Midseason cross-border friendlies: a recap
Credit: Laszlo Geczo (ETPhotos)
The month of July saw 12 friendly games take place between Irish clubs and British clubs. Four English, (Charlton Athletic played three times), two Scottish and three Northern Irish clubs made up the 12 opponents.
The Irish clubs had mixed results, with four wins, one draw and seven defeats. The Irish clubs scored 12 goals and conceded 40.
After one game in particular, there was much speculation on the credibility of friendlies involving Irish clubs (see Dave Donnelly's excellent piece here).
Let’s have a recap on the July friendlies, shall we?
5th of July
St Patrick’s Athletic 1 – 0 Hearts
JJ Lunney's first-half goal was the difference as the Saints hosted SPL side Hearts of Midlothian at Richmond Park, in a game that saw Owen Garvan, Killian Brennan and Jordi Balk make their debuts.
See full match report here.
Cobh Ramblers 0 – 5 Norwich City
Over 800 fans witnessed Norwich City roll over Cobh at St Colman's Park. Four first-half goals from Alex Tettey, Nelson Oliveria, Mario Vranic and James Maddison. The second half saw Alex Pritchard also net for the Canaries.
See full match report here.
8th of July
Drogheda United 0 – 5 Ipswich Town
A Drogheda United side that included several trialists (they played a league game the night before) suffered a 5-0 defeat to Ipswich Town of the Championship at United Park.
See full match report here.
Bohemians 1 – 2 FC United of Manchester
Young winger Keith Dalton put Bohs one up but the fellow fan-owned club from England bounced back to take the bragging rights.
See full match report here.
Shamrock Rovers XI 0 – 9 Celtic
The game which prompted Dave's article. Rovers played two nights before against FC Stjarnan in the Europa League First Qualifying Round, second leg so their squad featured no first-team players and was mainly made up of youngsters and trialists. Celtic started their full-strength team.
See full match report here.
10th of July
Crumlin United 0 – 5 Charlton Athletic
Crumlin United celebrated their 50th anniversary with their senior side playing a special challenge match against English League One side Charlton Athletic in Richmond Park on Monday. The Addicks ran out 5-0 winners on the night, including two goals from former Celtic striker Tony Watt.
See full match report here.
11th of July
Limerick 3 – 2 Charlton Athletic
Limerick came from a two goal half-time deficit in a thrilling game at Market’s Field in front of 1,100 people.
See full match report here.
12th of July
UCD 4 – 1 Charlton Athletic
Ben Hanrahan, Rob Manley and a double from young forward Jason McCelland condemned the Addicks to a second defeat in consecutive days.
See full match report here.
14th of July
Shamrock Rovers XI 0 – 4 Burnley
Same deal as the Celtic game six days previous, Rovers had just played Mlada Boreslav the day before in the Europa League Second Qualifying Round, first leg so the team and squad was full of youngsters and trialists. Burnley had an Irish presence, with five internationals part of their pre-season squad. Jonathan Walters and Robbie Brady both found the net.
See full match report here.
29th of July
Cherry Orchard 1 – 1 Glenavon
Two second half goals meant the Leinster Senior League side came away with a scalp against the Northern Irish league club.
30th of July
Shelbourne 0 – 6 Cliftonville
Goals from Joe Gormley (X3), Daniel Hughes, Jay Donnelly and Jude Winchester meant the Belfast club left Dublin with their tails up in what was prep for their new season.
1st of August
Sligo Rovers 2 – 0 Ballinamallard Utd
Youngster Darren Collins and new signing Greg Moorehouse were on the scoresheet in the second half was enough to put the Northern Irish league club away in a pre-season tie.
We’re these friendlies a positive or a negative for the league? We’d love to hear your thoughts – comment below or respond to us on Twitter or Facebook!
