Hoops hoping to see off Candystripes
By Daire Walsh
CHAMPIONS Shamrock Rovers will look to edge a step closer to back-to-back SSE Airtricity League Premier Division titles when Derry City pay a visit to Tallaght Stadium tomorrow evening (kick-off 8pm).
Following last Friday’s dramatic 1-0 triumph over main challengers St Patrick’s Athletic, when a final-minute Nahum Melvin-Lambert own goal determined the outcome of the contest, the Hoops find themselves nine points clear at the summit of the top-tier table, with a game in hand on the Saints.
The fact that the league is now their sole priority (in the wake of last month’s exits from the UEFA Conference League and the FAI Cup) means the Rovers squad will have a clear focus for the remainder of the season – albeit they would have been happy to have a more congested schedule.
Although he has no reason to rest players, the options available to Bradley invariably mean there is always star quality outside of the Hoops’ starting line-up.
Indeed the three substitutes introduced in the win over Pat’s were Aaron Greene, Neil Farrugia and Chris McCann. Greene has chipped in with a host of important goals since returning to the club in 2018, Farrugia is a talented attacker who has been desperately unfortunate with injury and McCann has past Premier League experience in England with Burnley.
While the signing of Richie Towell garnered considerable headlines in the summer, the recruitment of Barry Cotter at the end of August has also proven to be a shrewd piece of business.
Despite only making four appearances to date, the Ennis native has already snapped up a ‘Club Player of the Month’ award for September.
He will look to continue his impressive form tomorrow as – on paper at least – Rovers are expected to face a tricky challenge from Derry.
Since leaving Stephen Kenny’s international backroom team to take on the position of first-team manager, Ruaidhrí Higgins has transformed the fortunes of The Candystripes.
Rock bottom when he assumed the reins, Higgins has guided them to 11 wins from 22 Premier Division encounters – elevating them to fourth place in the table.
They took a point off Rovers on their last trip to Tallaght in mid-May and with a top-three finish still a possibility, a similar result would certainly boost the prospects of the northerners.