Latest news with #NIFLCharityShield
The 42
08-07-2025
- Sport
- The 42
'There's definitely been a recharge' - Shelbourne captain confident ahead of Champions League tie
SHELBOURNE HEAD COACH Joey O'Brien says his side are 'looking to attack' their Champions League qualifier with Linfield tomorrow night. And captain Mark Coyle feels there has been 'a recharge' among the squad since former boss Damien Duff's shock resignation last month. Shels come into the first leg of their first round tie at Tolka Park on the back of two draws and a win in the League of Ireland Premier Division since O'Brien stepped up to fill the void left by Duff. Linfield, on the other hand, only returned for pre-season three and a half weeks ago and have just two games under their belt. David Healy's side beat Welsh top flight side Haverfordwest County 4-0 on 28 June before losing the NIFL Charity Shield final to Dungannon Swifts on penalties last Friday. O'Brien's permanent appointment in charge was confirmed before a well deserved home win against bottom club Cork City on the same night. Naturally, the exit of Duff remained a talking point on the eve of a historic All Ireland clash on the European stage and Coyle was asked if there was a renewed sense of purpose since his departure. 'Yeah, look, it's obviously a new era. Our new gaffer is sitting beside me. And I just think that's what we're focused on, making new memories. And that's basically what we're excited for. And there's definitely been a recharge, you could say, or a change. And we're just looking forward to it now,' Coyle said. Advertisement 'It's been addressed that we obviously have huge respect and love for the ex-manager. But as I said now, we're excited for the new era, the gaffer here. It's been great. He's put his own stamp on things. And you can see that around the ground. There's obviously an excitement. And that, it's just about creating new memories now.' O'Brien is the one tasked with inspiring a turnaround in Shels' season – they're currently fifth but only five adrift of second place – after taking on the mantle from assistant to Duff. 'Look, I think we've probably seen another side to him because now he is in charge,' Coyle said. 'From what I've seen he has got all the attributes to be a great manager. But it's down to us as players to make sure that happens for him. 'He gives us that leeway to take charge of it and make sure that we go out and perform. It's just been a good buzz and the excitement of this as well has added to that. It's just about putting in a performance and focusing on that now,' he added, citing his belief of the improvement in the squad. Shels head coach Joey O'Brien. Grace Halton / INPHO Grace Halton / INPHO / INPHO 'Yeah, I definitely do. I think if you look across the whole season, to be honest, in a lot of games we were unlucky, we put in a lot of good performances and it's mainly been down to mistakes by ourselves. 'We have also been hit by injuries to big players, which didn't help our confidence along the way. As the gaffer said, we have a new clean bill of health and I feel like we are reaping the rewards of that now. Again, you are only as good as your last game, so it's about going out and showing that.' The derby factor to this Champions League tie adds another enticing element, with Tolka Park a sell-out albeit with a reduced a capacity due to Uefa regulations regarding terraced areas. Just shy of 300 travelling supporters will make their way south and while O'Brien admitted he has not watched much Irish League football other than required analysis of tomorrow's opponents, he is relishing the atmosphere and the occasion. 'It's a game that, especially here, we're looking to attack. We're going out to win the way we would against any team we play here, you know,' he said, insisting the 4-1 win Shamrock Rovers enjoyed over Larne in last season's Uefa Conference League would have 'no bearing' on a completely different challenge. O'Brien also preferred not to focus too much on the concession of cheap goals throughout this season. 'Look, you can't keep dwelling on it and looking back, you just have to go onto the next game and be confident and attack it. 'As I said, our performances have been really good in the last three games, so that's the only thing you focus on, your performance, and hopefully if you get that right, the result follows. 'Ultimately when you get onto the pitch the two sets of players are feeling each other out and the game sort of moves on from there. I'm sure in European football, in my experience of it, you have some good halves and some bad halves. Ultimately when you are having a good half, you take advantage of that. Sometimes when you are in a bad half, you just stay in the game, knowing that it's going to turn around for you. 'That's something that we would have touched on last year with the lads. I think last year going into the game against [St Joseph's of] Gibraltar, we were probably lacking a little bit in experience. 'But I think that run of Gibraltar and then FC Zurich, we saw how good and bad football can be at European level, how ruthless it can be. We took great learnings from that to bring into this tie.' Tomorrow – Shelbourne v Linfield, Live on RTÉ 2, 7.45pm.
RTÉ News
08-07-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Shelbourne tempo will be key to getting better of out-of-season Linfield
Richie Towell says Shelbourne must use the disparity in match sharpness to their advantage when they face Linfield in Wednesday's Champions League qualifier at Tolka Park. The first leg fixture between last season's SSE Airtricity Men's Premier Division champions and NIFL Premiership holders will be live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Shels go into the game after a period of turmoil following Damien Duff's abrupt decision to depart as manager two weeks ago. But the Reds have looked to bring about some stability by appointing Duff's long-time assistant, former Republic of Ireland and Premier League defender Joey O'Brien, as head coach. After back-to-back draws as interim boss, O'Brien's Shels got back to winning ways with a 3-1 victory over bottom side Cork City on Friday. That will breathe confidence back into their ranks. But ahead of the Linfield clash on Wednesday and next week's second leg in Belfast, former Shamrock Rovers and Dundalk midfielder Towell believes the tempo Shels play at will be key to their hopes, given that David Healy's side are in pre-season mode - with the exception of a NIFL Charity Shield fixture against Dungannon Swifts last Friday. "For Shelbourne to get the draw that they have, it's a massive, massive bonus for them," he said. "Linfield are in the midst of pre-season now. Paul (Corry) will tell you, when you're in the midst of pre-season, you never feel great. "Pre-season is a hard slog. You come back in after having a couple of weeks off and it's a grind. The legs constantly feel heavy. "I remember even when I was at Brighton, full of Championship and Premier Leauge players, and you'd go and play against a League Two team, and you'd be getting beaten 2-0 and you just feel like, 'What's going on here?' You can't get the legs going. "So hopefully the Linfield players are a little bit like that. Now, I know times have changed and it's not running until you get sick anymore. It's a lot more science based. "I do understand that. But still, Shelbourne are in the middle of the season, they should be firing all guns blazing. They have to go for it, they have to go for the jugular. "They're playing against a Linfield team who, as we said, are in pre-season. If (Shelbourne) don't go and really raise the levels and have a really high tempo against them, it could backfire." Also speaking on the podcast, former Sheffield Wednesday, UCD and Shamrock Rovers midfielder Paul Corry, who agreed that Shelbourne have a "huge advantage" over Linfield when it comes to match sharpness, highlighted how vital getting through the tie is if the Drumcondra club harbour any hopes of playing league phase football in Europe with all the financial benefits accrued. As Shamrock Rovers showed last season, getting to at least the second qualifying round in the Champions League makes the path that bit wider towards the Conference League's own league phase. And Corry feels Shels are showing signs of a return to form under O'Brien just in time for Linfield, with Harry Wood and Mipo Odubeko among the goals more often. "There's been a little bit of a bounce in some of the performances since Damien Duff has left," he said. "They're obviously giving away very sloppy goals but even the little bounce in the likes of Odubeko, who's come in and probably has a little bit more confidence. "He's come in, he's scored goals. I know he's missed chances and that was very evident when they played Galway (United). But there are small little bits of hope there for Shels fans that they have turned a little bit of a corner in the last 7-10 days and you'd be hoping that they can continue on that trajectory over the next ten days which is ultimately going to be the most important stage of their season."
Yahoo
04-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
What channel is Linfield vs Dungannon Swifts tonight? TV and live stream info for Charity Shield clash
It's the annual season curtain raiser as Irish Premiership champions Linfield take on Irish Cup winners Dungannon Swifts in the NIFL Charity Shield in partnership with Action Mental Health. With both sides gearing up for the start of their respective campaigns in Europe this is the perfect competitive warm-up. Advertisement The Blues lifted a record 57th league title last season but it has been a quiet summer in the transfer market to date with Sean Brown their only arrival to date while the likes of Joel Cooper, Stephen Fallon, Darragh McBrien and Ethan Devine have all left Windsor Park. READ MORE: Conor Bradley lost for words following death of 'incredible person' Diogo Jota READ MORE: Paddy McCourt's nephew looks set for move to Championship club The Swifts have also lost two key players following their historic cup win with Dean Curry retiring and John McGovern heading to Shamrock Rovers, but Rodney McAree has brought in Sean McAllister, Mal Smith, Peter Maguire, Tiernan Kelly and McBrien. Advertisement It's all set to be an intriguing clash this evening as competitive football returns. Here's more info on the game and how you can watch it. When and where is the game? Linfield vs Dungannon Swifts is at Windsor Park on Friday night, July 4. What time is kick-off? The game kicks off at 7.45pm. How can I watch it? The game is not being shown on any television channels, however it is being broadcast live via the NI Football League YouTube channel here. What they said... 'Dungannon are a good footballing side who keep the ball well and play good football. They're a team that does well at Windsor Park, as we saw in the Irish Cup Final, so they'll not be scared to come here and play their normal game. Fair play to them for winning the Irish Cup, I don't think anyone predicted that at the start of the season. But all players in this league now exactly how good Dungannon are, because we see them up close in the league.' Advertisement KIRK MILLAR, Linfield "There's something to play for there which is a bit of a bonus in pre-season. It's not just a friendly, there's something after the game that you can get your hands on, another bit of silverware. Whether it be the Charity Shield or not, it'll be a competitive game, which is good for the lads, it's a bit of a bonus. And then we play Linfield on matchday one so we'll be able to feel each other out and see how we fare in the first game of the season." KEALAN DILLON, Dungannon Swift
BBC News
03-07-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
NIFL Charity Shield - all you need to know
In recent years, the NIFL Charity Shield has been re-established as part of Northern Ireland's domestic football calendar and this season it will be contested by Irish Premiership winners Linfield and Irish Cup victors Dungannon Swifts who meet at Windsor Park on Friday night. In common with its English counterpart, the game was traditionally held as a curtain-raiser to the new Irish League 2023 however the fixture has been used as preparation for clubs to prepare for their impending participation in European club are targeting a fifth Charity Shield success in this year's edition (19:45 BST) while the Swifts are taking part in the match for the first time as they attempt to add more silverware to their can follow live text commentary of the game on the BBC Sport website. Successful seasons Linfield secured their place in this year's Charity Shield by emphatically lifting the Gibson Cup for a record-extending 57th Blues built an unassailable lead before the five sets of post-split fixtures and finished 22 points ahead of second-placed finishers south Belfast side go into the game boosted by the news that manager David Healy has signed a three-year extension to his contract as followed up their hugely impressive fourth-place finish in the Premiership by collecting the Irish Cup for the first time in their early-May decider with holders Cliftonville ended in a 1-1 draw after extra time, but Rodney McAree's side prevailed 4-3 in a penalty shootout. NI Charity Shield history The NI Charity Shield has been contested periodically since its inauguration in 1992 and this will be the 14th Linfield's 2-0 win over Glentoran in front of a crowd of 10,500 in August 2000, it would be another 14 years before the fixture was Glentoran, Glenavon and Linfield collected the trophy between 2014 and 2017, before another five-year hiatus until the 2022 beat Linfield 2-0 at Windsor Park on that match was moved to early July and played at Inver Park in the subsequent two years, Crusaders retaining the Shield by defeating Larne 2-0 in 2023 and then the Invermen seeing off Cliftonville 2-1 last year. European preparation Five days after the Charity Shield encounter, Linfield begin their Champions League campaign with a first qualifying round, first-leg tie against League of Ireland champions Shelbourne at Tolka Park in Dublin on Wednesday 9 sides will meet in the second leg at Windsor Park in Belfast on 16 July, with both matches being broadcast live on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport winners of the tie will face Qarabag of Azerbaijan in the second qualifying round, with the losers dropping into the Conference League qualifying second round where they will play the defeated side between FK Zalgiris of Lithuania and Hamrun Spartans of Irish Cup winners, Dungannon Swifts go straight into the second qualifying round where they will take on Liechtenstein side FC Vaduz in their first European fixture in 18 Stangmore Park outfit will be away for the first leg on Thursday 24 July and at home for the second leg on 31 two Charity Shield participants are scheduled to meet again on the first weekend of the new Irish Premiership season. Summer signings During the close season to date, Linfield have added defender Sean Brown to their ranks while Joel Cooper and Stephen Fallon have departed for Coleraine, Darragh McBrien has returned to Dungannon and Ethan Devine left to join H&W addition to the arrival of forward McBrien, additions to the Dungannon squad so far include Mal Smith from Crusaders, Peter Maguire from Ballinamallard United and Tiernan Kelly from Curry has retired and forward John McGovern completed his long-mooted move to Irish Premier Division leaders Shamrock Rovers. What they say Linfield defender Euan East: "Spirits are high in the camp and we want to get going again and try to retain what we did last year."It's good to get into a competitive game so quickly. You need that competitive edge to a game that that will give us. It's a good way to start the season."Dungannon always give you a hard game and we know they will always be up for it."Dungannon winger Thomas Maguire: "It's a bit of a bonus having this game to look forward to. It's not a friendly, there's something to play for against good opposition on a good pitch with something on the line."Everyone is looking forward to the game and then just kicking on and hopefully it will stand us in good stead for Europe."
