Youth is most definitely not being wasted on the League of Ireland
Dublin derby the real showcase
Graham Burke stole the headlines and the Player of the Match award with not one but two goals as Shamrock Rovers and Bohemians served up a Friday night feast at Tallaght Stadium in a Dublin derby that was indeed one for the ages.
This was always going to be a game and a half, the league leaders against a Bohs side that had set the early season pace, and it certainly delivered and then some as Burke inspired Rovers to a 2-1 win.
The immediate afterthoughts centred on Burke’s brilliance, two contentious penalties and the fact that Bohemians have just gone six games and a full month without a Premier Division win.
But now that the dust has settled, there’s another storyline from South Dublin that deserves an airing, one that sits nicely alongside a pre-match conversation in the West Stand with a man who remembers the old days as well as I do.
As we exchanged greetings, about half an hour before kick-off, we started a conversation about how much League of Ireland football has changed over the years since Milltown was still open and Dalymount Park could accommodate fans on all four sides of the ground.
Before a ball was kicked in anger, we came to an inevitable conclusion - the hard men of previous Dublin derbies are a thing of the past. And to prove the point we settled on the example of one particular player who could hold his own when needed to but probably wouldn’t fit into the modern derby player mould.
Dermot Keely was the common denominator as we discussed former players whose bite wouldn’t suit such a modern game - the fact that his recent and really entertaining biography is called ‘Better Without The Ball’ suggests that the self-effacing LOI Legend would probably agree with us.
What transpired on the pitch for the next two hours proved it. The game moved at pace, some of the passing was top class, some of the challenges were robust as they should be on such an occasion but the big takeaway was the impact of youth on this pivotal match.
Senan Mullen of Bohs is just 21 but Rovers had four players younger than that in their starting team. Victor Ozhianvuna and Michael Noonan are just 17. Cory O’Sullivan is 19. John O’Sullivan is 20. All five looked at home in the heat of a top of the table clash, all five benefited from the faith their respective managers have in them, regardless of age.
That’s a huge turnaround as far as our national league is concerned. For Stephen Bradley to trust three teenagers to start against Bohs is a vindication of his own beliefs as a manager but also of the academy system that Rovers are working on, even since before Brexit forced more young players to stay at home until their 18th birthday.
Rovers have the best academy system in the country at their Roadstone training HQ and the emergence of so many young players in their first team squad proves it.
But the upcoming investment by the Government into academies across the country will give everyone else the chance to play catch-up with Rovers in terms of player development.
Given how well those five kids mentioned did on Friday night, particularly John O’Sullivan in central midfield for the home side, the advent of youth in LOI football and the prospect of even more talent emerging in the very near future is to be applauded.
Graham Burke, a veteran at 32, got the goals and the headlines this time and rightly so. But not for the first time, the sub-plot on a Friday night in the Premier Division was just as interesting. Long may it stay that way.
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