After a dull win over Dundalk last Friday, we host Derry City in Tolka Park on April Fools Day. The visitors come in on a 1-0 defeat at home to Galway United.
Shelbourne currently sit comfortably at the top, 7 points clear of Sligo in 2nd, while Derry are sat in 3rd with 11 points, just a point ahead of Galway United behind them.
This will be a big game for both teams, Shelbourne looking for a big 3 points at home before they travel to Drogheda while Derry will be looking to get a result after a disappointing defeat at home.
Let’s talk about who I think will be key for a win:
Unfortunately, due to Mark Coyle picking up another yellow during the scrap before half time against Dundalk, he will be unavailable for selection against Derry. This will be a huge opportunity for the likes of Evan Caffery, Keith Ward or even John O’Sullivan to get the chance of starting up against a strong team such as Derry, and it will be crucial that whoever replaces Coyler performs well against them.
I think Sean Gannon has been amazing so far and can really help us in a tough game such as against Derry. He is class at the back for us and makes runs when needed. Gannon, alongside Barret, Molloy and Wilson is a super backbone, and their cooperation will be vital for us to not concede.
Speaking of conceding, Conor Kearns will need to put in a good shift to not concede. He was unlucky to not be able to save the last minute goal against Dundalk and keep his clean sheet, but he’s been amazing in goal for us this year and I don’t see any sign of him stopping.
And finally, Liam Burt got a stunning goal and was responsible for the own goal that secured us the win last Friday. It was good to see him score his first goal for Shels last Friday, and hopefully he can add more to his tally against Derry. Besides scoring, his build up play for us has been superb and he is a very strong attacker.
Now for Derry City, my first pick is Pat Hoban. He’s an unreal attacker and a real threat to Shelbourne. Currently he’s the leagues top scorer with 6 goals, he’s a very dangerous player, and if given the opportunity he will take it and score.
Will Patching has also been very good for Derry this season in midfield.
And one last player I’d say will be crucial for Derry is Ronan Boyce, who has done a lot for this Derry squad.
This is a very big game this season. We really need to start strong unlike against Dundalk, and we need to be attacking from the get go. It will be a good test for our squad against a team who have also had a strong start.
Hopefully we can stay unbeaten and take away another 3 points. My prediction is a 2-1 win for Shelbourne, but it will be a very tight game against Derry. It can easily go down as a draw as well due to both squads having great, quality players, but I can see Shels edging out the Derry side.
I’d like to thank you for reading my preview.
UTFR