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First Day of School

Its been a while since I've done a story on here and although I've been playing it constantly since it's release I've not had a save that I've felt compelled to write about.
That changed when I decided to do this....

Some of you may remember a couple of years ago i did the following story:

http://www.fm-base.co.uk/forum/foot...lthill-devon-fc-obscurity-european-glory.html

I had some very good success over a ten year spell including going professional, winning all available domestic competitions and qualifying for the Champions League group stages along with the second knockout round in the Europa League.

What made this save so compelling was that in the first few seasons it was such a hard slog to get the team and club up to scratch that the success was that much sweeter.

So with Salthill Devon no longer being in the First Division in this game i had to choose a new club to lead to Domestic and European glory.

University College Dublin seemed to me to be the perfect choice. Firstly they have similar colours to Salthill Devon. Secondly they've just been relegated after a playoff loss to Galway FC, the team that took over from Salthill Devon so it felt like a perfect symmetry.

I know short term there's going to be a lot of pain due to results and a lack of finances but hopefully together we can achieve greatness.


 
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Pre Season

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First Day of School

Pre Season 2015

History
U.C.D. or University College Dublin are a semi-professional team who play in the Irish First Division at the 3,000 capacity Belfield Bowl located in the southern area of Dublin.
They were founded in 1895 and have two First Division titles, a Senior Challenge Cup and three Leinster Senior Cups.

Media Prediction
The media predicts that we'll finish fourth despite having only just come down from the Premier League last season. I suppose time will tell how accurate that prediction is and whether our squad is strong enough.

Season Tickets
We've only sold 95 season tickets this year which is very reminiscent of Salthill Devon where we won't be seeing any noticeable income from gate receipts or season ticket sales until we break into Europe.

Facilities
I was pleasantly surprised by the state of our facilities at this level with impressive training facilities and adequate youth facilities. Our average junior coaching and basic youth recruitment will be the first things that need improving once the money becomes available.

Transfers

Only the one transfer to speak of in pre season with 18 year old defensive midfield Samuel Ogayemi joining on a free transfer. I didn't want to make too many moves without giving my squad a chance to impress and also didn't want to bring in a lot of players that will ultimately hurt our finances.

Pre Season Friendlies
We played seven friendlies in total with some mixed performances culminating in three wins and four losses including a 2-0 win over Jong Ajax. I've chosen a 4-1-4-1 formation for the season and hopefully the team can gel quickly and put together a season worthy of promotion.


 
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First Day of School

February/March 2015

With there only being one competitive game at the end of February I figured i would group it in with March's update as there wasn't any other newsworthy stories.
The transfer deadline came and went with no further additions, Leinster Senior Cup 4th Round successfully navigated but that's as far as we go, Dundalk drawn in League Cup 2nd Round, promising start to the league and an early Manager of the Month award.

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U.C.D. 1-0 Finn Harps
Cannon 42'

A good win to open our league account, 20 year old striker Cannon getting us off the mark

Cobh Ramblers 1-1 U.C.D.
Watts 20'
O'Connell 90'

A real kick in the teeth last minute equaliser ends our 100% record

U.C.D. 1-0 Athlone Town
Kougoun 80'

Young centre back scores an incredible goal on the turn to give us all three points

Cabinteely 0-2 U.C.D.
Cannon 45+1' & 52'

Clinical performance away from home to put us top of the table after the first month


League Table

View attachment 135741

A really positive start to the season. Hopefully we can push on and continue this good early form

View attachment 134153

Leinster Senior Cup Fourth Round

U.C.D.
3-1 Sheriff Y.C.
O'Neill (O.G) 2'
Cannon 47' & 86'
Kennedy 76'
A great first up performance against what i must say was a much weaker team but you never know how a new team is going to go with a new formation etc

Leinster Senior Cup Quarter Final

Shamrock Rovers 2-1 U.C.D.
Drennan 13'
Murphy (O.G) 41'
Shaw 88'
A good performance against a much better team that was settled by another late goal

In other news i picked up the Irish First Division Manager of the Month award at the first time of asking. Hopefully we can keep up the good work and surpass all expectations this season.

 
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Will definitely be following this story. Follow UCD in real life so interested in seeing someone do a story on them. I did a save with them earlier this year and was got promoted before losing the save. Good luck!
 
Will definitely be following this story. Follow UCD in real life so interested in seeing someone do a story on them. I did a save with them earlier this year and was got promoted before losing the save. Good luck!
Cheers mate, I think U.C.D. have the potential to go somewhere on this game, just have to get through the first few seasons and into the Premier League and start qualifying for Europe to be able to improve those facilities and start bringing through our own players along with the odd Irish/English marque. Thanks for following.
 
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First Day of School

April 2015

After a shaky start we picked up where we left off this month, ageing striker Jason Byrne and backup left midfielder Tom O'Halloran have asked to leave due to lack of playing time and another award comes my way.

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Waterford 1-0 U.C.D.
O'Brien 39'

A really poor performance in both defence and attack. It was a fairly even game in terms of shots and possession but we had no potency going forward

U.C.D. 1-0 Shelbourne
Brady 25'

Left midfielder Cathal Brady scores theonly goal of the game against one of the promotion favourites

Wexford Youths 1-3 U.C.D.
Swan (Pen) 18' & 88'
O'Connor 46'
Mulligan 55'

Clinical performance away from home against a top side to extend our lead at the summit

U.C.D. 1-0 Cobh Ramblers
Brady 18'

Another Cathal Brady goal and another one nil win to end a second good month in the league

League Table

View attachment 135613

We continued our good early form and extended our lead at the top of the table to six points after eight games

In other news i picked up a second Irish First Division Manager of the Month award with three wins in four. Over a quarter of the season gone and I'm happy with the progress we've made.
 
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First Day of School

May 2015

We extend our unbeaten run in the league to eight but only maintain our six point lead. An early exit in the cup against the holders and Premier League leaders. My monopoly on Manager of the Month ends as i can only manage third place and half of my squad are unwilling to negotiate contract extensions despite only having six months to run.

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Finn Harps 0-0 U.C.D.
A real bore draw with no key highlights to speak of. Our inconsistency in front of goal continues

Athlone Town 0-2 U.C.D.
Watts 11'
Brady 74'

A professional job away from home as our midfielders show the strikers where the back of the net is

U.C.D. 0-0
Cabinteely

An even worse game than the Finn Harps one with barely a shot on target

Shelbourne 2-2 U.C.D.
Swan 21'
Kougoun 43'
Shannon 63'
Coughlan (Pen) 81'

An impressive first half performance was matched with an equally disappointing second

U.C.D. 3-0 Waterford
Belhout 6' & 24'
Cannon 89'

Everything came together today and it culminated in Belhout scoring two and assisting the other

League Table

View attachment 135546

We maintain our six point lead as Shelbourne drop crucial points but its very close between second and fourth

View attachment 135220
EA Sports Cup Second Round

U.C.D.
1-3 Dundalk
McAlinden 4'
Brady 29'
Mountney 62'
Finn 64'
An unsurprising result but a good performance nonetheless. Stayed with them and they didn't create more chances than the ones they scored
 
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First Day of School

June 2015

A quiet month with only three games played but we still manage to extend our lead at the summit while also getting knocked out of another cup. I regain my mantle as manager of the month and we receive a pleasant European surprise....

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U.C.D. 3-1
Wexford Youths
Langtry 16'
Power 17'
Belhout 28'
Sloggett 50'
We come out on top as first played second in a comfortable result that sees us increase our lead at the top to eight points

U.C.D. 3-0 Finn Harps
Byrne 80' & (Pen) 89'
Journeyman striker Jason Byrne got two off the bench in the second top of the table clash this month as our lead increases to 11 points

League Table

View attachment 135218

As i mentioned results went our way this month and our lead at the summit increased to 11. We're just over halfway through the season and with only one loss so far I'm feeling confident of securing promotion.

View attachment 135208
Senior Challenge Cup Second Round

Cork City
3-0 U.C.D.
Dooley 58'
Browne 61'
Buckley 79'

A few changes were made for this one and unsurprisngly Cork City were by far and away the stronger team. The opponents we have faced in the cups this year are a good marker for the future. I will be relishing the moment when we produce our first wins against these sides

As i said in the opening of this post i regained the Manager of the Month award for the third time in four months. We're looking very good at the moment and the team seems to have adapted to the style of play I'm trying to implement.
I also received a very pleasant and unexpected surprise this month as it was announced that we have been entered into the Europa League First Qualifying Round! We've been drawn against Polish side Slask Wroclaw. Despite getting relegated last season we gained this spot due to UEFA Fair Play. I'm excited to see what we can do and any extra money and reputation we can attain as a result of this will put us in good stead for the future.
 
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First Day of School

July 2015

A nine game action packed month as we attempt to juggle league commitments along with our first venture into Europe while the transfer window opens bringing a few additions.

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Cobh Ramblers 4-2 U.C.D.
Lehane 10' & 59'
Mylod 30'
Shortall 56'
Christopher 65'
Watts 84'

This fixture fell in between our Europa League qualifiers so a much changed lineup wasn't able to deal with a struggling Cobh

U.C.D. 1-0 Athlone Town
Cannon 66'
A professional job as striker Conor Cannon scores his eighth of the season

Cabinteely
0-0 U.C.D.
Our bogey team and cellar dwellers once again hold us with their defensive style of play

U.C.D. 1-1 Shelbourne
Byrne 2'
English 49'
We strike it lucky as keeper Conor O'Donnell saves an 86th minute penalty after veteran Jason Byrne gave us a 2nd minute lead

Wexford Youths 0-0 U.C.D.
Our fatigued and overworked side manage to get a point in the top of the table contest to maintain our lead at the top

League Table

View attachment 134151

Despite our overcrowded schedule and our need to manage our squad amongst European fixtures we still increase our lead at the top too an almost insurmountable twelve point lead

View attachment 1071046

Europa League First Qualifying Round

Slask Wroclaw
1-2 U.C.D.
Byrne 33'
Brady 58'
Monasterski 87'
Two massive away goals put us in the drivers seat for the second leg at home but the late goal from Monasterski makes it a little bit closer than I would have liked

U.C.D.
1-1 Slask Wroclaw
Kasprzak 65'
Cannon 81'
We negotiated this second leg successfully with a few nervy moments after they scored but Cannon was the man again settling this tie and putting us through to the next round!

Europa League Second Qualifying Round

Lokomotiva 1-0 U.C.D.
Mustapic 66'
So we drew Croatian side Lokomotiva in the Second Qualifying Round and a lack of an away goal makes our task of making it through to the next round that much harder

U.C.D.
2-1a Lokomotiva
Mustapic 12'
Byrne 42'
Brady 75'

A valiant effort from the lads wasn't enough after an early away goal ruined our chances despite a spirited comeback that ultimately ended in elimination

Making it into the Second Qualifying round was an amazing achievement both on and off the field as the total prize money from our European adventure was almost £300,000 wiping out our debts and putting us more than £200,000 into the black. With only eight games left in the league we have a clear focus of what needs to be done to win the league without the distraction of the European cash cow.
 
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First Day of School

August 2015

A horrific month sees our lead at the top demolished as we cant seem to score a goal, let alone get a win. The core of our team has no interest in renewing contracts as they all expire in the next three months. All of this is causing a general low morale around the club.

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Waterford 1-1 U.C.D.
Sheehan 44'
Marshall 51'
Wide midfielder Dean Marshall equalises with his first goal for the club along the way to getting man of the match in a disappointing draw against lowly Waterford

Finn Harps 1-0 U.C.D.
Hanlon 23'
Thoroughly outplayed by the team in second as they also have a penalty saved. Our inconsistency in front of goal continues

U.C.D. 0-1 Cobh Ramblers
Russell 86'
A very undeserved late goal condemns us to another defeat but with our own poor finishing the main reason we find ourselves in this position

Athlone Town
0-0 U.C.D.

Another scoreless away draw against a lowly opposition means that we end the month on a seven game run without a win in the league

League Table

View attachment 133534

As you can see i wasn't exaggerating when i said our lead was demolished. It was a perfect storm as we consistently dropped points and Shelbourne and Finn Harps won all of theirs.

The only good news out of this month is with four games remaining we have three at home having only played two out of our last seven there. Our three home games are against teams in the bottom four so after a tough away test at Shelbourne we have a good run home. Shelbourne and Finn Harps play each other on the final day so that could go a long way to deciding our fate.

 
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First Day of School

September/October 2015

I decided to join September and October together as there was only the final game of the season in October and it made no sense to do a separate update purely for that game.
Moving on the last four games made for an exciting end to the season for the neutral so lets see how we got on....

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Shelbourne 2-4 U.C.D.
Shannon 1'
Walshe 3'

Swan 4' & 65'
Belhout 31'
O'Connor 84'

After three minutes i was tearing my hair out thinking we were throwing the title away so I screamed at the players demanding more and straight from kick off i got exactly that going straight down the other end and scoring. After that we dominated and fully deserved the win. To brighten my mood even further Finn Harps lost 3-2 to Athlone Town giving me a 5 point lead with 3 games to go

U.C.D. 1-0 Cabinteely
Swan 8'
Before this game we were made aware that due to other results we had achieved a playoff place which gave me cause to relax a little knowing that regardless of what happened in the last three games it would be in our power to get promoted. We took another small step towards that goal with a professional result against a team that has held us goalless in our last two meetings

U.C.D. 1-1
Waterford
Drohan 2'
Marshall 27'
We made it hard for ourselves again with an early goal against and despite equalizing we weren't able to tie up the league title off our own initiative
. Then I saw that Finn Harps could only manage a 0-0 draw at home meaning we were crowned champions with one game to spare!!!!

U.C.D. 1-1
Wexford Youths
Murphy 14'
Smith 72'
With the title wrapped up i was able to make a couple of changes and with our youth intake recently happening i was able to blood a couple of the better ones and young centre back Lee Smith took that opportunity and towered home an excellent header from a corner to make an immediate impact

League Table

View attachment 133516

So after some nervy moment towards the back end of the season we manage to win it by a comfortable five points. We had the best defence in the league conceding only 18 goals which is very impressive in my eyes.

As i mentioned earlier we had our youth intake which gave me three players i will look to incorporate into the first team next season:

Eoin Roche GK
View attachment 133515

Gary O'Connor DMC
View attachment 133514

Lee Smith DC
View attachment 133513

In the last game i was able to give O'Connor and Smith their debuts and i was happy with what i saw. Roche will have some time to wait as i have two really good young first team goalkeepers vying for that number one shirt.
So that's the end of the first, very successful season as we defy pre season expectations and finish three places ahead of what was predicted. I'll be doing a post season review before jumping into our return to the Premier League!

 
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First Day of School

End of Season 2015

'' Few will have tipped U.C.D. to achieve more than a top-half finish heading into the season but The Students confounded every expectation by finishing top of the pile as unlikely champions.'' - The Irish Football Express

End of Season Confidence- Untouchable

Competitions

Irish First Division
- Winners
UEFA Europa League - Second Qualifying Round
Irish Senior Challenge Cup - Second Round
Irish League Cup - Second Round
Irish Leinster Senior Cup - Fourth Round

Awards

Fan's Player of the Season
- Dylan Watts (MC)
Goal of the Season - Conor Cannon (ST)
Young Player of the Season - Dylan Watts (MC)

Team of the Season

View attachment 133505

Top Goalscorer - Conor Cannon (8 Goals)
Highest Average Rating - Dylan Watts (7.43)
Most Assists - Cathal Brady (7 Assists)
Most Player of the Match - Dylan Watts (4 PoM)
Average Attendance - 475
Highest Attendance - 1,500 (vs Slask Europa League)
Total Players Used - 34 (Highest in First Division)
Biggest Win - 3-0 (vs Waterford Irish First Division)
Most Games Won in a Row - 3 (10th to 24th April)
Finances - £172,808
,
Irish First Division
Winner -
U.C.D.
Promoted -
Finn Harps
Bottom -
Cabinteely

Irish Premier League
Winner - Dundalk
Europa League -
Cork City, Shamrock Rovers, St Pat's Athletic
Relegated -
Limerick F.C, Drogheda Utd

Irish Senior Challenge Cup Winner -
Shamrock Rovers
Irish League Cup Winner - Dundalk
Irish Munster Senior Cup Winner -
Cork City
Irish Leinster Senior Cup Winner - Shamrock Rovers
Irish President's Cup Winner -
Cork City

Transfers

View attachment 133499

Although I only made one transfer before the season began i realised after the transfer window closed that i would need more to push for the title and deal with the Europa League qualifiers. It was a massive surprise to get Niall Burdon on a free transfer as it really gave me depth for that number one shirt.

In reflection that was a great first season at the club which no doubt was helped by our early exits from all of the cup competitions. Our run in Europe while surprising gave us a massive financial boost which allowed me to start my National C Licence and also get my signing for next season sorted at this very early stage. It also allowed me to re sign all of the players that i wanted to contract renewals due to our financial position along with our promotion. Hopefully by keeping the same core of players it will allow us to gel quickly and consolidate our place in the Irish Premier League.

 
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First Day of School

Pre Season 2016

Media Prediction
No surprises that the media expect us to get relegated, but they believe it'll be through the playoff listing us to finish in eleventh. I'm hopeful that with the signings I've made we can maybe finish higher but as it was last season I'm going into the unknown again and won't know more until the season proper.

Season Tickets
Sales climbed from 95 last season to 116 which is encouraging. Hopefully we can continue in this vein year on year and start to fill our 3,000 capacity stadium.

Facilities
The only change to our facilities over the past twelve months was our junior coaching which i managed to get upgraded from 'average' to 'good'. If we can establish ourselves as a IPL regular i'll hopefully get a chance to improve the rest.

Transfers

View attachment 133403
Seven in and seven out as i look to inject some Premier League quality into the squad. Being a promoted side i felt it important to bulk up our defence and i believe i have with six of the seven signings fitting that profile. The other signing, which i payed money for was striker Rob Lehane the leading scorer in the First Division last season. I felt that was our weakest area last year and hopefully his goals will earn us the all important points required to stay up.

Pre Season Friendlies
We played six friendlies in total with some of them on a tour to Northern Ireland and the rest away in England. We couldn't manage a win and only two draws with weaker Northern Irish opposition. Hopefully this isn't a sign of things to come.
 
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First Day of School

February/March 2016

As with last year there's only one competitive game in February so I figured i would group it in with March's update again as there wasn't any other newsworthy stories.
The transfer deadline came and went with no further additions, heartbreak in the Leinster Senior Cup 4th Round and defeat in the League Cup 1st Round. A mixed start to the league gives me hope.

View attachment 133389

Longford 1-3 U.C.D.
Lehane 36' 41' & 50'
Duffy 66'

A hat trick on league debut for striker Rob Lehane gives us an early and vital three points against a team that might also struggle

St Pat's Athletic 2-1 U.C.D.
Lehane 24'
Fagan 45+1'
McGrath 81'

Unlucky to slip to defeat through a late winner but overall there was some positive signs


U.C.D. 2-2 Dundalk
Marshall 17'
Wilkinson 33'
Horgan 72'

Lehane 77'

We took a surprising lead against the champions and then through purely my own fault we sat back and let them pour wave after wave of attack on us. Centre Mid Eric Foley got sent off for a second bookable offence on 52 minutes and when they finally took the lead it i thought we were done but it actually kicked me into gear and we reverted back to our starting tactic and manage a very positive point

Sligo Rovers 2-0 U.C.D.
Lyons 20'
Gordon 55'

A fairly even game in terms of shots and possession but Sligo showed their class and finished much better. Centre half Brian Shortall picked up our second red card in as many games with a last man tackle that was in my opinion a bit harsh

League Table

View attachment 133386

A really positive start to the season sitting seventh. Even though its early doors my gut tells me that I will need to match or beat the results from two of Longford, Bohemians and Finn Harps to stay up. Last season Longford and Galway Utd stayed up with 30 points each so at this stage thats my aim.

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Leinster Senior Cup Fourth Round

U.C.D.
0-0 (2-4 P) Longford
A very disappointing way to start the season as we absolutely dominated for 120 minutes but couldn't find the back of the net. Penalties were always going to be a lottery and their depth in skilled finishers showed

View attachment 133383
EA Sports Cup First Round

Shamrock Rovers 3-2 U.C.D.
North 32' & 57'
McLoughlin 11' & 82'
Henderson (OG) 81'
For the second year running we draw Shamrock Rovers. With this fixture falling midweek between two important league games i made a few changes including 17 year old debutant Ross McLoughlin who managed two great finishes which belied his tender years to almost ****** us a result
 
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First Day of School

April 2016

A jam packed month featuring eight league games and they all had one thing in common....we didn't lose.

1071869d1471014109-u-c-d-first-day-school-ipl.png

U.C.D. 2-0 Cork City
Marshall 68'
Maguire (OG) 88'
After three league games without a victory i expected our season to go from bad to worse but the lads put on a brilliant display to dispatch last seasons runners up

Finn Harps 1-1 U.C.D.
McMonagle (OG) 43'
O'Donnell (OG) 78'

A really disappointing result against the bottom side as our keeper Conor O'Donnell drops a cross over the line to share the points

U.C.D. 2-1 Galway Utd
Keating 15'
McLoughlin 18'
Last 90+4'

Youngster Ross McLoughlin scored his third goal in two games to equalize early on before centre back Stephen Last popped up with the last gasp winner from a corner

U.C.D. 2-2 Shamrock Rovers
Marshall 6'
Brennan 34'
Lehane 58'
Miele 77'
Another good point against a top side has me starting to believe that maybe we're up for more than a relegation battle

U.C.D. 1-1 Bohemians
Akinade 4'
Higgins 28'

It shows how far we've come that i see this as two points dropped rather than a point gained

Bray Wanderers 2-2 U.C.D.
Salmon 27'
Lehane 56'
McClelland 77'
Clucas 82'

Another game undefeated and we're starting to climb that ladder and put a bigger gap between us and those in the relegation places

U.C.D. 1-0 Derry City
Swan 17'
Before this game Derry City was one place above us in fourth so i challenged the guys to show them whether they were serious about challenging for those European spots and they gave me the perfect response

U.C.D. 1-0 Longford
Swan 50'
It would have been quite easy to slip up against lowly Longford but we did the job to end the month unbeaten

League Table

View attachment 132213

That makes some surprising yet pleasant reading. I'm under no illusions that we can sustain this for another twenty one games but I'm happy that we're ten points away from my preseason target of thirty points with a ten point gap to the relegation playoff spot
 
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First Day of School

May/June 2016

Only one game at the end of June after the mid season break so i decided to join the two updates together. We face five league games and a Senior Challenge Cup second round that would see us maintain our lofty standing.

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Shamrock Rovers 1-1 U.C.D.
Lehane 66'
Drennan 77'
We were unable to hold on to the lead but on the whole I'm happy with an away point against a much larger opponent

U.C.D.
2-1 St Pat's Athletic
Marshall 24'
Byrne 47'
Lehane 51'

We come out on top in an even contest against a team sitting just below us on the table. Record signing Rob Lehane continues to prove that the outlay to bring him to the club was worth it

Dundalk 2-1 U.C.D.
O'Donnell 48'
Lehane 64'
Wilkinson 83'

Denied by a late winner against last seasons champions and this years leaders i thought we gave a good account of ourselves and were unlucky not to grab a point

U.C.D. 2-1 Sligo Rovers
Lehane 10' & 19'
Sadlier 75'
Another victory against a team on our tails in the league. In previous versions of FM, Sligo Rovers have always been a team in and around the top of the IPL so to get a win against them is a great show of the progress we've made in a short space of time

Cork City 2-0 U.C.D.
Morrissey 18'
Sheppard (Pen) 88'

Beaten by a much better team as they leapfrog us on the table following this result

League Table

View attachment 131491

Somehow we manage to keep punching above our weight in third place. It's so tight all the way down to 9th so one bad month and we could be back in the midst of a relegation fight. Having said that we're almost at my target of 30 points halfway through the season and i can't see both Longford and Galway Utd staging a big run in to put us in any real trouble so my aim for the rest of the season is to keep trying to win games and hopefully dream of a European place.
View attachment 131500
U.C.D. 4-0 Limerick F.C.
Lehane 7' & 30'
Marshall 53' & 79'

A huge dismantling of the team that lost in the relegation playoff last season as Lehane takes his season tally in all competitions to 14
 
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First Day of School

July 2016

Six league games this month and the transfer window opens again as we make some big moves.
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U.C.D. 3-0 Finn Harps
O'Connor 26'
McClelland 54' & 85'

An expected result and performance against a side that is staring down the barrel of relegation

Bohemians 1-2 U.C.D.
McClelland 5'
O'Neill 15'
Akinade 78'
A good result away against a mid table side that we were unable to beat at home earlier in the season. Young left winger Jason McClelland has had a fine start to the month bagging three goals in two games

U.C.D. 1-2
Bray Wanderers
Coughlan 49'
Brennan 69'
Lyons 70'
Disappointed to drop points at home in a match where we were the better team. New signing Chris Lyons got off the mark with his first goal for the club in his second spell

Galway Utd 0-2 U.C.D
Watts 6'
Marshall 70'

An excellent response from the team after the last result. Lately i feel like we can and will beat anyone that we play against

Derry City 1-2 U.C.D.
Marshall 29' & 68'
Langley 90+3'
Back to back away games and we come through both of them with maximum points. A very late consolation for Derry made this look closer than it was

Longford 2-4 U.C.D.
Ellis 5'
McClelland 28' & 40'
McGlynn 45+1'
Hayes 53'
Lehane 84'

A topsy turvy first half as both teams relinquish the lead at different stages before our class shone through in the second. An outstanding month for Jason McClelland scoring 5 goals in only 3 appearances


League Table

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We continue to mix it with the big boys, five points clear of third with ten games to go. It's got to the point where we've now played everybody both home and away and we have to be thinking that losing out on a European spot now would be a bad season. Twelve points separate us and leaders Dundalk which i think will be too much of a mountain to climb but as we play them at home in two weeks time a good result might make things interesting.

Transfer Window

It was a very busy window for me bringing in no less than 9 players as contracts came to an end in England i was able to ****** up some Irish lads that wanted to be closer to home....

Brian Murphy GK
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An experienced head between the sticks to balance out the young keepers i already have at the club.

Alan Sheehan DLC
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I think this is an extraordinary pick up on a free transfer from Luton. At 29 years of age he's in his prime and will add some class from set pieces that we've so far lacked.

Jay Tabb DM/MLC
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Another incredible free transfer, this time from Ipswich. Will hopefully boss the DM position and strengthen that spine.

Gary Deegan DM/MC
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A real hard man from Southend will hopefully add some steel in the centre of the park and at 28 is another in his prime.

Gavan Holohan MC/AMC
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Originally was signed on an end of contract but decided to activate the buy now figure of £8.5K. Taken from Cork City he will add depth to our centre midfield and get the chance to learn off some of our new recruits.

Andy Reid MLC/AMC
View attachment 130918
A massive coup for our club as 29 time capped Irish international decides to join us from Nottingham Forest. He will bring some flair and creativity to our midfield as well as helping along some of the youngsters.

Steven Kinsella AMRL
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Everton youngster Steven Kinsella joins us when most of the clubs in the English Premier League and Championship were after him. Good potential and will challenge for a starting spot for the rest of the season.

Stephen Hunt M/AML
View attachment 130916
Another player with bags of international experience picking up 39 caps for Ireland. Will most likely miss the rest of the season due to injury unless we make a run to the Challenge Cup final.

Chris Lyons ST
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As with Gavan Holohan I signed Lyons on an end of contract but decided to bring him in immediately for £12K. It was a no-brainer as he is the equal top scorer in the league with 13 goals and being able to take him off Sligo Rovers who were challenging for a European spot made perfect sense.

So that was my busy transfer window and I'm absolutely ecstatic to be able to bring this calibre of player to our club and hopefully capitalise on any slip ups from above.

 
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First Day of School

August 2016

A pretty underwhelming month considering what was at stake while the new recruits take some time to bed in.

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St Pat's Athletic 2-2 U.C.D.
Byrne 7'
McClelland 26'
Reid 62'
Dennehy (Pen) 64'

Disappointed we didn't shade this one as Andy Reid went from hero to zero, scoring the goal that put us ahead then straight from kick off hand-balling in the box to give away a penalty for the equalizer

U.C.D. 1-0 Shamrock Rovers
Lehane 23'
Rob Lehane's 16th goal in all competitions is enough to take all the points in front of a record crowd of 2,567

U.C.D.
1-3 Dundalk
McClelland 4'
Horgan 59'
Kilduff 84' & 88'
A combination of poor finishing and poor defending let us down here and ultimately spells the end of our very slim chance at the title. Striker Ciaran Kilduff who came off the bench and finished both those goals has his contract expiring at the end of the season so i used that opportunity to sign him up on an end of contract deal

Sligo Rovers 1-0 U.C.D.
Cretaro (Pen) 88'
A real kick in the guts moment as new signing Alan Sheehan brings down a Sligo player to condemn us to a second loss in a row and give the chasing pack a chance to catch up. Sligo centre back Michael Leahy was then sent off in the 90th minute for pulling down Chris Lyons as he was through on goal which added to my frustrations

League Table

View attachment 130878

We're still clinging onto second by our fingertips as Shamrock's three games in hand will take them level with Cork City on 45 points. Only six games to go and we're basically playing the bottom six with the exception of Cork City at home which could define our season.
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Longford 3-2 U.C.D.
Quigley 15' & 45+1'
Akinade 33'

Lehane 50'
McClelland 71'

A really disappointing display in the first half so i stuck a rocket under them at half time and made a change and we looked like we were going to ****** it but hit a couple of one on ones straight at the keeper
 
Some of those signings look brilliant! The older guys coming in will breeze this level, i only managed to pick up Stephen Hunt out of the older generation and hes looked good so far, Dundalk look a tough ask to beat in the league though
 
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