SSE AIRTRICITY LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION PREVIEW: SHAMROCK ROVERS V DUNDALK
By Daire Walsh
Having missed out on their last visit to the Tallaght Stadium, Shamrock Rovers centre-half Roberto Lopes will look to leave his mark on tomorrow’s clash with Dundalk in the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division (kick-off 8pm).
When Stephen Bradley’s men hosted the Lilywhites on April 2, Lopes was in mandatory hotel quarantine following his return from international duty with Cape Verde. The Crumlin native made his competitive debut for his father’s home country in an African Cup of Nations qualification victory against Cameroon a week earlier, but wasn’t able to travel to Mozambique for a crucial final round game.
Fortunately, Cape Verde made the Cup of Nations for the third time in their history and Rovers secured a 2-1 win over Dundalk.
“I was actually watching the game on television in the Crown Plaza in Santry. The lads were great that night to get the result against them. Hopefully we can pull another result out this Friday,” Lopes remarked.
“That whole trip was brilliant. To make my debut against Cameroon and get the win. Then obviously the lads went on to qualify for the Cup of Nations in Mozambique. I sort of had mixed feelings because you’d love to be a part of the entire trip.
“The quarantine rules meant I had to come back a bit sooner than I would have liked. It worked all round. There was celebrations had in the Crowne Plaza!”
As well as the intrigue of Tallaght man Vinny Perth being back at the helm of Dundalk, Friday’s game is set to have another major sub-plot. Several weeks after his signing was officially announced, Richie Towell is line to make his Rovers debut against his former club.
“We know what a big player he was when he was here in the league. Scoring goals, his energy and the lift that he gives to a team. He went on to have a successful time in the UK. Hopefully he’s coming back with the same hunger, the same desire to kick us on again for the second half of the season,” Lopes said of Inchicore’s Towell.
Heading into this weekend’s fixtures, the second-placed Hoops find themselves level on points and score difference with St Patrick’s Athletic and Sligo Rovers as their quest to defend the top-flight title becomes more intense.
Rovers will also have to balance their domestic duties over the next couple of weeks with a two-legged UEFA Champions League qualifier against Slovakia’s Slovan Bratislava. Lopes has scored three goals in 12 European appearances to date the Hoops and is eagerly anticipating next Wednesday’s away tussle with the Sky Blues.
“The European nights, I’ve always said it, are something special. They’re great to look forward to. We’ve got a difficult tie with Slovan Bratislava, but really looking forward to seeing what sort of opposition we’ll be up against,” Lopes added.
“Just the experience of that, it’s incredible. Over the years it has been great. I’ve been involved in a lot of European games and hopefully I’ll be involved in a few more this year.”