Latest news with #RichieTowell
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."
RTÉ News
17-06-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Shamrock Rovers already have one hand on title
While the League of Ireland season is only just past halfway, Richie Towell reckons the SSE Airtricity Men's Premier Division title race is already showing signs of being done and dusted. His former club Shamrock Rovers earned back-to-back wins over reigning champions Shelbourne and Drogheda United over the past few days and sit nine points clear of bitter rivals Bohemians, who albeit do have two games in hand. Speaking on the RTÉ Soccer Podcast, ex-Dundalk and Hoops midfielder Towell said Rovers are showing real signs of building up a head of steam while most of their erstwhile rivals are struggling to find momentum. "I think at the moment they're in cruise control. They're absolutely cruising it," he said. "To be honest, I said it a couple of weeks ago that they were my favourites to win it. But I think they have one hand on it already. "And not just based on how good they are. I don't think any other team is good enough to catch them. "You have Bohemians who are the closest to them and they have a couple of games in hand. Maybe they can put up a small bit of a title challenge. "But for the rest of them, you see Shels, you see Pat's, I don't think any of them have the quality or the confidence to go on a proper run and try and challenge Shamrock Rovers. "You see the depth in the squad. I even know some lads can't get into the squad that would walk into probably any other team in the league which is absolutely crazy, so Shamrock Rovers are in absolute cruise control at the moment." The mood within Stephen Bradley's squad may be positive but that's a contrast to Drogheda United. Although that is in no way related to on-pitch matters, with Kevin Doherty's team putting up a good fight on Monday night on the way to losing 2-1 at Sullivan and Lambe Park and currently sit in the top half of the table. It's more related to the blow of being excluded from the UEFA Conference League due to multi-club ownership rules, with the verdict in their appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport being announced hours before kick off on Monday. Both Towell and ex-Drogheda and Republic of Ireland winger Keith Treacy sympathised with Doherty and his players on the podcast, with Towell highlighting how dreams of a European dalliance were dashed for personnel who might not be guaranteed to get that opportunity again. "This is some boys' livelihoods. There's potential earnings there for lads in European games that they would never get the opportunity to earn playing in the League of Ireland. That's after being taken away from them," he said. "Subconsciously, (players) are going to be thinking when the draw is made today, when the games are on in July, 'we should be out there', and all of a sudden they've no (European) games. "They have two decisions to make now, Drogheda's players do. They either say 'it's going to hinder our performance and let it get our heads down', or else they can say, 'Let's use this to our advantage. We're going to be fresh, we're not going to have any games, let's rest, recuperate and be ready to attack the league.'"
RTÉ News
31-05-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Vitinha and the enticing PSG v Inter midfield battle
RTÉ Soccer Podcast: Richie Towell is looking forward to seeing PSG's Vitinha in action in Saturday's Champions League final against Inter Milan. Watch or listen to the full episode on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.
RTÉ News
06-05-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Shelbourne's blip and a 'scary stat' on the goal front
The unpredictable nature of this SSE Airtricity Men's Premier Division season means it is nigh on possible to make an ultimate judgement call on any of the teams in the topflight. The double round of action over the weekend was a microcosm with the likes of Derry City bouncing back from a poor defeat at Waterford the previous Friday by seeing off Shelbourne and St Patrick's Athletic in back to back games. For Shels, it was a Friday and Monday to forget though. After the 2-0 loss at Derry, Damien Duff's side slumped to a 1-0 defeat at home to Waterford on Monday evening, stretching their winless run to five. The result leaves the defending champions down in seventh, but such is the crabs-in-a-bucket nature of the table that they are only five points behind leaders Drogheda United. However, Shelbourne will need to iron out a few issues - some of which are partially injury-influenced - at both ends of the pitch, according to Richie Towell and Conan Byrne. Speaking on the RTÉ Soccer Podcast, former Dundalk and Shamrock Rovers league winner Towell highlighted a degree of profligacy in front of goal as a factor in their blip. "I actually think the biggest concern for Shelbourne at the moment is that they're the (joint) second lowest scorers in the league," he said. Listen to the RTÉ Soccer podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. "Only Waterford are behind them which is a scary stat. You think of any previous champions years gone by, they're probably always the top scorers in the league. "Now, I know Shels wouldn't have been the top scorers last year in the league and they were really relying on that solid defence. "This year they don't have that. They're leaking in goals, left, right and centre, especially from set plays and when you're leaking in goals and you're the second lowest scorers in the league that's going to be a big concern." The absences through injury of striker Sean Boyd and lynchpin centre back Paddy Barrett will certainly have contributed to the issues at both ends of the pitch in recent weeks and their returns will likely go a long way to alleviating those concerns. But while former St Patrick's Athletic and Shelbourne winger Byrne sees his former side's recent run as just a blip, he did feel that from the evidence of the Waterford game, creating chances was not the issue, but rather converting them. "They had about 30 shots in the game yesterday, only three of them were on target and I think that's the problem with Shels, they're just not scoring enough goals," he said. "Mipo (Odubeko) had an unbelievable opportunity at 1-0, fluffed his lines from about eight yards. You would have put your house on him to score. "But sometimes in those situations when the pressure is on and you need to take your chances to score, it can get to you a little bit. "In terms of a blip, yeah it's a blip, winless in five. But it's important that they bounce back, and it will be important that they do that very soon."
