- Gareth Penrose
- Mon, Mar 06 2023
The first Monday night set of fixtures has taken place for the 2023 season with a full series of Premier Division games scheduled.
14,065 spectators turned up in for a cold and wet evening of League of Ireland football and were treated to 22 goals with only UCD failing to get on the scoresheet.
Shamrock Rovers have been blazing a trail with their attendances but this week they have been beaten to first place in the attendance tables by Bohemians.
Bohs home game against Drogheda United saw 4,114 turn up at Dalymount Park which, when compared to 2022, is the best crowd the Gypsies have recorded. The home crowd saw their team return to winning ways with a 3-1 victory over the Drogs.
Shamrock Rovers were not far behind with a crowd of 4,028. The people in attendance got to watch as the Hoops fought back from 4-2 down to equalise in the 97th minute against Cork City.
Dundalk fought back from a 1-0 deficit against Shelbourne to win 2-1 in front of 2,766 spectators. This is down on their last two home crowds of 3,142 and 3,487 and would be very close to their average 2022 attendance but of course when you factor in the game being on a Monday, a drop is not unexpected.
Sligo Rovers were only 15 less than Dundalk with 2,751 there to watch the home side beat St Pats 2-1. The Bit O’Red opened the season with 4,248 but dropped quite a bit for this game. However when you look at their Monday and Tuesday attendances of 2022 (2,634, 2,209, 1,973, 1,868, 2,270) this figure fares well against them.
UCD lost to Derry City by four goals to nil in front of 406 people. This attendance, when compared to 2022, would be their lowest. The weather, the fact it was Monday and their opponents would have to travel from Derry to watch the match are all contributing factors to the low figure.
The 28th February 2022 saw the first Monday fixtures take place last season with five Premier Division games in play. Like this year, Bohemians, Shamrock Rovers, UCD, and Dundalk all played at home. Instead of Sligo Rovers, Derry City were the home side last year.
That evening 14,273 spectators watched on so when you compare with 2023, last year saw 208 more turn up at League of Ireland venues.
When you look at them one-by-one, Bohemians improved (4,114 versus 3,480). Shamrock Rovers was slightly down (4,028 versus 4,107). Dundalk was slightly up (2,766 versus 2,676). Sligo Rovers had 2,766 compared to Derry City’s 3,020 with UCD dropping from 990 down to 406.
This coming Friday will be interesting to see regarding attendances. Clubs have now played four games and the new season buzz for some clubs has started to ebb away with losses and draws. The question is will the fans of those clubs turn up on Friday and Saturday in the same numbers. We hope so!
The full list of attendances for this Gameweek is as follows:
Gameweek 4 Attendances
|
Home Team |
Away Team |
Attendance |
|
Bohemians |
Drogheda Utd |
4,114 |
|
Shamrock R |
Cork City |
4,028 |
|
Dundalk |
Shelbourne |
2,766 |
|
Sligo R |
Pats |
2,751 |
|
UCD |
Derry City |
406 |
|
|
TOTAL ATTENDANCE |
14,065 |
|
|
Average Overall |
2,813 |
|
|
Average Premier |
2,813 |
|
|
Average First |
0 |
