Shamrock Rovers -v- Sligo Rovers

• Macdara Ferris
• Thu, Oct 24 2013




SHAMROCK ROVERS

Friday’s visit of Sligo Rovers to Tallaght Stadium brings the curtain down on the 2013 season for Shamrock Rovers. Both the Rovers teams still have plenty to play for in this game (kick off 7.45pm), even if the league trophy now rests in Richmond Park.

 

The Hoops will be hoping for a win over Sligo, coupled with Derry City dropping points in their home game with Limerick, which would mean they would finish in fourth spot (a draw would also suffice, if Limerick win in the Brandywell). If Rovers finish fourth, then they will be cheering on the visitors in next weekend’s FAI Cup final. A win for Sligo over Drogheda in that game in the Aviva would then secure European football for the Hoops in 2014.

 

Ahead of kick off, the ‘Paddy Coad’ trophy will be awarded to the Shamrock Rovers Player of the Year as voted for over the last week by the fans. Who will earn the top scorer award will likely have to wait until the end of the game, as Ronan Finn and Gary McCabe are locked on eight league goals each, and both having scored 12 goals in all competitions.

 

McCabe is in fine goalscoring form having found the back of the net nine times across his last 13 competitive outings. That includes scoring twice in the last league match for the Hoops, a comprehensive 4-1 win over UCD in Belfield. Last Sunday, Rovers retained the Leinster Senior Cup following a 1-0 win over 2013 Airtricity League champions St. Patrick’s Athletic. James Chambers’ first half strike helped them earn that trophy, to go with the Setanta Sports Cup and EA Sports Cup they claimed earlier this season, securing a “treble minor” if you will for the Tallaght club!

 

Last season, the Hoops managed to finish fourth in the league but Derry City’s win over St. Pat’s in the 2012 cup final meant Rovers missed out on Europe. Even with this season’s troika of cup success, if they cannot clinch a European spot for next year, there will be bitter disappointment around the club. However, like last year, it is out of their hands and they will be hoping for a helping hand from Limerick and Sligo Rovers if the Hoops are to see European football in Tallaght next season.

 

Trevor Croly’s final squad of the campaign is missing the injured Danny Ledwith and suspended Pat Sullivan and Karl Sheppard. Sullivan’s last yellow card, his 38th booking in 111 competitive matches for the club, means he misses the final game of the season. Karl Sheppard also suspended was likely to have missed out anyway due to a hand injury picked up in the Leinster Senior Cup final victory.

 

“There is still something for us to play for in Friday night’s game,” said Hoops boss Trevor Croly, “as we seek to get that fourth spot. We need to get the win against Sligo and hope that Derry don’t win in Limerick. But we are confident going into the game; we have played well in the last couple of games and will be looking for a similar performance Friday night.”

 

SLIGO ROVERS

With just over a week to go to the FAI Cup final, the game in Aviva Stadium could be viewed as a distraction for Sligo Rovers. However, the visitors are still hoping to finish runners-up in the league, so they have a distinct target in mind coming to Tallaght. The club have only finished second in the league on three occasions in their history and know the only way they can make it four times is to win this final league game of the season and then hope that Dundalk lose away to Bray.

 

There are, of course, also FAI Cup Final starting positions up for grabs, something that manager Ian Baraclough spoke about ahead of Friday’s game. “Second place is still a possibility,” said the Sligo boss. “We are relying on a result elsewhere but all we can concern ourselves with is winning in Tallaght Stadium. There is still plenty riding on this game. We want to go into the Cup final on the back of a good result with confidence high in the group.

 

“If you're a player in our squad, you have to believe that over the next 10 days you can influence the team selection for the FAI Ford Cup final. You can't read too much into our team selection on Friday in regards to the final. But the performances and the approach from every individual is important.

 

“Nobody is looking too far ahead, nobody knows the team for the final and this is a big game in Tallaght that we want to win. Training is bubbly and bright, we want that to continue and each player will be doing their best to catch the eye.

 

“I know Shamrock Rovers are trying to take fourth spot to have a possibility of Europe, but that doesn't come into our thinking. All we care about is winning the game to give ourselves hope of finishing runners-up and moving onto the game in the Aviva Stadium with another win under our belts.”

 

Baraclough has virtually a full squad to choose from with the exception of Joey Ndo who will miss the game due to a hamstring injury. Aaron Greene is available again after a one game ban. The Sligo boss is grateful that Anthony Elding has rediscovered his scoring boots. He grabbed a brace in their last game, a 3-1 home win over Drogheda. They were his first goals in the league since Drogheda’s last visit to the Showgrounds at the end of the first series of games this season. Elding has scored against Shamrock Rovers in the EA Sports Cup and the FAI Cup already this year but was sent off in his last league visit to Tallaght Stadium.

 

Referee: Neil Doyle.

 

 

MATCH STATS

This is the first time that Sligo Rovers have finished in the top three in the league in three successive seasons. It is also their second best Premier Division points tally ever, only behind the 2011 amount of 73 points, which was achieved over a 36-game season.

 

Sligo’s record at Tallaght Stadium doesn’t make pretty reading from a Bit O’Red perspective. They have only one win from the 10 games played against Shamrock Rovers in the venue in all competitions since they played in the inaugural match back in 2009 – the year they also lost to Sporting Fingal in the FAI Cup final played there. Against the Hoops, in addition to that solitary win claimed back in 2011, they have managed to secure three draws but have lost on six occasions. Their most recent defeat in Tallaght was their 3-2 elimination from the EA Sports Cup at the semi-final stage. Revenge was sweet for the Bit O’Red though in the blue riband competition as they knocked the Hoops out of the FAI Cup in their semi-final clash played at the Showgrounds earlier this month.

 

Friday will be Shamrock Rovers’ 52nd game they have played in all competitions this season. Their record in their 51 games to date reads Played 51, Won 28, Drawn 15, Lost 8, Goals Scored 85 and Goals Conceded 41.

 

BETTING

Shamrock Rovers 7/5; Draw 11/5; Sligo Rovers 13/8.

 

PREDICTION

1-1.

 

 

Shamrock Rovers

Injured: Danny Ledwith.
Suspended: Pat Sullivan, Karl Sheppard.
 

Sligo Rovers

Injured: Joseph Ndo.
Suspended: None.