The curtain raiser to the 2025 League of Ireland season takes place on Friday night at Tolka Park as last season’s league champions Shelbourne hosts FAI Cup holders Drogheda United in the Presidents Cup. Revived by President Michael D. Higgins in 2014, this was will both teams first appearance in the contest.
Damien Duff’s Shelbourne were the story of 2024 as the Ireland legend delivered a first league title to Drumcondra in almost two decades while Drogheda United shocked Derry City to lift the FAI Cup trophy despite finishing second from bottom in the league.
A week on from their big day at the Aviva Stadium Drogheda United dispatched First Division side Bray Wanderers in the promotion/relegation final to ensure that they would contest the President’s Cup still a top-tier side.
Despite picking up their first major honour since 2007 and qualifying for Europe, Drogheda United are favourites to be relegated next season with the Drogs priced up as the biggest priced outsiders in our Premier Division outright market at 50/1.
As for Shelbourne, Damien Duff is sure to use the fact that his team are only third choice in the outright market behind Dublin rivals St.Patrick’s Athletic and Shamrock Rovers as fuel to motivate his players in their title defence this year.
The champions have had a steady transfer market with wholesale changes not expected from what we saw last year in terms of both personnel and approach. LOI fans know what to expect from Duffers men now and that’s hard work and a military like organisation and structure.
Drogheda United have been fairly active in the market with the extension of loan spells for Douglas James-Taylor and Elicha Ahui from Walsall absolutely crucial pieces of business. Adam Foley and Aaron McNally are good squad players who have had to step away from the club for different personal/work related reasons while menacing striker Frantz Pierrot has moved to pastures new in Bosnia.
I went to see Drogheda in action against local rivals Dundalk last week at Oriel Park in the annual Malone Cup fixture involving the Louth rivals and to be frank, Drogheda were very poor. While the game was little more than a slightly glamorised friendly, it was played at a far higher tempo and intensity than your average pre-season contest.
Over 2,100 spectators turned out with Dundalk running out deserving 1-0 winners. Lilywhites goalkeeper Enda Minogue didn’t face a single shot from the Drogs all night which must concern Kevin Doherty ahead of facing one of the meanest defences in the land from last season.
While new arrivals Thomas Oluwa and Josh Thomas appeared as if they will be a handful for opposition defences this season through their sheer physicality and in Oluwa’s case pace and power, Drogheda were clearly missing the individual brilliance of James-Taylor who will not be fit to return in time for Friday’s game.
Fellow Walsall loanee Ahui also sat the game out and will do so again tomorrow, these are arguably Drogheda’s two best players.
As they are the league champions Shelbourne will have the honour of home advantage here and given Drogheda haven’t won at Tolka Park since 2018 it’s difficult to see anyone but Shelbourne securing the first silverware of the year on Friday night.
Shelbourne prevailed in the most recent H2H back in October 2-1 but the previous three encounters ended all square. With managers managing minutes and players keen to avoid early season injuries I’d expect this to be another tight affair.
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