SMC Express February 2023

senior Cup match vs Ardscoil Rís

By Adam Naughton

A recap of all key events of our clash vs Ardsoil Rís

Line ups

Munchins starting team: 1. Rian Burke 2. Peter Dugan 3. Tadgh O’Brien 4. Tony Foley 5. Callum Black 6. Danny Williamson 7. Oisin Minogue 8. Liam Angermann 9. jake O’riordan 10. Cillian O'Connor 11. Tom Wood 12. Gordon Wood 13. Oisin Pepper 14. Adam Cusack 15. Matt te Pou

Ardscoil Rís staring team: 1. Aaron McNamara 2. Joe Costello 3. Emmet Calvey 4. Mathew Danaher 5. Samuel Connolly 6. Kieran shvaibovich 7. Alex Kennedy 8. Luke murphy 9. Evin Crowe 10. Aaron Byrne's 11. Alan Fitzgerald 12. Joshua Dillon 13. Sam Brown 14. Harry Cowton 15. Adam Jordan

Events of the match

Munchin's started off strong and put the pressure on early and made Ardscoil work hard to keep them back. But Ardscoil could not hold on for long as Oisin Minogue broke through and scored Munchins’ first try in the sixth minute and Cillian O'Connor stepped up and converted (and not to muslim) to make it 7-0.

Munchins had momentum from the kick-off and once again Ardscoil could not keep them from breaking their defense again. As the referee awarded Munchins for a deliberate knock on from the Ardscoil no.8 and he was sent to the sin bin. This allowed Munchins to kick and go, break the Ardscoil defense with a man down and it was Danny Williamson who carried the ball over the line. Cillian O’Connor was once again able to convert the try to make the score 14-0 in just under 11 minutes.

Ardscoil had to get back into the game and found their grip. They finally brought the ball over the line, but the referee spotted it was held up and a penalty was awarded to Munchins.

Late in the half Ardscoil got a lineout in the munchins 22 that put them in a good position and Luke Murphy was able to redeem himself by scoring Ardscoils first try to start a comeback. Ardscoils Aaron Byrne was able to convert to make the score at half time 14-7.

At the start of the first half, Ardscoil scored an early try, and the referee called the ball back for an Ardscoil penalty. Ardscoil took their chance and went for the posts. Aaron Byrne hit it clean over and made it a 4-point game.

Munchins made one more great play as Matt te Pou collected a clearance and passed to Adam Cusack and was able to pass the halfway before offloading to Oisin Pepper and the Munchins center had great pace to score a try in the corner. Cillian was unable to convert this try but the game was over as Munchins lead by 9 points.

MUNCHINS VS CASTLETROY JUNIOR CUP

By Shane Ryan

Line ups: Munchins

Kalum Kirwan, Adam O'Shaughnessy, Donnacha Colgan, Cillian McGrath, Eoin Coughlan, Ciaran Howard, Paddy Dowling, Daniel Foley, Darragh Dillon, Oisin Madden, Adam McGlynn, Brendan Minogue, Alex Quinn, Josh Aylmer, Ryan Angley

Line up: Castletroy

Mark Hickey, Cian O'Hanlon, Trevor Tchokotieu, Donnacha Donnelly, Adam Power, Ben O'Connell, Travis Tchokotieu, Cillian McNamara, Ronan Collopy, Conor Gavin, Pierce Walter, Joel Rowntree, Robert O'Donnell, Tyler Kelly, Robbie Widger

Munchins started the game well by going 3-0 up within 5 minutes with a penalty from Oisin Madden. Castletroy then responded with a try from Cian O'Hanlon which was converted by Robbie Widger to make it 7-3. Munchins then responded with another penalty from Oisin Madden before Castletroy scored their second try of the game to put Castletroy 12-6 up. Castletroy then missed the conversion and a penalty before half time. In the second half Munchins and Castletroy traded penalties to make it 15-9. Munchins then scored a try thanks to Dan Foley which was converted to give Munchins their second lead of the game. Castletroy then went up and scored a penalty to put Castletroy up 18-16. Munchins tried hard but were unable to breakthrough Castletroy’s defense. The game finished 18-16 to Castletroy.

The Problem with Manchester City

By Thiseas Zabetakis

An insight into why things aren't clicking for the champions

After an excellent season, Manchester City looked to strengthen their Premier League winning side. They spent big but also sold big. Selling the likes of Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko brought in a lot of money for the club to spend on re-enforcements. The club made some incredible signings including bringing in Erling Haaland to solve the problem of no striker since Sergio Aguero had left the club. Many people were talking about how Haaland is the missing piece in the puzzle for Pep and how City now looked unstoppable. A good start to the season for City and for Haaland backed this up as the Norwegian no.9 was breaking all the records. City looked like they couldn’t be stopped scoring as they racked up 33 goals in the first 9 games of the season. This proved to not be the case. ( And no not brief case ). In recent games the goalscoring from Haaland and Manchester City as a whole has slowed down massively and the performances have not been impressive.

Manchester City's style of play since the addition of Haaland has changed and has become more direct, ( And no not SportsDirect ), almost forcing the ball to him at times instead of playing the Pep ball we have since in recent years of keeping the ball and trying to wear the opposition down.

Opposition teams have learnt how to deal with the big no.9. Many teams have been able to keep him quiet by playing a low block 5-back having one centre back almost man marking him around the pitch. In past seasons Manchester City have been able to deal with this problem by playing a false 9, adding an extra midfielder into the mix, allowing them to keep the ball moving more fluidly and create space between the lines.

With Haaland's current form it seems stupid to drop him from the starting XI but maybe that is what is needed. City have reverted to simply getting the ball out wide and crossing towards the big man which is easy for the opposition to defend.

Pep has admitted after the Derby Day defeat that City need to find a way to link up with Haaland more and include him more in the build-up. Haaland's main purpose during his time at the club is help bring the clubs first ever Champions League. He will undoubtedly help in the big games against teams who play to win and don’t sit back. But his style of play may be hindering City’s chances of winning the league as their style of play is becoming very predictable.

Pep has been experimenting in recent weeks and it has backfired, almost dropping points to Chelsea away in the league and getting knocked out of the Carabao Cup to Southampton. Walker and Cancelo have both been underperforming in recent weeks which has highlighted the need to sign a full back in the summer. Kevin De Bruyne has not been his former self ever since the World Cup, only getting 1 assist and 0 goals in the league.

Things need to change for the blue side of Manchester and quick as they risk being dropped out of the title race.

Fall from grace

By Shane Fahy and Adam O'Donnell

What is going wrong in the red side of Merseyside

The Attack

Liverpool have had very crucial players to their system and their squad depth injured. The main position that has been weakened due to the Injury’s is the attack. Crucial players such as Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino have been injured this season forcing Liverpool up until the signing of Cody Gakpo after his phenomenal World Cup performance to play Alex Oxlade Chamberlain on the left wing. This left a lot to be desired from the Liverpool attack. Another reason for Liverpools attack being in such poor form is the somewhat underwhelming performances from new signing Darwin Nuñez from Benfica in the summer. Nuñez has been injured 1-2 times and is still currently injured during writing, he also picked up a red card in one of his first games due to lashing out against Crystal Palace by headbutting another player. This led to a 3 game suspension for the Uruguayan.

On top of missing a decent amount of games, Núñez has been one of the most critiqued players in the world by the media, pundits and supporters of opposition clubs alike have constantly pointed out how poor Núñez is at finishing the chances that he creates. On top of Núñez not being able to consistently score goals, Liverpools star, goalscoring Egyptian playmaker Mo Salah is having a very average season but not to what his standards usually are, this has left a lot to be desired from new signing Cody Gakpo to pick up the pieces and be a playmaker and goalscorer which is very tough for a person of his age and his unfamiliarity of playing in the Premier League which some consider the top flight of Football. Coming from PSV in the Eredivise Gakpo although had an amazing World Cup, has not played against the quality of the Premier League and will take time to adapt, but when Luis Diaz returns from injury it may be easier for the Dutchman to find form and Diaz is considered by some one of the best left wings in the Premier League and his chance creation on top of his amazing dribbling and pace would easily create chances for Gakpo, Núñez and a returning Diogo Jota also coming from an injury. Roberto Firmino, although not a consistent first team starter has been crucial in Liverpools game whilst he was fit scoring goals and picking up assists giving Liverpool some very much needed points in the Premier League. Another major(And no not the army major), part in Liverpools attack being in poor form is that long time left winger Sadio Mane departed for German giant Bayern Munich during the summer, Mane was part of the infamous Mane Firmino Salah trio that scored countless amounts of goals during Liverpools prime years from 2018-19 season. Although in some eyes of Liverpool fans Liverpool miss Mane on the left, some think Liverpool don’t and that Luis Diaz is a better option but due to an injury having Mane would benefit Liverpool phenomenally and would fix their attack.

The Midfield

Liverpools midfeild may be the most poor aspect of their current team. Liverpools midfeild isn’t struggling due to injury but form of the midfeilders they use. Players such as Jordan Henderson or Fabinho have been in very poor form and have found themselves under criticism by Liverpool fans as only a few years back Fabinho was hailed by fans as one of the best defensive midfielders in the world and his current form pales compared to what he used to be.

Jordan Henderson is another player Liverpool fans have not been taking a liking to recently, the Liverpool skipper and long time captain has been under very poor form and some would argue this has been the case for some times, with his and fabinhos poor performance after poor performance the defence has been hit extremely hard. Thiago Alcantara, probably the most consistent player in the Liverpool team behind goalkeeper Alisson has been in some of the best form but unfortunately the usual case for the Spaniard is he has to take on the entirety of the opposition teams midfeild by himself and track back to help the defence, this is obviously very draining especially for a man of his age so it’s a wonder how he puts in a man of the match performance one after another. English youngster Harvey Eliott is also another Liverpool midfeilder who in terms of attacking is great, but fails in the defensive duty’s (And no not Call of Duty), of a midfielder, very poor at tackling due to his size often leaves Thiago to do the defensive duty’s of the midfield while also having to play the ball forward this leads to a very bad mix between the defence and the attack as Liverpool style of play depend on their pace coming from attacks Núñez, Salah, Gakpo and Luis Diaz but this style of play does not work when the midfeild cannot support them, this leads to poor goalscoring and goals conceded has been very high for Liverpool almost always conceeding first and having very little clean sheets.

The midfield situation can also be blamed on the manager Jurgen Klopp, this is due to the fact he has loyalty issues with Fabinho and Henderson, this means he rarely drops them when there are better options on the bench, key example Stefan Bajcetic a Spanish youngster who plays defensive mid, the Spaniard does Fabinhos job way better in some people’s eyes proven by Liverpools recent 1-0 victory of Wolves in the FA Cup. Although Alex Oxlade Chamberlain and Naby Keita are also on the bench they are not what Liverpool need and the lack of investment in the midfield area for Liverpool has shown over the years after Gini Wijnaldum left, no investment has went into the midfeild apart from Arthur who from when he arrived was rarely played and unfortunately picked up a very long term injury.

The Owners

FSG could be and have been blamed for this. FSG have continually said how they will sign star boy Jude Bellingham but now after the World Cup and all the time has passed his price has went up naturally and other big clubs such as Spanish giant Real Madrid have shown intrest in Bellingham, this has led to multiple other rumours such as Caicedo from Brighton, Enzo Fernandez from Benfica and Youri Tielamans from Leicester City. This has led to Liverpool fans being very fed up with the lack of investment from FSG and have wanted new owners for sometime and currently their wish may come true. FSG put the club up for sale and interest from Qatar has recently came through, naturally with the amount of wealth coming from the Middle East if Liverpool were given the investment teams like Manchester City who have been dominating the Premier League for years have been given it would make for a very intense between the two yet again due to this season both teams have been underperforming from their usual quality.

The Injury situation

Liverpool have had one of the worst injury situations in the league if not the worst. Virgil Van Dijk, Andy Robertson, Darwin Nuñez, Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota, Jordan Henderson, Arthur and Roberto Firmino are all currently injured at the time of writing. Firstly, Van Dijk, in some eyes the best defender in the Premier League for the last year’s and maybe even the world and one of the most crucial parts of Liverpools team, he holds the backline perfectly as Liverpool play a very risky style of playing a high-line, Van Dijk could not fail his job otherwise there would be a very high chance of a goal, due to him being injured French international Ibrahim Konate stepped up and has done phenomenally in Van Dijks role but he obviously is not him and a newer arrival with not much game time and experience with the team so he can’t do exactly what Van Dijk does but he does a very good job. Luis Diaz, probably Liverpools most crucial player in attack behind Salah, the flashy winger would terrorize the left side with overlapping left back Andy Robertson, this often led to multiple chances a game being created from the left side, without those chances and the pace from Diaz on the counter attack Liverpools attack hasn’t been what it was.

Fantasy Football Returns

By Calum Brewer and Jack Hannon

Tips and advice for the restart of FPL

Second chance league begins

With the return of the premier league after the world cup the second chance league begins. The league is called the second chance as it begins scoring from Game week 17. Similar to the “Overall” league the second chance league rewards the top 5 managers at the end of the season with tickets to a game next season along with travel and accommodation, a Bluetooth speaker, Fpl goody bag and more.

Cups

Since fantasy has returned, all the team cups have begun, (and no not your regular cup that you drink from). You are entered into a cup with all the other fans that follow the same team as you and will begin on GW 18. There is also a cup with all the fans that follow the same country as you. Since most of our readers are from Ireland, that cup will begin on week 20. You will be drawn randomly against another player and the person who earns the highest score advances to the next round, and the loser is out!!!! If a match is drawn it will first be decided by the most goals scored in the week, secondly it will be decided by fewest goals conceded, and lastly, if there is still no winner it will go to a virtual coin toss.

Top Picks for the New year

(Stats counted as far as GW 21)

Martin Odegaard: Odegaard has been a key player in Arsenal's title charge. He has contributed 8 goals and 6 assists this season and has gathered a total of 103 points so far.

Marcus Rashford: Rashford has returned every week since the restart, scoring 5 goals and assisting one. He is owned by 38.6% of players and this will increase as he keeps returning.

Luke Shaw: Since the restart Shaw has earned 38 points scoring a goal and have kept 3 clean sheets in a row making him a top target.

Eddie Nketiah: Since Gabriel Jesus picked up an injury before the World Cup, Eddie Nketiah has started every game for Arsenal. In the 3 Premier League games since the restart, he has scored 2 goals and scored 15 points. He is owned by just 3.2% making him a hidden gem.

Up and coming Double Game weeks

A Double Game week is a week where a team plays two teams in a single week. This can benefit your team as you can have players earning double points which is why you should start transferring in players with Double Gameweeks coming up such as, Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea and many more as the passing away of the Queen led to all games being postponed in GW7.

New January Ones to Watch

Cody Gakpo: Due to Luis Diaz picking up an injury Cody Gakpo has a high chance of playing 90 minutes in the Liverpool side. He was awarded Eredivisie player of the month two months in a row in Left wing before joining Liverpool in January.

Wout Weghorst: Due to Anthony Martial picking up an injury, Wout Weghorst will start up front. Manchester United are in great form at this time and with him starting up front he is bound to score some goals. He has the most presses in the Turkish Super League and will soon become a fan favourite.

Mykhailo Mudryk: After being in pursuit by the two biggest clubs in London he was purchased by Chelsea for around £100 million. Graham Potter also stated that he is faster than Kylian Mbappe meaning he will bring the much needed spark into Chelseas attack.

Kaoru Mitoma: After Brighton bringing in new manager Roberto De Zerbi and Mitoma coming back from loan, Mitoma has played well in the new system scoring 4 goals and getting an assist in his last 7 games. He has an ownership percentage of 4.6% making him a great differential pick.

Trouble at Chelsea

By James Falvey

Review of the problems throughout the club so far this season

The new ownership:

Chelsea F.C were put up for sale due to the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war as owner of the club, Roman Abramovich had links with Russian president Vladimir Putin forcing him into selling the club. Buyers knew the situation of the club and the English government giving Abramovich a short period of time to get his money and leave the country. Because of this, buyers waited out Abramovich which dwindled down the price eventually being sold for 2.5 billion on the 7th of May 2022 to American owner Todd Boehly.

The rapid influx of transfers:

When Todd Boehly arrived, he instantly made changes, with his huge budget he invested in a huge rebuild of the squad, buying the likes of Raheem Sterling, Kalidou Koulibaly, Marc Cucurella, Wesley Fofana, Joao Felix on loan for 6 months, Mykhailo Mudryk, Benoit Badiashile, Pierre Emerick Aubameyang, Andre Santos, Carney Chukwuemeka, David Datro Fofana, Zakaria on loan, Broja and Gallagher returning on loan, Gabriel Slonina and Noni Madueka and the expected arrival of Nkunku in the summer all totaling up to over €700m.

The departures of Timo Werner, Emerson, Billy Gilmour, Romelu Lukaku on loan, Michy Batshuayi, Malang Sarr, Antonio Rudiger, Andreas Christensen, Marcos Alonso, Callum Hudson Odoi and and the expiry of Saul Niguéz loan made way for the new signings to shine.

The new manager:

After a poor start to the season, losing both of their first two Champions League games Todd Boehly took the irrational decision to sack Thomas Tuchel and bring in Graham Potter from Brighton as his successor. All the fans of the club were unhappy and angry with this decision showing the love they had for the German coach. Graham Potter has had a terrible start to his Chelsea era and at the time of writing only picking up 2 wins in his last 10 games in the Premier League. Chelsea are currently sitting in 10th place, 10 points behind the top 4.

The Rings of Power Review

By Rhys Mcsweeney

An insight into the popular new TV series

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is a fantasy series, based on the works of J.R.R Tolkien, set thousands of years prior to the events of “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings,” available on Amazon Prime( And no not the drink) Video. It has been reported that Amazon( And no not the rainforrest) spent $700 million on production of the first season, as well as $250 million just for the rights to make it alone, making this by far the most expensive TV Show ever made, so, let us see if those billion(-50mill) dollars were well spent.

The first two episodes of the show premiered on September 1st, to a very mixed response. The critics were mostly positive, with an 84% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, and a 71% on Metacritic. However, the response from general audiences was much more divided, with over 50% of the reviews on IMDB being either 5 stars or 1 star. Now let’s take a look and see if these reactions are deserved.

Firstly, the positives. The CGI and visual effects were extremely convincing, and the budget really shows in this aspect of the show. The landscape shots and shots of cities help create an immersive atmosphere that I think really aids the story the show is trying to tell. The soundtrack by Bear (And no not the grizzly kind) McCreary is quite immersive, adding to the atmosphere of Middle-Earth the show is attempting to create, with former Lord of the Rings composer Howard Shore behind the main theme, which gives it a musical connection with the beloved trilogy. Another aspect of the show that I have to commend is the action. Episode 6 in particular is practically a battle for the entirety of the episode’s runtime, and it is filled with strong, bloody action.

Now the negatives. The main problem with the show is its pacing. It’s too slow. This means that earlier episodes drag and are absent of any action, rather deciding to exclusively dedicate their run-time to setting up future episodes, which may have led to general audiences feeling bored. It isn’t until the aforementioned episode 6 when we get some much-needed action, and some of the storylines set up in previous episodes come together. Another grape that I have with the show is disregard of the source material. This criticism may not have been felt by general audiences, but many who enjoy reading the works of Tolkien noticed that the show seemed to contradict much of the previously established lore, as if the show didn’t care much for the books its story is based on, and this is a criticism I understand. I feel that the show has really wasted an opportunity to make use of Tolkien’s writing that has been published posthumously.

For a final verdict, I would give this show 2/5 stars. The Rings of Power shines (bright like a diamond), in some aspects, such as the vfx, score, and action, but falters in others, such as writing, pacing, and staying true to the source material. I have no doubt that season 2 will make many necessary changes in the weaker areas of the show following this first season, as this show succeeding would open the door to many more adaptations of Tolkien’s writings, albeit hopefully more faithful.

The Banshees of Inisherin (2022)

By Seán Higgins

A review of the 9 nominations winning movie Bansheens of Inisherin

The Banshees of Inisherin is a black-comedy drama film by the acclaimed British playwright and director Martin McDonagh, known for such films as In Bruges and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri. The Banshees is McDonagh’s fourth film and it reunites Irish actors Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, who both starred in the aforementioned In Bruges fourteen years ago. McDonagh is known for his dark humor, occasional strong violence, and his interest in the West of Ireland, with many of his plays being set in Galway. The film takes place on the island of Inisherin on the west coast of Ireland. Filming locations for the island were Achill Island and Inishmore.

Set during the Irish Civil War, Colin Farrell plays Padraic, a dimwitted farmer who lives with his sister and a donkey. Brendan Gleeson plays Colm,( And no not Shanes dad), Padraic’s lifelong friend and a musician. The premise of the film is basic. Padraic best friend Colm begins ignoring him. It is then revealed that Colm no longer wants to be his friend. The film then follows Padraic's desperate attempts to resolve the issue, and the lengths that Colm is willing to go through to stop him. Kerry Condon, Barry Keoghan and Pat Short also star.

The film has stellar performances from the two mains, with Colin Farrell particularly standing out. Barry Keoghan and Kerry Condon are also both great in the film. McDonagh’s intelligent script,( And no not the band), examines the issues of mortality, loneliness, and the end of a friendship. Another aspect of the film that stands out is the cinematography, which includes many shots of the island. I can't find any faults with the film except maybe for the ending.( So he can find a fault with the movie). Now that the film is ready to stream on Disney +, I’d highly recommend it for anyone who has an interest in movies. I rate this film 4.5/5 stars.

Munster club final 2022

By Pádraig Reddan

A review of the clash between Balleya (Clare) vs Ballygunner(Waterford)

Balleya (Clare) vs Ballygunner(Waterford)

Match recap:

On Saturday 3rd of December, the Munster final took place in Semple stadium. Last years all Ireland club champions would take on the underdogs from balleya. Having beaten na piarsigh of limerick in the semifinals ballygunner looked like they were ready for anything that faced them. They went in as heavy favorites into the final. Balleya beat St Finbars of Cork by a single point even though they had a man extra for the majority of the game. Some key people (And no not a house key), for Balleya would include the likes of Tony Kelly, jack Browne and Paul Flannagan. Some of Ballygunners key people would be Stephen Okeefe, Pauric Mahony Philip Mahony, Dessie Hutinchins and Patrick Fitzgerald. The match would be a 3 o'clock throw in Semple Stadium. The game started at a frantic pace, both teams each exchanging scores but ballygunner looking the stronger of the two. Ballygunner had an early lead of 0-2 to 0-5. A goal from Patrick Fitzgerald just before half time meant Ballygunner would be leading going into the break. Tony Kelly scored 8 of Balleyas 11 points. In the second half ballygunner came out strong. Ballygunner pushed five clear on the back of Dessie Hutchinson and Tadhg Foley points in the 46th minute. Balleya had their chances but didn’t take them. They missed two frees in a row. A goal was badly needed for them but it never arrived. Ballygunners experience at this level showed. They were able to keep up their momentum. They had outplayed balleya in the second half. They were able to take of key men and give the subs a run. In the end ballygunner were too powerful for Balleya.The final score was Ballygunner 1-23 Balleya 0-17.