Carlingford Celtic Pimpin Klasemen Dundalk and District League 2026

Carlingford Celtic berhasil mengamankan posisi puncak klasemen sementara Dundalk and District League setelah mengalahkan Rampart Celtic dengan skor 2-1 pada Jumat, 1 Mei 2026. Kemenangan ini membuat sang juara bertahan unggul tiga poin dari para pesaing terdekatnya di kasta Fyffes Premier Division.

Carlingford kini mengoleksi poin penuh dari dua laga pembuka mereka. Di bawahnya, Carrick Rovers, Faughart Rovers, dan Haynestown Celtic membayangi di posisi kedua dengan raihan masing-masing enam poin setelah melewati rangkaian pertandingan pekan ini.

Pada laga lainnya, Shamrocks FC sukses mencatatkan kemenangan perdana musim ini dengan menumbangkan Muirhevnamor FC 2-1 di Pairc Eoin Baiste. Meskipun sempat tertinggal oleh gol Micky O’Kane, Shamrocks bangkit melalui gol Niall Connolly dan Barry O’Hare untuk mengunci tiga poin pertama dari empat laga.

Sementara itu, Carrick Rovers melanjutkan tren positif dengan kemenangan tipis 1-0 atas Faughart Rovers berkat gol tunggal Patrick Canton. Hasil ini memutus rekor tak terkalahkan Faughart dalam dua pertandingan sebelumnya sebagaimana dilaporkan Dundalk Democrat.

Di tempat lain, Glenmuir United meraih kemenangan pertama mereka musim ini setelah menundukkan Haynestown Celtic 1-0. Gol kemenangan dicetak oleh Tiernan Rogers dalam pertandingan yang diwarnai tiupan angin kencang di lapangan D.K.I.T.

Beralih ke kompetisi SSE Airtricity League Premier Division, asisten pelatih Shelbourne FC, Joey O'Brien, mempersiapkan timnya untuk menghadapi jadwal padat melawan Dundalk FC dan Bohemian FC pada akhir pekan awal Mei ini.

"It’s been a good week’s training. We were back in after the match on Saturday, went through the debrief and then it’s about looking forward. There’s not a lot to be gained from looking back too much, dwelling on defeats, we’re very focused on putting it right." ujar Joey O'Brien, Pelatih Shelbourne FC.

O'Brien menegaskan bahwa timnya tetap menjadi kekuatan yang patut diwaspadai meski baru saja menelan kekalahan tipis 4-3 dari Drogheda United pada laga sebelumnya.

"They’re good teams, but people need to remember we’re a formidable side. The lads need to remember who they are and focus on the success we’ve had. We’ve looked at the last game, the first half was very good, but the second half wasn’t. It’s about getting that performance over 90 minutes and making sure we maintain our levels." kata Joey O'Brien, Pelatih Shelbourne FC.

Terkait kondisi mental pemain, mantan bek West Ham United tersebut mengakui bahwa momentum sangat krusial dalam sepak bola profesional.

"These patches happen in football. Confidence and momentum in football are big and when they are low, the only way out of it is to win a game, that’s the aim now. People talk about tough weekend for Shels. No team looks forward to playing us, we have some top, top players here. They haven’t shown that as much as they should in recent games, we want to put that right" tutur Joey O'Brien, Pelatih Shelbourne FC.

Laga melawan Dundalk juga akan menjadi momen spesial bagi Harry Wood yang berpeluang mencatatkan penampilan ke-100 bersama The Reds.

"It’s a great achievement. Harry has written his name into the history of the club with big moments. The goal in Derry, his performances in Europe last season, he’s a big game player and he’s really developed here. He came in as a young player from Hull in the summer of 2023 with high technical ability, went away then to Grimsby and came back to us, and since then he’s worked really hard to develop and mature into a top player. It’s great to see. He’s a brilliant player." puji Joey O'Brien, Pelatih Shelbourne FC.

Menutup pernyataannya, O'Brien menegaskan bahwa opini publik sering kali hanya berpatokan pada hasil pertandingan terakhir tanpa melihat potensi jangka panjang tim.

"Football is very short sighted. People only remember the last result, and we know the run hasn’t been good enough for the level of player we have at this club. We’re not making excuses, but people looking at these games from the outside should see that Dundalk and Bohs are looking at these as really tough fixtures for them." jelas Joey O'Brien, Pelatih Shelbourne FC.

Ia menyoroti perlunya konsistensi pertahanan setelah timnya kebobolan gol-gol yang dianggap tidak perlu pada pertandingan pekan lalu.

"In the first half we were very good, we could have been three or four up, and they should have been down to ten men. But we didn’t show our experience, we let ourselves fall out of the game in the second half, gave away really really bad goals. We need to shore it up at the back. That’s as simple as it is. We’re scoring goals. It’s all talk unless we turn it into action, and that’s what we need to do now." pungkas Joey O'Brien, Pelatih Shelbourne FC.