Shamrock Rovers v Derry City, Tallaght Stadium, 5pm
The curtain on the new SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division campaign raises this evening, with an opportunity to see just how two of the division’s title fancies are shaping up.
Shamrock Rovers take on Derry City in the President’s Cup final after a shorter than usual off-season particularly for the Hoops, who once again played through the winter having made the Conference League league phase.
The season will, as always, be a marathon and not a sprint but Derry won’t pass up an opportunity to lay down a marker here if they can.
They finished second behind Shmrock Rovers last season but never mounted a serious challenge. Stephen Bradley’s men captured the Premier Division and then went on to lift the FAI Cup as they completed a first double since 1987.
Now, the battle to chase them down begins.
Tiernan Lynch has done some big business in pre-season: James McClean, Patrick McClean, Rob Slevin, Darragh Markey, James Clarke, Josh Thomas, James Olayinka and Kevin dos Santos have all come through the door, with owner Philip O’Doherty refusing to dampen expectations.
“For Derry City the target is very clear,” he said. “We want to win the league this year and maybe next year as well.”
The Candystripes will play home games at Celtic Park in April and May due to planned work on the Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium’s 3G pitch, which will be replaced by a hybrid surface (mostly grass with some synthetic grass filaments).
They’ll hope that will help to cure some of their home frustrations, with a sense that the artificial surface has been a hindrance to a team that wants to get the ball down and play.
McClean, capped 103 times for the Republic of Ireland, will of course get lots of attention but the likes of Markey, Slevin and Clarke also look like astute signings, ready-made for the hustle and bustle of the LOI.
“I’m certainly not here to make any statements,” said Lynch, a tad more reserved than the club’s owner.
“I’m here to go about my business quietly and try and make this team as successful as we possibly can and how we work every day and the things we do every day, it won’t make any difference who is in the door or who’s not in the door.
“When we get people like James in and Patrick in and some of the other signings we’ve made, we’ve seen that in pre-season that the standards raise and that should bode well for where we want to go and what we want to do.”
As for Shamrock Rovers, they are well used to being the side everyone else wants to take down.
Bradley (above) has pretty much kept his squad intact (Josh Honohan’s departure to Lincoln City the big loss) while adding St Pat’s wideman Jake Mulraney, 26-times-capped Ireland full-back Enda Stevens, and Ireland Under-19 international Adam Brennan to the ranks. Danny Mandroiu continues to rehab from the ACL injury he suffered in the cup final against Cork City, though the Hoops have no other injury concerns at the moment.
“We know the quality Enda has, we know he’s been here,” said Bradley. “He’s been excellent on and off pitch. Enda will be really important for the development of Cory O’Sullivan, Egor Vassenin and Danny Burke, young players who play in the same position.
“We know Jake’s quality, that’s undoubted. It’s been very pleasing how much he has bought into everything we do here. It’s like he’s been here all along, he looks really fit and focussed and we’re really looking forward to seeing Jake in the team.”
Bradley is embracing the prospect of a ding-dong title battle this year, and expects this evening’s opponents to be in the thick of it.
“Derry have invested heavily this year, which is a positive for Derry but also for the league as a whole,” he added.
“James McClean coming back into the league is also another positive for Derry and for the league. He’s had a brilliant career, is someone who started his career in the league of Ireland, won over 100 caps for Ireland and has come back into the league still fit and strong. Having just left the championship, that shows the level he’s still playing at and I’ve nothing but respect for James.
“He will help raise the profile of the league. That’s a positive and we should all support that.”