe).

But of actual interest, how will this impact on Rovers? After the jump (click the continue reading link below) you’ll see the new revised fixture list. This takes in to account the rather sad fact Bray Wanderers will be competing in the Premier Division next year. It’s a depressing thought, and will unfortunately mean we’re going to be set for one of the most uninteresting seasons in recent memory.

Of course it becomes a lot more interesting should we win the bloody thing, but right now in the dark days of February 12 games against UCD, Sporting Fingal and Bray Wanderers seems an awful lot to work up some enthusiasm for the year ahead. They will be games that don’t capture the imagination in any way, as opposed to looking forward to trips to Derry, Cork, Waterford and erm, Tolka. C’est la vie though, and a couple of seasons of this rubbish will be worth it in the long run, should the aforementioned four clubs eventually return to the Premier League with a more sustainable business model.

Though all clubs will have to play all teams at some stage (bar any further winding-up orders) the order in which they’re played can have some effect. Rovers shouldn’t be afraid of any team in the league this season with the squad assembled in the last year, but the fixture list doesn’t really give us the breaks this year we might have hoped. Certainly not at the start of the season which I think will be the crucial stage.

Last season an incredible 22 game unbeaten run wasn’t enough to haul back Bohs after they got off to a flyer while Rovers failed to gel early on, dropping points to Bray Wanderers, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory against Derry and being well beaten in Dalymount. A good start is going to be vital to avoid repeat of similar, though looking at the fixtures it seems Bohs who will be able to ease themselves in. Whereas we start with perhaps the toughest trip left in the Premier Division away to Sligo, Bohs are at home to newly promoted Sporting Fingal (who despite their cup-heroics and the addition of Ger O’Brien should really be aiming for mid-table). The Sligo game will have added spice with the locals fired up by their bizarre hatred of Shamrock Rovers, and should Chris Turner line out in Hoops they’ll be whipped up further.

From there Rovers have a derby with Pats, and a game against the only side who could conceivable challenge the top two (though they wont), Dundalk. Bohemians have a handy home fixture against UCD, followed by a trip to crisis-club Drogheda United. On the plus side from the first round of games, we play Bohs at home and not until Week 8 when our new players should feel more at home in Tallaght.

Another positive is the likely scheduling of our Europa League games. We’re due to enter in the second qualifying phase, and have a terrific chance of progressing to the third phase at least. Our domestic duties around the time of those games should help us. Home to UCD, away to Fingal, away to Drogheda and home to Bray means we don’t have to fear playing too many huge games in the middle of our European run. There is of course the problem posed by the mooted game with Bohs at the Aviva, logistics may mean this has to be scheduled for Aug. 8th, which could be a problem with both sides being involved in Europe around then. However in recent years when teams have succeeded in Europe, there’s often been a slump in form after they’ve exited the tournament, when we’ll have tricky ties away to Pats and Dundalk, a potential hiccup to be wary of.

In the final round of games, perhaps crucially, we might be said to have the easier run-in at this early stage, as Bohs will have trips to Sligo and St Pats. Four of our final five games will be against Drogheda, Bray, Fingal and UCD, meaning we’ll have the potentially harder games out of the way come late on. Of course there is one big exception, a potentially huge game against Bohs on October 15th. With only two games left after that, it could be a crucial game and unfortunately it’s to be played in Dalyer.

To end on a happier note, the demotion of Cork City provides a further twist. On the last day of the season we’ll now not have to travel to Turners Cross, a place which has seen very few Rovers victories in recent years. Instead we’ll travel to the Carlisle Grounds and play Bray Wanderers. Last year Bray were already doomed to last place on the final day, they’re likely to be the same again. Though most of us will want to forget it, it was also at Bray that the League trophy was lifted on the final day of the season last year. Here’s hoping for the same again.

Full fixture list after the jump:

Here’s the full fixture list taken from shamrockrovers.ie

One word of warning, the game against St Pats shceduled for Monday March 15th (as per SRFC and the FAI) is listed as Tuesday March 16th on the official Tallaght Stadium site.

Sat 27th Feb	LSC	Rovers v Wexford Youths – Tallaght Stadium ko 7.00
March
Sat 6 Mar	L	Sligo Rovers v Rovers – Showgrounds 7.45pm
Mon 15 Mar	L	Rovers v St Patricks Ath. – Tallaght Stadium 8.00pm
Sun 21 Mar	L	Rovers v Dundalk – Tallaght Stadium 3.45pm
Fri 26 Mar	L	Galway Utd v Rovers – Terryland Park 7.45pm
April
Fri 2 Apr	L	Rovers v U.C.D. – Tallaght Stadium 8.00 pm
Mon 5 Apr	L	Sporting Fingal v Rovers – Morton Stadium 7.45 pm
Fri 9 Apr	L	Rovers v Bohemians – Tallaght Stadium 8.00 pm
	EA	MIDWEEK – EA SPORTS CUP FIRST ROUND
Fri 16 Apr	L	Drogheda United v Rovers – United Park 7.45 pm
Fri 23 Apr	L	Rovers v Bray Wanderers – Tallaght Stadium 8.00 pm
Mon 26 Apr	L	Rovers v Sligo Rovers – Tallaght Stadium 8.00 pm
Fri 30 Apr	L	St. Patrick’s Athletic v Rovers – Richmond Park 7.45 pm
May
Mon 3 May	L	Dundalk v Rovers – Oriel Park 7.45 pm
Fri 7 May	L	Rovers v Galway United – Tallaght Stadium 8.00 pm
	EA	MIDWEEK – EA SPORTS CUP SECOND ROUND
Fri 14 May	L	U.C.D. v Rovers – The UCD Bowl 7.45 pm
Fri 21 May	L	Rovers v Sporting Fingal – Tallaght Stadium 8.00 pm
Sat 29 May	L	Bohemians v Rovers – Dalymount Park 7.45 pm
June
	EA	MIDWEEK – EA SPORTS CUP Quarter-Finals
	FAI	W/E SUNDAY 6th JUNE – FAI FORD CUP 3rd ROUND
Tue 8 Jun	L	Rovers v Drogheda United – Tallaght Stadium 8.00 pm
		Thu 10th Jun – Thu 24th Jun (inclusive) – No Fixtures
Fri 25 Jun	L	Bray Wanderers v Rovers – Carlisle Grounds 7.45 pm
July
Sat 3 Jul	L	Sligo Rovers v Rovers – The Showgrounds 7.45 pm
Tue 6 Jul	L	Rovers v St. Patrick’s Athletic – Tallaght Stadium 8.00 pm
Fri 9 Jul	L	Rovers v Dundalk – Tallaght Stadium 8.00 pm
Fri 16 Jul	L	Galway United v Rovers – Terryland Park 7.45 pm
Fri 23 Jul	L	Rovers v U.C.D. – Tallaght Stadium 8.00 pm
Fri 30 Jul	L	Sporting Fingal v Rovers – Morton Stadium 7.45 pm
August
Mon 2 Aug	EA	EA Sports Cup Semi-Finals
Fri 6 Aug	L	Rovers v Bohemians – Tallaght Stadium 8.00 pm
Fri 13 Aug	L	Drogheda United v Rovers – United Park 7.45 pm
Fri 20 Aug	L	Rovers v Bray Wanderers – Tallaght Stadium 8.00 pm
	FAI	W/E Sun 29th Aug – FAI FORD CUP FOURTH ROUND
September
Fri 3 Sep	L	Rovers v Sligo Rovers – Tallaght Stadium 8.00 pm
Fri 10 Sep	L	St. Patrick’s Athletic v Rovers – Richmond Park 7.45 pm
Mon 13 Sep	L	Dundalk v Rovers – Oriel Park 7.45 pm
	-	W/E Sun 19th Sep – FAI FORD CUP QUARTER-FINALS
Fri 24 Sep	L	Rovers v Galway United – Tallaght Stadium 8.00 pm
Sat 25 Sep	EA	EA Sports Cup – Final
October
Fri 1 Oct	L	U.C.D. v Rovers – The UCD Bowl 7.45 pm
Fri 8 Oct	L	Rovers v Sporting Fingal – Tallaght Stadium 8.00 pm
Fri 15 Oct	L	Bohemians v Rovers – Dalymount Park 7.45 pm
Fri 22 Oct	L	Rovers v Drogheda United – Tallaght Stadium 8.00 pm
Fri 29 Oct	L	Bray Wanderers v Rovers – Carlisle Grounds 7.45 pm
November
Sun 14 Nov	FAI	FAI FORD CUP FINAL

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~ by smulv on February 24, 2010.