League of Ireland

League of Ireland 2015 week 1 Attendance

            Ok the first week is always full of anticipation. We have waited a long time to see out LOI club come out. Most teams have a great deal of changes in personnel and the fans want to see their new stars perform. Also….it seems every fan has no idea what to expect and believe they could be at the top of the table near the end of the year.

Danny North is delighted with his 1st goal for the Hoops against the Saints

The big game was FAI Cup winners St Patrick’s Athletic visiting Shamrock Rovers. The Saints would be bringing PFAI player of the year in Chris Fagan. Fagan also banged in 20 goals, most in the League. The Rovers signed the Saints best MF in Kevin Fahey. The result was over 5,000 turned out at Tallaght Stadium to see the home team win 1-0.  It was Danny North who banged in the winner. The Shamrock Rovers are our current leaders in attendance with over 5,000 coming to Tallaght Stadium. 

There was also Dundalk opening against the First Division champion Longford Town. This was a scrappy game at Oriel Park. Dundalk won this game 1-0 and 3,336 turn out to see the Champions opening day. This was a huge jump from last year’s average.

Sligo Rovers has the 3^rd best attendance at 3,082 witnessed a very entertaining 1-1 draw against runner up Cork City. This game was played at the Showgrounds. 

Galway United also produced a great turnout of 2,254 at Deacy Park. The Tribesmen hosted Derry City and controlled the entire first half. This delighted Galway United supporters. However in the second half the tables were turned when Derry reshuffled their midfield and Galway could not adjust.

Irish President and his contingent will help Galways United attendance

		2014 avg	2015
1	Cork City	3,777
2	Dundalk	2,534	3,336
3	Shamrock R	2,319	5,000
4	Sligo	2,087	3,082
5	Bohemians	1,480
6	Saints	1,359
7	Derry	1,298
8	Drogheda	1,023
9	Galway U	970	2,254
10	Limerick	865	920
11	Bray	855	650
12	Longford T	693

            That was the good news. The bad news is that Limerick and Bray had lousy crowds in their home openers. Limerick fans are probably upset about not playing at Markets Field and want to show thieir displeaseure and Bray may be in line for lowest attendance for the league. Not a position their supporters would be prouid of.