It was difficult to narrow it down to eleven but we see this as the strongest side.
After the first five rounds of fixtures of the 2015 SSE Airtricity League season it’s becoming clear that the quality of players breaking through the system is improving year by year.
After Dundalk sealed top spot with a 3-0 drubbing of fellow contenders Bohemians last week, there will be little surprise to learn that four Lilywhites have found their names onto our teamsheet.
Call us old fashioned but we see nothing wrong with a good old fashioned 4-4-2.
Goalkeeper
It was a toss-up between the heroic performances of Derry City’s Ger Doherty and the impenetrable force that is Dundalk’s Gary Rogers.
We had to plump for the latter considering the fact that Rogers has conceded exactly zero goals this season. Colour us impressed.
Defence
Simon Madden of Shamrock Rovers gets the nod from us on the right hand side of defence. The Shamrock Rovers full-back has been as reliable a defender as Pat Fenlon could have wished for before a ball was kicked this season. He has more than a bit of the Seamus Coleman about him with his ability to defend and attack, particularly with the display he put forward against Cork City.
In the centre, we’ve gone for a mixture of youth and experience. Roberto Lopes has been a crucial part in the Bohs defence that looked unbeatable before being turned over by Dundalk last week. One off-night is not enough, though, for us to fail to acknowledge the monstrous performances put forward by the 23-year-old this term.
Accompanying Lopes, is Cork City’s Alan Bennett. The 33-year-old looks every bit the finished product after his seven year stint in English football and provides an attacking threat from set-pieces to go along with his reliability at the back.
On the left hand side of the defence, is Dundalk’s Dane Massey. He’s been one of the players that’s been a true treat to watch and has come on leaps and bounds since signing from Bray Wanderers two years ago. He is gifted with the same talents that Madden is on the right side of our back four and, with the pair of them in our side, we’re happy with the balance. Massey is not afraid to shoot either his goal was the difference when Stephen Kenny took his side to the Brandywell.
Midfield
On the right flank, we’ve gone for the non-stop attacking threat of Bohs’ Adam Evans. The creativity of the 20-year-old Dubliner has been refreshing in the opening month of the season and he’s popped up with two goals already in this campaign.
In the centre, we’ve cheated a little bit and have gone for the big names rather than the players more comfortable in that position because, to be frank, we couldn’t leave Daryl Horgan out of our side. The Dundalk winger is just that but we had to put him into our XI based on the fact that he is arguably the best player in the league. He’s a versatility player and can sure up space on either flank, as well as up front, but his excellent link-up play has prompted our selection of the 22-year-old.
Playing slightly behind Horgan is St. Pats’ Greg Bolger and, before the accusations of picking him solely based on the below wonder-strike from last Tuesday, we assure you he was already in our side. This golazo didn’t hurt his chances of selection though. He is the perfect midfielder with unbelievable vision to go along with the crucial ability to dictate the pace of any game.
On the left flank we’ve decided to take the chance with Kieran Waters of Shamrock Rovers. It would be fair to say that Marty’s not the finished product quite yet but he has been one of the Hoops’ biggest attacking threats all season and was duly rewarded with his goal against Longford.
Forwards
We’re quite confident with the strike partnership and it’s David McMillan who we’ve stuck up front with the Dundalk striker hitting top form in recent weeks, scoring four goals in his last three outings. He has the uncanny ability to get the ball in the back of the net even in some of his quieter games which any manager would be quite happy with.
Accompanying McMillan up top is Drogheda’s Daryl Kavanagh. After getting off to a stellar start to his career at United Park with two goals in his first two games, the scores have dried up a bit for the Drogs but his performances have been nothing short of top-class and he looks a real old-fashioned centre-forward with his ability to hold the ball up for supporting runners.
