For those of a certain vintage, there was a spell when all Shamrock Rovers did was win doubles. This, of course, is an exaggeration, but back in the 1980s, it would have felt that way for their rivals. But the latter had, at least, enjoyed 38 years of relief from these double dosages. Until Sunday.
“They’re a runaway train,” said Gareth McGlynn on RTÉ’s pitchside panel after Rovers’ 2-0 triumph over Cork City in the FAI Cup final thanks to goals from Peter Pan, aka Rory Gaffney. Added to their fifth league title in six years, and their Conference League campaign, that adds up to a reasonable enough season. Little wonder Stephen Bradley was beaming.
Gaffney was, need it be said, the man of the match, although the stadium’s head groundsperson deserved at least a share of the gong after having the pitch in pristine condition just 24 hours after 30 Irish and Japanese gentlemen had been rucking’ and mauling’ the bejaysus out of it.
Tony O’Donoghue examined the surface in the company of Cork and Rovers old boys Alan Bennett and Ronan Finn, and while doing so spotted a Rovers man demonstrating his skills during the warm-up. “Look at Burkie there doing the keep-puppies, he’s like Catherine Connolly,” he said. Graham Burke has been compared to many folk in his life – like, say, the Brazilian Ronaldo – but possibly never to a president-elect.
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Such was the contrast in the seasons enjoyed/endured by the finalists – champions versus relegated – the panel might have struggled to big this contest up, but Alan Cawley, especially, did his level best, refusing to rule out an upset. And he didn’t look to be too wide of the mark when it was still scoreless approaching half-time, at which point Cork were reduced to 10 men after picking up the reddest of red cards.
“It’s just stuuuuuuupid,” as Stuart Byrne put it at the break, the panel by then putting all their eggs in Rovers’ basket. A wise enough move, as it proved, although just one question? Behind the din of the whoopin’ and hollerin’ Rovers fans when the goals went in, did we hear After All being blasted over the stadium speakers as their celebration tune? If so, that would be akin to playing Molly Malone if Cork scored. Or it could be that these ears need syringing?
Anyway, a disappointing day for Cork, including their young defender Freddie Anderson. Des Curran reminded us that Freddie’s Da Viv won two European Cups. “I’d say he’d give both of those up to see his son win an FAI Cup final,” said Conan Byrne. “My arse,” Viv might have replied if he was tuned in.
Over to Sky for the second half of Manchester City v Liverpool. “Liverpool have been dreadful,” said our Roy at the break, and it didn’t get a whole lot better thereafter. “Yeah, I think it’s a crisis for them,” he said come full-time, it not being often that you worsen your team after you spend close enough to a half a billion Euros in one transfer window.
Micah Richards zoomed in on Florian Wirtz for criticism, but Roy intimated that the rearguard might possibly be the issue. “The full-backs are a huge problem, the goalkeeper needs to do better, the centre-half looks a nervous wreck.”
It is, as we know, an odd game. Arne Slot was the Messiah last season, now he’s the new Ruben Amorim. Conor Bradley was the love-child of Denis Irwin and Cafu in Tuesday Champions League win over Real Madrid, when he nullified Vini Jr, and was the new Diogo Dalot come Sunday when Jérémy Doku toyed with him. As Gary Neville regularly put it during the game when Doku tortured him, “aaaaaggggggh”.
Still, based on Tuesday’s reception, it’s unlikely that the Liverpool faithful will welcome Trent A-A back any time soon. After all, they regard him as an even greater traitor than Alan Carr.
Never mind all that, though, judging by the interweb, Sunday’s biggest talking point was that our Roy wasn’t wearing a poppy. Please Lord, make it stop.
