4 teams didn't play this weekend but no lack of intrigue. Here's our pick of the Airtricity League's talking points from the weekend
1) Shamrock Rovers goal scoring problems continue
On Friday night Eamon Zayed scored his first goal for Shamrock Rovers in the first half against UCD. In form Rovers couldn't push on though and UCD equalised to hand Rovers their 12th draw in 21 league games. Rovers have only scored 2 or more in 5 league games this season. An astonishing stat given the resources Trevor Croly had to work with. UCD have conceded 49 league goals and Rovers have only scored one of them. This compares with 8 for Sligo and Derry, 6 for Pats and 4 for Dundalk of the top 4 teams. Rovers next 3 games are Sligo, Dundalk and Pats. They need to score more to get back in the title race.
2) Dundalk miss opportunity to put pressure on leaders
Dundalk fought back twice to earn a point in Cork but will surely feel they missed a chance to put pressure on those around them who didn't play this week. Now they lie 3 points behind Pats who have a game in hand. It was Dundalk's first draw away from home and the point moves them into 2nd place ahead of idle Sligo and Derry. Dundalk go into the final 12 games knowing they could finish top or they could finish outside of the European places. Every point dropped is crucial.
3) Shels revival continues
Huge win for Shels on Friday night at home to Limerick and even more impressive as they won a game for the first time this season having fell behind. John McDonnell has earned 10 points in Shels last 5 games, compared to 6 in the 14 games under Alan Mathews. This pours further scorn on Mathews claims that a campaign from some Shels fans to have him removed as manager was more personal than results based.
4) Bohemians beating Bray makes it a 5 team relegation battle
We have 5 teams battling for honours at the top and after Bohs win in Bray on Friday, we know have 5 teams battling relegation. After 1 goal in 6, Bohs scored 3 and won to keep themselves off the bottom of the table. Drogheda in 8th position are in awful form and now only 5 points separate them from the bottom. If Shels win in UCD (currently 9th), they'll overtake them in the league. The premier division couldn't be set up better as we hit the home stretch
5) Cobh Ramblers home games are nuts
On Saturday evening, Cobh hosted first division leaders Longford Town and quickly went 0-3 down. They fought back magnificently and claimed a famous 4-3 win. In the first game between the sides in St Colman's Park this season, Cobh threw away a 3-1 lead to allow Longford win 4-3! In the 9 home Cobh games this season there has been 41 goals - that's an average of over 4.5 goals a game! Longford's loss meant that Athlone Town moved to within a point of them at the top. Drama is guaranteed in that division though.
Sligo and Derry compete in Europe in midweek with both sides looking to turn round first leg deficits.
