League Preview: Shelbourne -v- Derry City

Damien Duff

Damien Duff Credit: Paul Dolan (ETPhotos)

SHELBOURNE

Two teams with excellent defensive record will lock horns on Friday night when Shelbourne host Derry City at Tolka Park (kick-off is at 7.45pm).

Shelbourne’s reputation as a side which concedes very few goals was enhanced last weekend when they only conceded one goal in a defeat to St Patrick’s Athletic.

However, their inability to score will be of much bigger concern to manager Damien Duff and his coaching staff ahead of Friday night’s encounter.

The Reds have not hit the net in three of their last five encounters and a result they are beginning to drift away from the top four teams and the much-coveted European spot.

Jack Moylan is their leading scorer but his goals have dried up of late and at one stage or another they have also been without attacking players Sean Boyd or Matty Smyth.

Duff’s side played well in the Pats game at Richmond Park but with Smyth out injured and Boyd well marshalled by Pats centre half Noah Lewis, they never really caused much trouble to Pats goalkeeper Dean Lyness throughout the match.

Damian Duff was in a positive mood however when he spoke to the Shelbourne media team this week, he said: “The training has been really good this week, we came in on Saturday and dusted ourselves down.

“We had our post-match analysis on the game against Pats and started preparing for Derry.

“The lads trained well with great energy, and that was alongside a nice calmness to how they approached the week too.”



‘’There are a lot of positives to take, we played very well, those games against Derry and even if you look at the matches too against Pats, they are very tight games, in games like that it often comes down to key moments to settle the matches.

“It’s important that we come out on the right side rather than the wrong side. Who will step up and create the magic?

“We have players in our squad capable of doing it. We’ve seen it already. Mulraney last week with his goal, that big moment and Ryan Graydon then in Tolka for Derry, they have been influential.

Many tight games are decided by these crucial moments; we need to be on the right side of them tomorrow.

“The results we get in those games can go a long way in deciding things later on in the season. They are three great games to have, when you include the Leinster Senior Cup match too. The lads are embracing it, quickly parked the disappointment last Friday and there’s a real excitement about the place and in training. That’s what we want to see, it’s time to approach it with enthusiasm rather than dread.

“These next games, the points on offer, they are big points that can take us far and propel us towards our desired destination.”



DERRY CITY

Derry City make their second trip to Dublin in five days but will be hoping for a much better outcome that what they got from their trip to Tallaght Stadium on Monday night when they lost 1-0 to Shamrock Rovers.

They, like their opponents on Friday night, are very goal shy this season and have the worst goals for record of any of the top four sides after 23 rounds of matches.

Both teams have only 30 goals this season with Derry’s case not being helped by the loss, through a second ACL injury, of striker Colm Whelan earlier this season.

Strikers Jamie McGonigle and Cian Kavanagh have struggled this season with only four goals between them while their leading scorer is midfielder Jordan McEneff on six goals.

Manager Ruadhri Higgins made a move in the transfer market this week to alleviate the problem by signing Scottish winger Paul McMullan from Dundee.

McMullan has not been a prolific scorer for his most recent club Dundee having six goals to his credit in 77 games, but Higgins has obviously seen enough to consider him at least a part of a solution to his goal scoring problem.

McMullan will not be available to play for Derry until the home game against Sligo Rovers on July 7th.

Higgins spoke with the Irish News this week and is very clear on the importance of this game. He said: ‘’We have to treat the Shels game as a must-win match and three points is our absolute focus.

“I think everybody now knows they’re a very good team and deserve a lot of respect for what they’ve done, so we’re under no illusions that it’s going to be an extremely difficult game.

“We just need a wee spark at the top end of the pitch,” he added. 

‘’I know over the last month or six weeks it’s been a difficult period for the club, but it’s important to remain focused on taking the club forward.

“As I said we’re in a difficult moment but I’ve no doubt in my mind that with a wee bit of luck there’s good times ahead.

“Obviously we’re in the business of winning football matches, so we just need to keep fighting and we’ll come through it. 

You enjoy the highs more when you know that you’ve been through a bit of adversity.

“It has been a very strange season to say the least but we’re fully confident that for the rest of the season we can bring some success to the club.”

Referee: Robert Harvey

 

MATCH STATS

The result of the last game between the two sides very much mirrored their overall performances this season, neither side conceding a goal but also not scoring any goals, the game at the Brandywell in early June ending 0-0.

Derry did win their first encounter in the 2023 season, Ryan Graydon’s 12th minute goal separating the two teams when they clashed in Tolka Park in March.

PREDICTION

Derry City 1-1 Shelbourne

BETTING

Shelbourne 27/10;     Draw 2/1; Derry City 1/1.

 

Shelbourne

Injured: Kian Leavy, Brian McManus, Matty Smyth

Doubtful: None

Suspended: None

 

Derry City

Injured: Colm Whelan, Patrick McEleney, Will Patching, Michael Duffy, Ciaron Harkin.

Doubtful: None

Suspended: None

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