League Preview: Shamrock Rovers -v- Shelbourne

SHAMROCK ROVERS

The next act in the intriguing drama that is the quest for the 2024 Premier Division title takes place at Tallaght Stadium early on Sunday evening (kick-off 7.45pm) when Shamrock Rovers host current leaders Shelbourne.

Rovers’ five in a row aspiration looked to be dead and buried mid-season but results elsewhere have conspired to work in their favour and they now still have an opportunity to outpace the other contenders for the title as we head into the last four games of the season.

There are only five points behind leaders Shels as it stands, and a victory on their home patch on Sunday would cut the deficit to two points and add further suspense to already enthralling title race.

They were on a good run of form up to last weekend but were rocked by a 3-0 defeat to St Patricks Athletic, in front of their home supporters.

Rovers rebounded quickly from that defeat to fashion a superb 1-1 draw at home to APOEL Nicosia in the UEFA Conference League on Thursday night.

Manager Stephen Bradley spoke to the RTÉ after the European match and was keen to move on quickly to the other challenge of the domestic league title.

He said "We’ve never lost that belief. Like I said, you don’t do what we’ve done. Have we been at our usual high standards domestically in the league? I think it’s pretty clear we haven’t been."

"There’s been a number of reasons for that, but what I know is that these players, they’ve got tremendous character, togetherness, they’re hungry for more, they want to win and it’s up to me to give them the platform to do that.

"We’ll enjoy the draw against APOEL, we’ll forget about it and we’ll get ready for Sunday. It’s one of our biggest strengths, we’ll refocus and we’ll be ready for Sunday."

Bradley will watch Sunday’s huge title clash with Shelbourne from the stands after being hit with a one-match ban for his comments criticising referee Damien McGrath last month.

SHELBOURNE

Shelbourne’s stuttering end to the season continued in dramatic fashion last Monday night when they fell to yet another defeat, this time at the hands of Dublin rivals St Patrick's Athletic.

Their one win in nine matches record is anything but title winning form, but somehow, they have managed to stay on top of the table with a four-point advantage over nearest challengers Derry City, albeit with an extra game played.

They looked dead and buried against Pats at Tolka Park on Monday night, being two -nil down with 62 minutes elapsed, but two superb goals from Rahaan Tulloch and Matty Smith saw them draw level at 2-2.

They would have been more than happy to settle for the point but they were denied that when substitute Al-Amin Kazeem scored a winner for Pats with his first touch of the ball in the 88^th minute to give Pats a 3-2 victory

Their closest challengers, Derry City and Shamrock Rovers, have failed to take advantage of Shelbourne’s inconsistency, and both have been erratic in recent weeks, with the Foylesiders in particular being very poor with only one win in their last five league matches.

Damian Duff will have a much-depleted squad heading to Tallaght on Sunday afternoon, outlining the detail to the Shelbourne media team after training at the AUL on Saturday.

He said “We’re down a few bodies. Sam Bone and JJ Lunney are out — the game comes too soon for them. Liam Burt is ineligible against Rovers, obviously. Paddy Barrett and Matty Smith are suspended, and Shane Griffin and Aiden O’Brien are also out.”

Despite the issues, Duff remains upbeat: “Being low on numbers has probably never rattled me in the three years I’ve been here. I’m used to it from my underage days, going to games with 12 or 13 players. As long as we have enough for a solid starting lineup, that’s what we’ll focus on.”

“We’re looking to get a win. We can take positives from Monday and the draw last week. It’s the perfect time to find form after a couple of games where we were out of sorts. The next step is winning games and putting points on the board. Sunday night is massive — a top-of-the-table clash at the home of the champions. We need to bring our form and even more to get a result.”

Referee: Neil Doyle

MATCH STATS

Shelbourne had the measure of Rovers this season and managed to take seven points off them in the three games played to date.

They have beaten them both at home (2-1) and away (2-0) with one 0-0 drawn game at Tolka Park.

The since departed Will Jarvis scored three of their goals in those two games but the goals have dried up somewhat for the Reds in the closing stages of the season as they have hit the net only eight times in the last 10 matches.

The Hoops have a better recent scoring record, notching 14 goals in their last 10 league outings - winning five and drawing three.

BETTING

Shamrock Rovers  6/10; Draw 14/5; Shelbourne 4/1

PREDICTION

Shamrock Rovers 2 - 1 Shelbourne

Shamrock Rovers  

Injured: Rory Gaffney, Trevor Clarke.

Doubtful: Markus Poom

Suspended: None

Shelbourne         

Injured: JJ Lunney, Sam Bone, Shane Griffin, Aiden O’ Brien

Doubtful:  None

Suspended: Matty Smith, Paddy Barrett.

Ineligible: Liam Burt

Athlone Town secure historic first Women's Premier Division title https://t.co/K3wcUSaHEspic.twitter.com/qg3kRzvgZt

— extratime.com (@ExtratimeNews) October 6, 2024