Derry City FC v. Shamrock Rovers FC, League of Ireland Premier Division Round 30, Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium, 15TH September 2023, kick-off 7.45pm
Derry City
can narrow the gap to Shamrock Rovers at the summit of the Premier Division table to just one point should
they defeat the Tallaght side on Friday night. Rovers, who are chasing their
fourth league title in a row, can go seven points clear should they claim victory
in the Brandywell. With just six games remaining in the 2023 League of Ireland
campaign, this clash between first and second has all the makings of a classic.
Will
Patching shone as City put five past UCD last week in their game in hand,
whilst Brandon Kavanagh also netted a brace for himself. Danny Mullen scored
his second goal in three games after just two minutes to set the Candystripes
on the right track. The victory meant that Derry now sit four points behind
Shamrock Rovers going into Friday night’s game, and all but confirmed UCD’s
relegation as they lie seventeen points behind ninth placed Cork City.
There is no two ways about, this clash against Rovers is the biggest game of the Premier Division season so far. City haven’t lost in the league since falling to a 1-0 defeat against the Champions in Tallaght in late June. In fact, since losing to Rovers in the Brandywell in May, Derry have won nine and drawn three of their last twelve home games. Rovers, too, haven’t tasted league defeat in over two months either. Their 2-0 away defeat against Dundalk, four days after beating Derry in June, was the last time Shamrock Rovers came away empty handed from a league game.
Shamrock Rovers have beaten Derry twice in the league this season - a 2-0 win in the Brandywell in May and a 1-0 victory in Tallaght in June. City, however, defeated Rovers 2-0 in the President's Cup back in February, before beating them 2-1 in Dublin three weeks later. Rovers have won all but one of their last ten league visits to the Brandywell and won't back down from a fight on Friday.
Both sides
are full of confidence approaching the tie. Rovers have won three and drawn two
of their last five league games, with their most recent victory coming in the
form of a 3-0 Dublin Derby win over bitter rivals Bohemians. Derry City on the
other hand, can boast four wins and a draw from their last five league
fixtures. The Candystripes have been in fine goalscoring form in that time too,
netting fifteen goals and conceding just four in league action. They’ll need to
keep that prowess in front of goal up if they are to pip Friday’s opposition to
the title. Rovers’ goal difference is currently +30, whereas City’s is +24. If
City manage to win on Friday, that gulf in goal difference will decrease, but
it will be a tall ask to overcome the highest scoring team in the division come
November.
The manner
of Derry’s win against UCD meant that key players could be rested or brought
off early. Michael Duffy and Jamie McGonigle were named on the bench but didn’t
feature, whilst Patrick McEleney got the best part of thirty five minutes in
the second half in order to increase his match fitness. Shane McEleney and
Brandon Kavanagh started, whilst Sam Todd, Jordan McEneff and Cian Kavanagh saw
over half an hour of action. A first team debut was also handed to 17 year old Callum
McCay, who replaced Sadou Diallo on the 71st minute.
Worryingly, defensive
trio Ronan Boyce, Cameron Dummigan and Mark Connolly were not included in the
squad against UCD, meaning it is doubtful that they will be fit in time for
Rovers’ visit on Friday. It’s coming up to a year since Ciaron Harkin
devastatingly re-ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament, but there is no sign
of an imminent return unfortunately. The knee injury which kept Colm Whelan
out of action for a year was reagitated in Shamrock Rovers’ last visit to the
Brandywell in May, prematurely ending his season after a prosperous start to
life in Derry. Hopefully it won’t be too far into 2024 before we see the
striker in a red and white shirt again. Evan McLaughlin, who has been out of action for over five months, recently underwent surgery and will begin rehabilitation.
Shamrock
Rovers’ primary concern is the knee injury of star man Jack Byrne, who
saw a specialist in London in August. He hasn’t featured since injuring his
medial knee ligaments in Rovers’ Champions League qualifying defeat to
Icelandic side Breidablik in mid-July, but is expected to return before the end of the season. Neil Farrugia, one of the league’s best full backs, returned
from injury to score against Bohemians two weeks ago. Prior to that game, he
hadn’t played since Rovers’ 1-0 win over Derry in late June. He played just ten
minutes against Bohs, so may not start on Friday despite his impressive goal in the Dublin derby. Aaron Greene hasn’t been included in a Rovers’ squad since
they drew with Shelbourne on August 11th, whilst Sean Gannon hasn’t
played since starting against Ferencváros a week previous.
Stephen
Bradley tends to set his Rovers team up with three centre backs and two, more
attacking, wingbacks. Therefore, Shamrock Rovers most often play either a 3-5-2
or a 3-4-3 formation. With Dan Cleary, Roberto Lopes and Lee Grace all
appearing in more than twenty league games this season – and Sean Hoare in
eighteen – Bradley has a solid defensive core. The profiles of Trevor Clarke
and Sean Kavanagh in left-back, and Neil Farrugia in particular at right back,
shows that Bradley has a specific mould of forward-thinking full-back in mind
when setting up his teams. Clarke has seven goal involvements, Farrugia five,
and Kavanagh six this term, whilst Ronan Finn – who can play right back or in
the midfield – has three. That means 21 of Rovers’ 54 league goals (38.9%) have
been made by, or scored by, wide defenders. This is definitely something which
Ruaidhrí Higgins will be aware of.
In the
midfield, Rovers have quality too. Markus Poom, on loan from Levadia Tallinn,
has come into his own since the injury to Jack Byrne and has contributed to seven
goals this term. Richie Towell, who scored in the Brandywell earlier this
season, has six goal involvements. Gary O’Neill is a tough defensive midfielder,
and Graham Burke has chipped in with thirteen goals or assists this term from
the left flank. Jack Byrne will be a miss in the Rovers midfield if Friday is too soon for his return, as he
scored in the Brandywell in April and has made eight assists this season. Liam
Burt was excellent for Bohemians last year, but has scored just once since
crossing the Dublin divide in the off-season. Galway native Rory Gaffney was
named both the PFAI Players’ Player of the Year and the SSE Airtricity Player
of the Year for the 2022 Premier Division season. The striker has chipped in
with eight goals and five assists this term and offers a physical presence in
the Rovers frontline. Ireland U21 forward Johnny Kenny, on-loan from Celtic,
has seven goal involvements in 27 games, whilst Aaron Greene has five in
thirteen.
Friday's game is the biggest fixture of the season and is likely where the league will be won or lost. If Derry win and cut the gap to a point, they will fancy their chances in finishing the season strongly and only need Rovers to drop points once to overtake them should City keep winning. Shamrock Rovers, with a win, will go seven points clear and will need a serious drop-off in form to not win the league for the fourth year in a row. European games aside, this is City's biggest game since the FAI Cup final last year. The Candystripe faithful will need to replicate an atmosphere akin to that against KuPS in the Brandywell during the summer if Derry are to topple the champions. It's a big one.
No comments:
Post a Comment