So there it is. The end of another season. The end of an era. The end of the homeless years. While the season started with a certain sense of optimism, buoyed by an excellent opening day win away to defending champions Drogheda, it just always felt like the longest Christmas Eve ever. Having said that though, Christmas Eve is always one of the finer sessions.
As I said, everything started so well when after just 3 minutes Alan Murphy's volley somehow found its way into the Drogs top right corner. This was followed up by our next trip on the road with an impressive win in Galway. The residents of Galway showed their usually hospitality and were paid in return with us taking the 3 points and plastering their town with stickers.
Things started to go wrong on a miserable night in Cobh when a limp Rovers performance saw us beaten two nil. After that, crowds started to dip at home but the Hoops SC and our away support in general remained solid and was its usual vocal self despite having very little to celebrate while on the road.
It wasnt all doom and gloom though. The misery of a bad string of results was soon wiped away when Sean O'Connor swept home a late equaliser on a Tuesday night in Cork sending the Rovers traveling support into raptures. This was only eclipsed by Tadgh Purcell scoring to give us a rare win against Derry in the Brandywell.
After that, our season spiralled downwards as our Premier Division safety seemed assured and progress continued on construction of our new home in Tallaght. Another defeat in Cobh, quickly followed by losses in Sligo and a last day defeat at Finn Harps ensured a bad end to the season on the pitch. A number of us had already retired to the bar before the whistle for the end of the first half had blown.
So there you have it. What I can remember of the season from my numerous drunken hazes. The memories from the pubs and buses stick out more than what happened on the pitch. Forkys rants, the tiffs, the spillages, the songs and the laughter. Thanks to everyone for making such a nothing season so memorable. Hopefully next season will give us more to celebrate.
P.S. Sorry for being so lazy in updating the blog. I promise more next year. Honest Guv!
