The League Of Ireland is finally back and gameweek 1 certainly didn’t disappoint. 14 goals across the 5 games, A power outage that nearly had the game abandoned and a record crowd at an LOI game at the Aviva stadium. In total across the Premier and First Divisions there was over 57 thousand in attendance at games of which 51.5k were at Premier Division games. There has never been so much hype around the League Of Ireland and everything seems to be going in the right direction. And with the return of the League Of Ireland means the return of the League Of Ireland Fantasy Football. And here is the TOTW from the opening round of fixtures.
Goalkeeper:
According to the League Of Ireland Fantasy Football scoring, James Talbot of Bohemians is the winner of the goalkeeper TOTW with 10 points we have a tie for second place with Waterford’s Stephen McMullan and St. Patricks Athletic’s Joseph Anang both achieving 9 points. Drogheda United’s Luke Dennison was a close fourth place with 8 points.
A few people were surprised to Talbot starting for Bohemians in the Aviva Stadium yesterday but his performance certainly proved a few people wrong as he helped his side to a 1-0 win over Shamrock Rovers in front of that record crowd of over 33 thousand in the Aviva.
It what was his debut for Waterford FC since joining on loan from Fleetwood Town , Stephen played a massive part in ensuring Waterford left the Showgrounds on Saturday night with all 3 points as Waterford came away with a 3-2 victory.
Anang was also making his debut on Friday night for St Patricks Athletic as he joined on loan from Premier League side West Ham United. Anang made some crucial saves to keep his clean sheet as Drogheda United held Stephen Kenny’s side to a 0-0 draw
Only for McMullan picking up a yellow card in the 75th minute he would be the second place but the winner of the goalkeeper position for TOTW 1 is James Talbot.
Defender:
The 4 defenders earning themselves a spot in the Team Of The Week are: Andrew Quinn (Drogheda United), John Mountney (Bohemians), Leigh Kavanagh (Bohemians) and Rob Cornwall (Bohemians).
3 defenders from Bohemians and 1 from St Patricks Athletic make up the backline with the 2 sides both keeping clean sheets over the weekend. Drogheda United were the only other side to keep a clean sheet during game week 1.
Everyone except Rob Cornwall finished up on 9 points in the backline with Cornwall coming away with 8 points due to picking up a yellow card.
Midfield:
We have the 1st member of the TOTW from the defending champions Shelbourne in the midfield with Evan Caffrey picking up 9 points as his side returned to Tolka Park with a impressive 3-1 win over Derry City. Caffrey managed to get himself on the scoresheet to help his side to victory aswell as the defending champions got off to the best possible start.
Newly promoted Cork City also have a member in the TOTW in the midfield with Greg Bolger also picking up 9 points as the Rebels returned to life in the Premier Division against Galway United. Just like Evan Caffrey Bolger got himself on the scoresheet as Cork City led on 2 occasions to be reeled in by Galway United on both occasions.
Conan Noonan of Waterford FC and Ross Tierney of Bohemians make up the rest of the midfield line both also finishing on 9 points. Noonan was making his debut for Waterford following his arrival from Shamrock Rovers on loan for the season and what a debut it was as his goal that proved the difference as Waterford defeated Sligo Rovers 3-2.Ross Tierney was also the difference maker in the Aviva Stadium as his goal being the only goal of the afternoon much to the delight of his supporters to give Bohemians the bragging rights of the Dublin Derby.
Attackers:
Without a doubt the player of the week for gameweek 1 is in the team of the week for gameweek 1 as 2 goals from Sean Boyd helped guide the defending champions champions Shelbourne to opening day victory over Derry City at Tolka Park. Boyd finished gameweek 1 with an outstanding 14 points on the LOI Fantasy Football and is rightly awarded the LOI Talk player of the week for gameweek 1.
Joining Boyd in the attack is Waterford FC’s Tommy Lonergan who was also on the scoresheet. for his side in their win over Sligo Rovers at the Showgrounds on Saturday evening. Lonergan came away with 8 points on the opening weekend.
So here is your Team Of The Week for gameweek 1 of the League Of Ireland Premier Division:
James Talbot (Bohemians) 10 Points
John Mountney (Bohemians) 9 Points
Andrew Quinn (Drogheda United) 8 Points
Rob Cornwall (Bohemians) 8 Points
Greg Bolger (Cork City) 9 Points
Conan Noonan (Waterford FC) 9 Points
Ross Tierney (Bohemians) 9 Points
Evan Caffrey (Shelbourne FC) 9 Points
Sean Boyd (Shelbourne FC) 14 Points
Tommy Lonergan (Waterford FC) 8 Points
LOITalk Player Of The Week: Sean Boyd
