Nothing beats the opening day. All the anticipation that has built through one of the longest off-seasons in Europe finally meets reality.
Fans get to see new signings, new managers and, in some cases, almost entirely new squads for the first time.
Only that was denied to us last season as the first three months of the season were played behind closed doors.
LOITV and WatchLOI filled some of the gap last season but football didn’t feel real until the fans came back.
Which is what made it so much more special this time around.
Sell-outs at Tolka Park and Oriel Park and more than 5,000 in Tallaght Stadium was in stark contrast to 12 months ago.
It made it feel real again. It’s just a shame the weather claimed the games in Sligo, Ballybofey and Longford.
We have a highlights and analysis show again
The slow death of Soccer Republic on RTÉ, going first from an hour-long Monday night show with in-studio analysis, to a half-hour clip show took a huge amount from the league. With the one real communal event in the league gone, conversations about where the league is going and where it should go have necessarily become more online and more fractured, and responsibility for promotion reverted exclusively to clubs. The brilliant work done by those clubs has reaped rewards now as LOITV has kicked off a 90-minute, free, in-depth highlights show hosted by a true League of Ireland fan in Oisin Langan. The first edition, featuring Alan Keane and Fabio O’Brien as panellists, was a great way to start.
Rovers still looking for a goalscorer
Shamrock Rovers haven’t had a 20-goal-a-season striker since Gary Twigg left the scene at the end of the 2012 season. Stephen Bradley has backed Danny Mandroiu to be that man but, while he scored an excellent header in the 3-0 win over UCD, he left a few behind. He tends to score in bursts, and seven of his 15 goals last season came in the last ten games. Rovers have made a virtue of spreading goals all over the pitch, but if they’re to compete domestically and progress in Europe, Mandroiu will need his strikers to chip in with more.
Saints President’s Cup performance wasn’t a one off
Anybody who watched the President’s Cup - including the near-thousand away fans in the East Stand in Tallaght - will have been impressed by how good Tim Clancy’s new-look St Patrick’s Athletic side were. Stephen Bradley said the Athletic should have been out of sight by half time and, with Mark Doyle and Joe Redmond missing sitters, few could argue. The only worry was whether they could find that fluency in front of goal and they found that in Tolka Park as goals from Darragh Burns, Mark Doyle and Jay McClelland gave a decisive look to what was a relatively even game.
Shelbourne will be a long-term project and Damien Duff knows it
The arrival of Damien Duff as manager of Shels - the league’s most high-profile appointment since John Giles, if not ever - has rightly created a huge buzz around the newly-promoted side. Duff retained just eight of last season’s First Division-winning squad, and of them only captain Luke Byrne and JR Wilson started. No more than Duff, in his first senior post, it will take time to come together but the manager is prepared for the long haul. But with proven quality like Dan Carr, who saw a would-be opening goal ruled out by the tightest of offside calls, Aaron O’Driscoll and Mark Coyle to call on they will win games.
Dundalk and Derry will provide plenty of entertainment
There was more intrigue in Oriel Park on Friday night than the average phone call between Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin as two of Stephen Kenny’s former general lines lined up in opposite dugouts. Stephen O’Donnell controversially walked out on Pats five days after winning the FAI Cup to take the big job at his former club, while Ruaidhri Higgins used the backing given to him by Derry to pilfer four of Dundalk’s 2021 squad. O’Donnell handed out eight debuts and two of them, on-loan Hibs winger Steven Bradley (not that one) and Mark Connolly, scored as the Lilywhites led twice. Bradley in particular looks the kind of exciting winger who could step into the gap left by Michael Duffy. Derry have gamechangers of their own, not least Jamie McGonigle, who created the first equaliser for Joe Thomson before scoring the second himself. It finished 2-2 but could easily have finished 4-4.
The First Division is averaging over six goals a game
On the face of it, three thumping victories for the away sides would suggest there is an imbalance between the top teams and the bottom. Cork City hammered Bray 6-0, with Dylan McGlade scoring a hat-trick, Treaty thumped Wexford 5-1 and pre-season favourites Waterford ran out 5-2 winners in Athlone. Yet the opening day can throw up some freak results, especially when settled squads come up against new builds, and it’s no shock that the three winners are among those with the most continuity from last season, while Treaty boss Tommy Barrett was first to say the lopsided scoreline in Wexford didn’t reflect the game. I may be wrong and there’ll be six goals in every game, but with five of nine teams either going up or into the play-offs, it’s likely to become a very competitive division.
