Oct 28,2024
And then there were two. Shelbourne still at the summit, kicking back into gear with wins over Waterford FC and Drogheda United. And Shamrock Rovers, despite dropping to fourth after St Pat's win over Derry on Friday night, who have a game in hand in which to close the deficit on their cross-city rivals.
It's delicately poised alright. Form would say that the Hoops should should get the job done against already-relegated Dundalk this evening. If so, that will set up us for an All-Saints Day finale, with the focus on Tallaght Stadium and the Ryan McBride Brandywell.
Bradley v Duff. Almost 50 years to day since the 'Rumble in the Jumble', who will deliver the knockout punch and bring home one of the most talked-about Premier Division titles in recent years?
"A lot of people have written Dundalk off but I think people forget it is a very proud footballing town," Duff said.
Throwing more praise in the direction of the Oriel Park outfit, he added: "It's a very proud footballing club, there's a very proud manager up there and there are footballing greats in the squad. I think it is slightly disrespectful that they have been written off."
If Jon Daly's side respond in kind and deny the defending champions a victory, then the title race is over. A draw would not be good enough for the Hoops, as it would leave them four points adrift of Shels with a game to play. The battle then would be to finish higher than fourth, to ensure a safety blanket, should Drogheda win the FAI Cup.
Shamrock Rovers will no doubt have a pep in their step after a comprehensive 4-1 win against Larne on Thursday evening. Manager Stephen Bradley is confident the players will now park that victory and be honed in on what is now required domestically.
Speaking on shamrockrovers.ie, he said: "It's so important to move on, we’ve always done that and it’s been a strength of this group regardless of the result. It was important to enjoy Thursday night but it’s gone, it’s done and forgotten about, and is something we’ll speak about in years to come.
"But now, it’s full focus on Dundalk. What’s been really pleasing about the group is, the last couple of months or longer, is when players have been called upon, they’ve stepped up and been ready. It’s a frustrating time for players as they want to play every game and every minute.
"That’s a difficult one for them to accept and understand that but what’s been pleasing is the players have been ready when called upon, and that’s been really pleasing."
Needless to say, Bradley is not taking anything for granted against the league's bottom club, noting the quality players the Co Louth club have in their ranks.
"Look at their team and squad with Andy Boyle, Robbie Benson, John Mountney and Daryl Horgan," he added.
"These are players who have won everything there is to win in this country. They are fantastic professionals and I'm sure they’ll be ready to go tomorrow.
"I watched their game with Derry, there wasn’t much in the game. So they’ll give us a really difficult game and we need to be ready for it. We need to go with the right mentality and reach our performance levels and see where that takes us."
As for team news, Bradley reported that "everyone came through the Larne game OK, a few bumps and bruises", while giving an update on the fitness of Seán Kavanagh and Seán Hoare.
"Seán Kavanagh is good, he picked up a knock last week but he got it looked at and is good, he will probably not make tomorrow, we need to be cautious and Seán Hoare will be similar.
"We tried to push Seán Hoare a little early but he's just not quite ready, so we hope he’ll be back for Waterford and if not, the week after. But he’s getting there."
