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Shamrock Rovers -v- Dundalk
- Alan Smith
- Tue, Jun 02 2009
A struggling Dundalk travel to Tallaght stadium tonight (kick-off 8pm), to face a Shamrock Rovers side battling for a European position. Rovers drew 1-1 with Drogheda United at the weekend, while Dundalk were beaten at home by Sligo Rovers.
Rovers boss, Michael O’Neill was disenchanted after the Drogs game, but he is looking forward to doing battle with Sean Connor’s Lilywhites. “It was hugely disappointing not to win the game. We had enough chances to win by a comfortable margin, but we didn't take them, and then we lost an extremely poor goal at the other end.We were under no real pressure in the game. It was a draw, but it feels like a very bad defeat. It is two points dropped and we have to learn from that,” said O’Neill.
Despite the hype surrounding Tallaght, Rovers have won just 3 of the 7 games played their so far. O’Neill cites the Hoops’ away form as vital to their current position. “We’ve only been beaten once away from home this season, and our home form is the reason why there is a gap between ourselves and the teams above us. We were very disappointed that we threw way two points against Drogheda on Saturday and we’re determined to make amends against Dundalk.” Rovers will be without the services captain Shane Robinson, but other than that they will be at full strength.
It will be tough for Dundalk on their first trip to Tallaght; the Louth outfit have not beaten Rovers in the league since September 1997. They will plan without the out-of-contract Harpal Singh, but other than that Sean Connor will be left with a full squad to choose from. They’ve been very erratic recently and chants of “Connor Out” could be heard emanating from the stands at Oriel Park on Friday night. In response to that, Connor said: “Fans’ reactions are dictated to by results. We could play absolutely terrible, win 1-0 and they go away happy. That’s the nature of the game, and I think you have to develop a thick skin as a manager, and I’ve got a pretty thick skin.
Another loss here would surely put the ex-Bohs’ man, who will no doubt face some abuse from the opposition support due to his former allegiance, will really put him under pressure. However, he has referred to the July transfer window as key to Dundalk’s survival chances. “We’ve already identified who we want to bring in but we can’t bring them in until 1 July, so we’ve just got to try and live through until July, pick up as many points as we can and make sure that we’re still in the fight. Come July, bring in a couple of fresh bodies and suddenly you go from 14 to 17 and you’ve got some selection headaches, hopefully,” said Connor.
The Lilywhites’ main problem recently has been their failure to score, with just one goal coming from the last five games. “It will get more concerning the longer it goes on, and the thing about strikers is that strikers feed on confidence,” he concluded.
Extratime.ie Prediction: Rovers should win this one. 2-0.
About Alan Smith
Alan Smith works as a sub-editor for the Guardian newspaper in London. Originally from Cork, he freelances for several other newspapers and websites. Follow him on twitter @alansmith90.