Words and photos by Luke O’Mahony
These rankings include factors such as: ‘Expectation v Reality’, ‘Recent Form’, ‘Hope Going Forward’ etc.
Athlone Town: Expectations were high given the season the midlanders had last year but some big departures left a large number of fans speculating how far they could go. Athlone started their 2025 campaign as the first side to welcome Dundalk to the First Division. A 1-0 loss at Oriel Park was no need for alarm, if anything losing by just a goal to a newly relegated team gave great hope to The Town for the season to come. However losses against Treaty (5-0) and Kerry (3-0) may be reasons for concern. As with all FD teams, things can change quicly with only a nine point gap between 5th and 10th. 3W-4D-10L. Rating: 4/10
Bray Wanderers: While all the talk was about Dundalk and Cobh, Bray were quietly building on one of the strongest teams in the league. After losing the Premier Division Play Off v Drogheda United, Bray will be determined to reach that place again and gain promotion. Of course best case scenario is finishing first but an invincible Dundalk team won’t let up top spot. Overall I think Bray have been one of the strongest teams in the second tier this year. 11W-1D-5L. Rating: 7.5/10
Cobh Ramblers: 4 wins in their last 5 games, Munster Senior Cup Champions and only 6 points away from top spot. Hard to not be happy with Cobh’s season so far. Their next 3 games are very winnable and then they go to Oriel Park to face Dundalk, who have dropped points recently yet remain unbeaten. A very solid performance so far and if Dundalk draw more games then who knows? Cobh might clinch promotion without play offs. 11W-2D-4L. Rating: 9/10
Dundalk: Eight of their twelve wins have been by just one goal. Their season has gone as you would expect a newly relegated team to perfom. 17 games played with 0 losses. The team should go the next 19 games unbeaten also however there’s bound to be one or two games where they fail to get a goal and slip up. The only complaint I would have asa Dundalk supporter is that they haven’t run away with it. Cobh are still just 6 points behind and any drop of points could be costly. 12W-5D-0L. Rating: 9.5/10
Finn Harps: Any team outside the playoffs is just one good run of games away from being in the top 5. Up until the 25th April Finn Harps would have been content with their year. However they haven’t won in over 50 days (7 games, 0W-2D-5L). Before they play UCD in the cup they face 4 of the top 5 teams in the league. Points will be hard to come by but winning against teams like Athlone and Longford will be crucial to keep the tally ticking. 3W-5D-8L. Rating: 4/10
Kerry: A dream start to Conor McCarthy’s second year in charge was foiled by the FAI’s inability to take responsibility for their mistakes. It took Kerry until late March to register their first official win and a short period of ups and downs followed. Colin Healy took the reigns of the club at the start of May and the Kingdom has been on the rise yet again since then. Hopes are high around Kerry as many believe the team can make the playoffs. 5W-2D-9L. Rating: 6/10
Longford Town: Another year of competing to stay away from 10th. Since March ended they have registered just one win. Away from home they haven’t won a single game. They are the only team in the league to concede over 30 goals. Is there still playoff hop for Longford? I don’t think so. I think if Athlone can sort their situation off the pitch then Longford will be in big trouble of being last. However with a good run of form anything is possible. 3W-5D-9L. Rating: 3/10
Treaty United: 4th Place Treaty will be happy with their performance so far. Their biggest issue is trying to win away. 5 of their 7 losses come from away games. The Marketsfield has become a tough place for any side to go to yet Treaty won’t feel too comfortable in 4th, just 3 points off dropping out of the top 5. Lee Devitt has been flying in Limerick with 11 goals to his name after just 17 games. 7W-3D-7L. Rating: 7/10
UCD: A team who has been a part of the Premier Division recently is looking to make a comeback. The UCD Bowl is often taken over by away support and the team have won the majority of their games away from home. Up next: Dundalk, Cobh, Bray. Unlikely they will get a point in the space of the next 3 games and this would mean that they would fall out of the playoffs. There is no easy game in this division though and a draw in the coming matchdays could prove season-defining for UCD and their opposition. 6W-4D-7L. Rating: 6.2/10
Wexford: 4 points from their last 6 games. Yet given how they performed in the latter half of 2024 I would be confident that Wexford will make a genuine attempt to be top 5. Their next 4 games will be viewed as winnable while an away day to Bray could prove challenging. 6W-3D-8L. Rating: 6/10
Final Rankings:
- Dundalk
- Cobh
- Bray
- Treaty
- UCD
- Kerry and Wexford
- Athlone and Finn Harps
- Longford