Supporters Club Notes

Supporters’ Club Notes (20/08/2018)

Mon Aug 20th 2018

BEST IN WEST

It was one thing beating Sligo Rovers in the FAI Cup and on their ground. But the big question on all supporters’ minds leading up to the Galway game was, could we maintain that momentum. After all, there was huge motivation for the westerners too because home defeat would surely signal an end to their season’s ambitions.

Thankfully our fears were laid to rest with a controlled display by a determined, spirited Town display. Two well goals each from Jamie Doyle and Dylan McGlade saw us run out comfortable 1-4 winners. Three points bagged and three goal cushion away from home saw the large travelling support leave Galway with Galway Bay sized grins. What was particularly pleasing about this win was that our mounting injury list didn’t seem to impact as much as some feared. We’ll need all the stored up reserve energy as we face more vital league games in September.

ERIC’S GHOST

Quite a few people are now comparing the heroics of Dylan McGlade to those of Eric Lavine. For those who never witnessed Eric’s wizardry, it’s a huge compliment. Sporting media outlets in the west have been marvelling at his silken skills which always make for pleasing reading. Long may Dylan continue to ply his magic while donning the red and black.

WE’RE DUE ONE

This Saturday night we face Shels once again. This time it’s the FAI Cup Second Round. Despite our poor form against the Dublin side, we’ve never been too far behind them. We know from top displays throughout the season that we beat the very best of teams. Well surely we’re due one victory in late August against our visitors. We’ve already put one team wearing red and white to the sword, now it’s time to repeat the dose against Shels. Kick off is 7.30 this Saturday night in what promises to be a real cup cracker.

PICTURE PERFECT

Congratulations to Ken Keenan, a sports photographer based in the west. His timely pic perfectly captured our heroic win over Galway last week end. In it, the beaten home keeper looks distraught as he lies facing his own goal post. Goal scorer Jamie Doyle, his chest puffed out awaits the plaudits from his onrushing, jubilant team mates and in the background the visiting Town supporters jump in noisy celebration with young Burke as cheerleader. Some supporters are seen, out of focus, texting the welcome news. If ever a picture painted a thousand red and black words, this was it. Well done Ken with the keen eye.

You can find his pictures from the night here…

MARATHON MAN

It was great to see our long serving, loyal supporter Raymond Grehan picking up his well merited medal on Sunday. The Longford Marathon was run on Sunday last and one of the many participants was our own Ray of sunshine. There may have been many more but he was the only one noticed by this note scribbler.

Supporters’ Club Notes (12/08/2018)

Sun Aug 12th 2018

CUP JOY

The weather in the north west wasn’t too good but beating Sligo Rovers in the FAI Cup yet again, certainly made up for the dismal Sligo wind and rain. We travelled up the N4 in great numbers more in hope than expectation. We managed to beat them last season, surely, this time they’d be out for sweet revenge on their home sod.

If our hosts thought they were in for a handy win, they hadn’t reckoned on a skilled, spirited performance from De Town. It was a real tough cup tie with Jamie Hollywood’s second half strike being enough for a sweet Town victory. In a game where all the players stood tall and proud, it was a hard task trying to pick any single player of the game. Mick Kelly brought off some excellent saves, Aodh Dervin ran himself ragged and Dylan McGlade tortured the opposition all night but it was a superb team performance. We had a bit of luck too but at the final whistle, many home fans were quick to acknowledge that we deserved to be in the pot for the next round. Indeed many home fans were loud in their disappointment at their own performance. They may have a much larger budget than us but money doesn’t always buy success. Once again, the travelling support was excellent even without the aid of a drum . Pity poor Kieran Burke who was about 36,000 ft in the clouds jetting homewards but we were happy to be on cloud 9. The romance of the Cup…there’s nothing quite like it.

Jamie Hollywood celebrates Town’s winner against the Bit O’Red (Picture by The Bit O’ Red Photography on Facebook)

PERFECT PRESSIE

The FAI Cup win was the perfect birthday gift for one of the Town’s hardest working and most loyal supporters, Liam Healion. Due to a secrecy clause, we’re not allowed to reveal his age but a smiling Mags said he was like a 30 year old later on. Birthday wishes also to supporter Ben Hussey who celebrated his birthday, earlier in the week, with an official announcement on RTE radio.

MEL’S RETURN

It was great to see Mel Devlin back in the City Calling Stadium recently following a spell in hospital. Everyone was delighted the jovial Mel back and looking forward to seeing that smile again at our next home game.

GALWAY AWAY

We’re away to Galway United in a massive game this Friday, August 17th at 7.45pm. All of our remaining games are like cup finals; victory is vital, simple as that. If we can reproduce the display against Sligo, we should be fine. Anything less is no good. Once again, it looks like we’ll have a decent crowd making the journey west. Hopefully we’ll be smiling on the road home.



Longford Town FC Supporters’ Club Notes (22/07/2018)

Sun Jul 22nd 2018

JOB DONE

After a fairly dull first half, our game against Wexford on Saturday night burst in life in the second half. Two goals from Dylan Mc Glade (though Tristan wants video evidence to show he scored too) and Daniel O Reilly in the second half meant we bagged all three vital points. Wexford brought no support which didn’t help the atmosphere on a night when many of usual supporters were on holiday duty. Certainly Pauric Connolly’s contributions were missed from the stand but he assures us he’ll be back for the game at Tolka on Friday night. Section O, once again kept the chanting and slagging going and were duly rewarded with a group photo with their victorious heroes at the end of the match. LTFC TV have added a second remote camera behind the goals which adds significantly to their video coverage. Remember, all the highlights can be viewed on the various social media platforms and have proved to be hugely popular with fans home and abroad.

SHELS AWAY ON FRIDAY

Friday night’s clash is one of the most important we’ve played so far this season. Shels sit in fourth position on 36 points, while we’re just behind them on 35 points. We need need to get to fourth place if we we’re serious about promotion play off places. We know we can beat Friday night’s opposition if we can only reproduce our best performances. Playing away is no real disadvantage and Tolka Park is only 90 minutes away from Longford. No doubt Section O will be organising a bus to make their presence felt which always gives the team a right good lift. Shels may have beaten us last Tuesday in what was really only a shadow boxing encounter. This Friday night and the gloves will surely be off. A win would be a very nice thank you and set us up for a focused run to the end of the league.

INTERNATIONAL FLAVOUR

While Saturday night’s game against Wexford wasn’t exactly our biggest crowd of the season so far, it certainly didn’t lack for a truly international flavour. Section O’s choir benefited from the addition of some Norwich supporters over from the UK. Meanwhile over in the stand, we hosted two club hoppers from Bavaria, Germany, Timo Siersch and Robert Schuster. Robert has already visited 650 stadia in 80 countries worldwide and said that although, it seems like a lot, he’s very much at the lower end when compared to some real club hoppers. Both were delighted with the City Calling Stadium and the welcome they received adding that they prefer small local venues where supporters are there for real football and not just an impersonal corporate event. Incidentally, this was Robert’s second time seeing De Town in action; his first was when we faced Vaduz, Liechtenstein in the UEFA Cup many, many seasons ago.

We also hosted three visitors from Tromso, Norway who made the long trip especially to see De Town play. 15 year old Benjamin Halvorsen first got to know of De Town through playing FIFA & Football Manager on his computer. As the years ticked by, the young lad (who also excels at chess internationally) had a dream of one day visiting the home of Longford Town FC. Incidentally, he loves De Town abbreviation. So this weekend, with help from his mother and her partner, his dream became a reality. In what was a lovely gesture after the game, the entire squad and management autographed his jersey and posed for photos. Already, his story of De Town and its friendliness is spreading rapidly back home in Norway.

BIRTHDAY WISHES

While Pauric Connolly continued to celebrate his big birthday on the southern coasts, Donald Keogh dashed back from Romania to celebrate his even bigger birthday after Saturday night’s game. Meanwhile, our young whipper snapper of a Merchandise Manager, Sinead Keegan was also out celebrating her big day though she’s far from being even half the age of our other two senior supporters. Congrats all.

FAMILY FUN DAY

August 4th is Obama’s birthday so he’ll be unable to attend our Family Fun Day on the same day. A few years ago, we hosted two massively successful Fun Days which attracted huge crowds. This year, we’ll have Bouncy Castles of all sorts as well as free face painting and a chance to meet and greet the players and have some pics taken. And we’ll also have free ice cream available. Now, in all honestly where’d you get it ? The event will happen before the Athlone game, so make sure to note the date in your diary.

CAR BOOT SALE

The August Bank Holiday will certainly be a full and busy one for all supporters of De Town. On the bank holiday Monday, we’ll be holding our second last Car Boot Sale of the season. So far all our CBS’ have been hugely successful and have contributed handsomely to the Club’s coffers. It opens around sunrise and goes on till 3.00pm.

OWN GOAL

Grass root supporters of all sporting codes were taken aback in relation to the situation regarding the testimonial game for the late Liam Miller. Word spread on social media over the week end that the larger Cork venue could host the charity match, and a number of national news and sports websites published articles based on those reports. However, Michael O’Flynn, a developer and family friend of Liam Miller, speaking to Trevor Welch on Cork’s 98 FM he said he didn’t know where those reports came from. Hopefully by the time you’re reading these notes, sense will have prevailed and all sports supporters on Leeside and further afield can attend the deserving event.


Supporters’ Club Notes (08/07/2018)

Sun Jul 8th 2018

BURST BUBBLE

Expectations were high before our game against Cobh.After all, recentperformances had been excellent and plenty of goals had been scored. The evening was perfect. There was a confident buzz about the City Calling Stadium. Plenty of former supporters filed through the turnstiles. Section O made a big effort to add to their numbers and had plenty of flags flying high. There was a festival on the streets of the town, the World Cup was on yet we had a large, expectant crowd.

But by half time, it looked like a different team to that which hammered UCD. If Cobh’s challenge was taken for granted, thentheir opening goal should have awoken us from our deep slumber. While Sam Vernon managed to equalise, we were carved open again and Cobh held out for an unlikely 2-1 win. While the ref wasn’t brilliant, in fairness he can’t be blamed for the under-par performance. We can do better and quite simply, we have to do better.

HARPS AWAY

A tough encounter is guaranteed this weekend when Finn Harps will “welcome” us to Finn Park. Their animated manager was an interested spectator at the Cobh game and Ollie didn’t leave the City Calling Stadium trembling with fear after Saturday night’s game. Each game to date has a bit of a bite and now that the Donegal men have leapfrogged us, they’ll certainly want to widen the gap. But then, we know that we have to produce a top drawer performance to remain in the hunt for promotion. It won’t be a game for the faint hearted but we’re ready. Bring it on.

DYLAN’S AWARD

Dylan McGlade received his Player of the Month award for June on Saturday night last. Supporters’ Club member Phil Pike made the presentation. Pope Francis might be flying in to Knock next month but few travel to and from the Mayo airport like our high flying Phil, who flies over from England for every home game.

MARTY’S RETURN

We may have been bitterly disappointed with the result against Cobh but there was one positive from the game. Marty Stapleton made a welcome return to the fold of Section O. Marty was almost a month in hospital in Mullingar. Despite all the World Cup games ontv, Marty wasn’t able to see any of them…there were plenty of screens in ICU but to Marty’s dismay, there was no TV screen. So he made up for it by taking in some live action on Saturday night last. Great to see you back home again Marty.

WHAT’S THE SCORE?

Work has recommenced on the restoration of our scoreboard. While it won’t be operational for the game against Oxford on Tuesday July 11th, it should be up and flashing for our next home game. Well, fingers crossed.

BIRTHDAY WISHES

Heartiest congratulations to Pauric Connolly who celebrates a significant birthday shortly. Pairic has been supporting De Town, home and away, since he was out of nappies. A Town game just wouldn’t be the same without Pauric’s famous support and his voice is instantly recognised at grounds all over the land. This note writer used to travel to matches on the bar of Pauric’s bicycle and that wasn’t today nor even yesterday! Have a wonderful birthday Pauric.

OXFORD UTD ON TUESDAY

Oxford United, are our welcome guests this Tuesday night,July 10th. Kick off is 7.45pm. It should be a chance to give the new signings a run out ahead of the Finn Harps clash. If we can hammer the students of UCD 5-1, sure we should be well able for Oxford too!

CAR BOOT SALE

It’s only the start of July but already people are asking about the August Car Boot Sale. Well, it’s quite easy really. It’ll be on the Bank Holiday Monday which we’re told will be a bright, sunny warm day. Hopefully we’ll have a good crowd and then we can afford the paint for the new scoreboard which is being paid for by proceeds from these Bank Holiday Mondays. Every time in the future, when you check the score, just think of the dedicated volunteers who made it all possible.


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