One of the most dramatic and unpredictable League of Ireland seasons of all time will come to a conclusion on Friday night with the title set to remain in Dublin for yet another season. However, will the holy grail be heading back to Tallaght Stadium for a record breaking fifth consecutive season or will Damien Duff be the man to end Shelbourne’s near two decade long wait to once again be crowned the champions of Ireland?
LOI TV Commentator & host of Between the Stripes LOI podcast Kieran Burke delivers us his verdict…….
At the start of the month, when as many as seven of the leagues ten teams could still win the division, I attempted to map out how the eventual final league standings would look (read that piece here) and going into this final weekend my tip for Rovers to win the league on goal difference looks more than possible. In fact, my projected points tallies for a number of teams are either very close or potentially bang on the money depending on what happens in the final round of games.
The permutations are straight forward ahead of Friday, a win for Shelbourne in Derry and they will be champions but anything other than three points will hand the title to the Hoops should they win at home to Waterford, a game they are 1/5 to do so in.
It’s certainly the game at the Ryan McBride Brandywell that is the more interesting contest on the final day with questions floating over how Derry City will approach the match. The Candystripes were officially ruled out of the title race last week with defeat against St.Patrick’s Athletic and with the FAI Cup final now fast approaching it’s only natural questions will be asked regarding team selection and motivation.
However, with Derry City needing a win to give themselves a chance of a top three finish, a top three place guaranteeing Europe for next season, Ruaidhrí Higgins will have to weigh up whether he approaches this game as normal or if he gambles and rotates in the knowledge that an FAI Cup final win against Drogheda will earn the Foylesiders a backdoor route into continental competition next season.
Despite defeat at Richmond Park, City played well in the second half and were unlucky not to come away with a result with second half substitute Colm Whelan changing the game with his sharpness up front. If Derry play with that level of intensity against Shelbourne then it is difficult to see how Shels will be able to impose themselves on the hosts.
However, if Derry City’s minds are elsewhere then Damien Duff’s Reds could simply find themselves wanting it more on the night, this game is something of a punting minefield.
With pressure mounting on Derry boss Higgins, the last thing he needs going into the cup final is bad energy around the club and ensuring Shelbourne aren’t lifting the trophy on Derry’s patch would be a good way to ensure he has some sort of goodwill among the supporters heading up to the Aviva on Sunday week.
Things should be a lot more straightforward in Tallaght where Shamrock Rovers host an out of form Waterford. The Hoops had to ground out wins against the two Louth clubs in recent weeks but they were both at tricky away venues. In between, Rovers thrashed Larne in Belfast in the Conference League with Graham Burke turning on the style against the Northern Irish champions. With a sold out ground behind Rovers, I’m expecting them to put on a show.
TITLE PREDICTION: Shamrock Rovers (4/7) – Recommended @ 3/1 on October 7th.