June 2nd - Shamred, sorry, Shamrock Rovers regained top spot on Friday night. Aaron Greene scored both goals as Dundalk were beaten two-nil in Tallaght. A goal came in each half, either side of a red card for Ronan Finn. No complaints about this one as he was the last man back and prevented a one-on-one with Rayhaan Tulloch clear through on goal for the visitors. Stephen O'Donnell's side were unable to take advantage of the numerical advantage for the second week in a row as Stephen Bradley's side recorded a comfortable enough victory. If Derry City don't win the league then they'll be looking at the amount of points they've dropped at home this season - they drew nil-all with Shelbourne at the Brandywell. It could have been worse for Ruairdhi Higgins side - Brian Maher saving a penalty from Shane Griffin during the game.

Bohemians are remaining in touch with the leaders - they're just three points off the lead after beating Sligo Rovers two-nil at Dalymount. Goals from James Clarke and Declan McDaid ensured another three points for Declan Devine's side who can go level with the leaders if they win their game in hand. Ben McCormack provided three assists as St Patricks Athletic won three-one at UCD. The Inchicore side are four points off the top, six points clear of Shelbourne in fifth place. UCD are now twelve points adrift at the bottom of the table. That's as a result of Cork City's third consecutive one-nil win - Tunde Owolabi scored the only goal as the Leesiders won at Drogheda.

In the first division, Galway dropped points for only the second time this season. They were held one-all by Bray Wanderers at the Carlisle Grounds. Robert Slevin's red card was one of six awarded in the first division on Friday night but the leaders held on for a point. Waterford cut the gap at the top to ten points - they scored seven goals without reply at home to Treaty United. Ronan Coughlan was one of six different scorers - that's nineteen for the season so far for him.

Wexford scored a very late winner against Cobh Ramblers to close the gap on the play off spots. Aaron Dobbs scored in the 86th minute as both sides ended up with ten men in that one. There were three red cards in Athlone as Franz Pierrot's early goal was enough to give the home side victory over Longford. Kerry's 818km round trip to Donegal proved fruitful as they returned home with a point after a nil-all draw.

Two people share the lead after the first round of games in June - Fiachra O'Brolachain and Paul Moore both scored an excellent 57 points on Friday night to to the early leaderboard. They're ten points clear of Darragh Kenny and Gavin Doherty who share third place on 47 points. There's a rogues gallery of people after that sharing fifth spot - Daniel Murphy, Gerry Draper, Jake Murphy, myself and John Brophy - full details below:

  



June 5th to 9th - Shamrock Rovers picked up two wins this week to go six points clear heading into the international break. Rory Gaffney scored twice on Monday as the Hoops won three-nil in Sligo. They followed up that win with a four-nil win at home to UCD on Friday night. Among the scorers was Kieran Cruise who scored his first senior goal for the club. Things are looking bleak for the Students. They lost four-one at Dundalk on Monday and results elsewhere mean they're now 15 points adrift at the bottom of the table.

A bad week for Derry saw them fall further behind the leaders. They lost four-one at St Patricks Athletic on Monday and were then held scoreless by Bohemians on Friday night. Derry looked to have been denied a stonewall penalty in the last minute in that one. There was further bad news for the Candystripes with Colm Whelan ruled out with a recurrence of his cruciate ligament injury.

That point was a welcome one for Bohs who had lost at Cork earlier in the week. The Dalymount side host Shamrock Rovers after the international break - they're eight points off the lead with a game in hand. Bohemians had pulled level at Cork but the Leesiders went straight up the field to score a late winner in that one while the travelling contingent were still celebrating the equaliser.

It's very tight around the relegation playoff place. Just two points separate Drogheda, Sligo and Cork City. Darragh Markey scored a last minute winner for Drogheda on Friday night as they beat St Patricks Athletic. Sligo earned a point in a one-all draw at Shelbourne. Cork had won four games in a row and did lead Dundalk before slipping to a one-nil defeat.

Galway's promotion charge continued this week - they hit Finn Harps for six on Monday and then won two-nil at Wexford on Friday. Waterford also scored six on Monday - against Kerry and then beat Bray three-one on Friday. It was the second three-one defeat of the week for Bray who lost at Athlone on Monday. Athlone are third in the table now after victory at Longford. They're ahead of Cobh Ramblers on goal difference.

It's a second week at the top for Fiachra O'Brolachain who leads John Brophy by just three points. Daniel Murphy has climbed two places to third with Paul Moore down two in fourth. Jake Murphy completes the top five ahead of the international break:

  

June 23rd - A two-nil win for Derry City at home to Cork City saw them reduce the gap on leaders Shamrock Rovers to four points ahead of their meeting in Tallaght on Monday night. Josh McGonigle and Tiernan McGinty both scored for the Candystripes. Shamrock Rovers looked to be cruising to three points in Dalymount. All the action came in the second half as Neil Farrugia and Markus Poom fired the leaders into a two goal lead. However, the hosts fought back admirably with Jonathan Afolabi pulling one back before James Clarke scored the equaliser. Both sides had the chances to win it late on but both teams left Dublin 7 with a point.

St Patricks Athletic are third in the table - Jake Mulraney's stunning free kick earned the Saints a one-nil victory over Shelbourne in Richmond Park. The drama wasn't confined to the pitch - Damien Duff receiving a red card after the final whistle. It looks like it wasn't just coaching tips he picked up from Jose Mourinho during his Chelsea days. There was late drama in the Louth Derby too. Drogheda were ahead heading into the final fifteen minutes but two goals from Pat Hoban saw Dundalk go level on points with fourth placed Bohemians with a two-one win. The final game in the Premier Division saw UCD pick up just their second win of the season - they also came from behind to win two-one - against Sligo Rovers.

Galway's procession back to the top division continued with a four-nil win at home to Longford. Their lead at the top is now thirteen points as Waterford slipped to a surprise one-nil defeat at third placed Cobh Ramblers. A game between two inconsistent sides saw Treaty United win two-nil at Athlone. Bray Wanderers remain in the final play off spot - they came out on top by the odd goal in five against Kerry at the Carlisle Grounds. Wexford remained in touch with the play offs as Aaron Dobbs scored the only goal in Donegal as they beat Finn Harps...

Heading into the final week of June, Daniel Murphy holds a 2 point lead over Keith Ryan in second place. Last week's leader, Fiachra O'Brolachain, remains in contention - he's just five points off the lead:

  

June 30th - St Patricks Athletic look the side most likely to put together a title challenge after Friday's games. They scored seven without reply against UCD to climb to second in the table. Among the scorers was Mason Melia who became the youngest scorer in League of Ireland history at just fifteen years old. To put that in context, the record since 1977 when Ronnie Whelan scored for Home Farm.

The gap at the top is just four points now. Shamrock Rovers slipped to a two-nil defeat at Dundalk - Pat Hoban continued his recent scoring streak, bagging the second in that one. A poor week for Derry City ended with a draw at Shelbourne. Sean Boyd opened the scoring in that one before Ben Doherty earned a point for the visitors late on. Derry are now six points off the lead in third place.

Sligo Rovers picked up a vital win with a three-one win at home to Bohemians. That moved them a couple of points clear of Drogheda and Cork who drew one-all in the battle to avoid the relegation playoff spot.

In the first division Galway United continued on their merry way with a narrow one-nil win over Kerry. Waterford hit Finn Harps for six in a six-one win - they'd already beaten Dave Rogers' side seven-one earlier this season! Cobh Ramblers came out on top by the odd goal in five at Athlone. They're in third place now, holding a ten point cushion in the play off race.

Bray Wanderers moved level on points with Athlone after a one-all draw with Treaty United. Wexford's playoff hopes were dealt a blow when they lost two-one at Longford on Saturday night.

Daniel Murphy had a comfortable victory in the June competition - he ended the month in first place with a seventeen point victory over Jake Murphy in second place. Conor Claxton and Fiachra O'Brolachain shared third place while Niall Carroll finished the month strongly in fifth place - full details below:

  

The Greatest League - June 2023 Leaderboard
No.
 Lst Chg
Name
Team Name
Pts
Lst
Chg
Support the Site:
1
 1 0 Daniel Murphy 4 In A Row 231 173 58


2
 6 4 Jake Murphy 4 In A Row 214 156 58
3
 4 1 Conor Claxton Everyone Hates A Bohs Hipster 211 160 51
4
 3 -1 Fiachra O'Brolachain Borough Hoops 211 168 43
5
 2 -3 Keith Ryan He's Gone, Yup Ian Ryan 207 171 36
6
 31 25 Niall Carroll Yellow Bellies 205 127 78
7
 9 2 Paul Moore JD Sports A Wig 201 155 46
8
 10 2 Brian Cunningham Dermot Keely Cannae Count 199 153 46
9
 24 15 Joe Turner McLaughlin's Aces 197 136 61
10
 11 1 Kevin Nolan Team Gilzean 195 152 43
11
 15 4 Shane McCormack Forty Four In A Row 194 148 46
12
 13 1 Tony McNamee Swilly Rovers 194 151 43
13
 20 7 Francis Gilligan Yes, I Think To Myself 191 140 51
14
 5 -9 Brian Boyle Komodo Reds 190 157 33
15
 27 12 Caroline Carroll Seagulls 190 132 58
16
 8 -8 John Brophy Never Going To Beat Eoghan 190 155 35
17
 17 0 Gary Parsons TFTES 188 146 42
18
 29 11 Shane Coughlan Shane Lad Rovers 1.0 188 130 58
19
 16 -3 Darragh Kenny Four In A Row 187 146 41
20
 7 -13 Daniel Dorrian Donegallad97 186 155 31
21
 32 11 Trevor Rankin I'm Not Finn-ished 185 127 58
22
 19 -3 Andy Dunne Phoenix Park Rangers 184 143 41
23
 12 -11 Tommy Hamill Omeath All-Stars 184 151 33
24
 14 -10 David Doyle Dublin Is Green and Whitechurch 183 150 33
25
 33 8 Gavin Doherty D12 Shels 182 126 56
26
 42 16 Eoghan Brophy Little Ol Shels 181 115 66
27
 26 -1 James Connolly FC Igghh 178 135 43
28
 25 -3 Neil Walsh Bradley's Babes 177 136 41
29
 18 -11 Darragh Moriarty Moriparty FC 176 145 31
30
 21 -9 Gerry Draper Everton10 174 138 36
31
 22 -9 Joseph Kavanagh Cherry Orchard Thieves 174 138 36
32
 35 3 Tommy Tormey The Four Fs 174 123 51
33
 36 3 Stan Tormey Inter Stan 170 122 48
34
 30 -4 Craig Whelan Saints 1929 168 128 40
35
 28 -7 Danielle McGarry Shamrock Rovers 165 132 33
36
 23 -13 Gary Fitzpatrick Devolution 162 136 26
37
 37 0 Christopher Uzell Heavey's Heroes 154 118 36
38
 34 -4 Gary Donnelly One Bray Or Another 154 123 31
39
 44 5 Kevin McQuaide The Longford Langers 153 109 44
40
 39 -1 Philip Rankin Stevo's Stars 152 117 35
41
 40 -1 Rob Gaffney Fiorentina Turner 152 116 36
42
 41 -1 Derek McDonald The Auld Reds 151 115 36
43
 45 2 Gary McGurk Goose Green Mafia 151 106 45
44
 38 -6 James Keville Inchicore Draw 143 118 25
45 43 -2 Gerry Moore Sligobourne Reds 141 109 32
46 46 0 Senan Slattery Clooney-Quin On Top 103 92 11
47 47 0 Conor King Yurt City 80 72 8
48 48 0 Gearoid McIntyre 3 Little Martletts 36 28 8
49 49 0 Gary Keating Say It With Flores 28 20 8
50 50 0 Michael De Verdier Pelletstown Rovers FC 24 18 6
51 51 0 Sean McLean Watts Happening 24 18 6
52 53 1 Jack Duffy Bohs Massive 22 16 6
53 52 -1 Shane Langan Asbohs 20 17 3
54 54 0 Richard Johnston Turnip Heads 6 5 1