2020 Season Preview: Cabinteely

Manager: Pat Devlin

Stadium: Stradbrook

Players in: Michael Kelly (Bohemians), Lloyd Buckley (Kilmore Celtic), Corey Chambers (Ballymun United), Ciaran Grogan (Athlone Town), Eoin McPhillips (Drogheda United), Dylan Thornton (Bohemians), Kaito Akimoto (Portmarnock), Ryusei Kojima (Liffey Wanderers).

Players out: Jack Watson (Bray Wanderers), Rob Manley (Longford Town), Stephen McGuiness (Bohemians), Jack Tuite (Drogheda United), Conor Crowley (Wexford), Yuta Sasaki (Iwate Grulla Morioka).

Extratime.ie Key Man: Conor Keeley

After re-signing for the club, towering central defender Conor Keeley has also been recently installed as Cabinteely’s new first-team captain ahead of the 2020 campaign.

A string of mightily impressive performances in 2019 has seen Keeley catch the eye of many in League of Ireland circles, and he will be hoping to do similar in the latest campaign.

The former Shelbourne defender certainly has shown he has the potential to kick on, and that he will be looking to do with Pat Devlin’s Green and White’s in 2020.  

Extratime.ie One to Watch: Eoin Massey

Hailing from Cabinteely’s highly-thought of underage structures, Eoin Massey has established himself as one of Cabo’s most important utility players.



Adept of playing in a number of positions in both midfield and defence, 18-year-old Massey made 25 league appearances for Cabo last term.

And after a year of valuable senior first-team experience to his name – the young Dubliner will certainly be looking to take advantage of whatever opportunity falls his way in 2020. 

How they did last season:

League:

It was a year to remember for Cabinteely who stunned many to secure a fourth placed finish – and their first ever playoff position.

However, if it wasn’t for a difficult June, Cabinteely may very well have found themselves competing for the league title towards the latter stages of the year.



Despite that, the playoffs was still seen as a superb achievement for Cabo, but they were not content just to take part – as they dumped out Longford Town in a dramatic penalty shootout win at City Calling Stadium.

Drogheda United proved to be a step to far however, with a lack of experience perhaps showing in the second leg at United Park. But that cannot take away from a superb league campaign for Cabo.

FAI Cup:

While they were victorious on penalties against Longford Town in the Playoffs, Cabinteely were afforded no such spot-kick luck in the FAI Cup.

Cork City cruelly dumped out the Green and Whites in dramatic fashion at Stradbrook, with Ronan Hurley’s late leveller cancelling out what looked to be a winner for Cabo in extra-time.

Mark McNulty saved Manley’s leggy spot-kick, with Gearoid Morrissey steering home his penalty to secure victory for a relieved Rebel Army. 

EA Sports Cup:

Cabinteely bowed out of the EA Sports Cup at the first attempt with a defeat away to Bohemians at Dalymount Park.

Luke Clucas gave the First Division side a first-half lead, before Ryan Graydon and Sam Byrne scored in the second half to avoid a cup upset of sorts for the Gypsies.

What to expect this season:

As far as 2020 goes, it is difficult to see Cabinteely surpassing, or even equalling their record-breaking 2019 if you look at player outgoings at Stradbrook.

However, after losing a whole host of key players, Pat Devlin’s Green and White’s have been active in the transfer window – bringing in the likes of Dylan Thornton from Bohemians and Eoin McPhillips from Drogheda United.

There is also a growing identity at the club – with 15 of their 33-man squad coming through the club’s famed 'Green Line' underage ranks in recent seasons.

In addition, they may also have one of the two best goalkeeping options in the First Division – given their recent acquisitions of the returning Michael Kelly and Corey Chambers who spent last term with Wexford.

The retention of key players such as Kieran ‘Marty’ Waters, Conor Keeley and Paul Fox will be a welcome boost, and they could even push on once more.

If they do, Cabinteely have a real chance of making serious headway into the First Division promotion picture as they did last year – and as we learned already, write Cabo off at your peril.

There is the nucleus of a fairly strong squad at the club already, and with the likes of Eddie Gormley, Graham O’Hanlon, Paul Heffernan and John Power at the helm alongside Devlin – there is no reason to suggest why Cabo can’t compete at the top-end of the second tier once more.

 

Title Odds: 20/1

First game: Bray Wanderers (H) – February 21st