Stephen Bradley will be hoping Shamrock Rovers secure a win in Tallaght Stadium this evening. Photo by George Kelly
Rovers and St Pat’s go head-to-head
A BIG crowd is expected in Tallaght Stadium this evening for the meeting of league leaders Shamrock Rovers and St Patrick’s Athletic in the Airtricity League.
Rovers are currently two points clear at the top of the division following their win over Waterford United on Friday while St Patrick’s Athletic are four points behind in fourth position.
Rovers overcame Waterford 3-1 while St Pat’s scored a dramatic late injury time winner through Jamie Lennon to beat Cork City 3-2 at Richmond Park on Friday.
“We meet St Pat’s who sit four points behind us in the table. We’ve taken four points from two games against them so far, but they have the dangerous Aidan Keena back after injury and quality throughout their team. It should be a cracking game,” says Shamrock Rovers manager Stephen Bradley.
“It should be a good game. Two good teams, Pat’s have real quality, so it should be a really good game. Our pitch in Tallaght is always incredible, the weather is obviously still nice, so it has the makings to be a really good game.”
“We’ve one or two knocks from Friday night, as always, that’s quite normal. But other than Seán Kavanagh, everyone else is fit and available which is good. Aaron, Dylan, Dan and Danny had a good week’s training with the team so the group and the squad is in a good place.”
St Patrick’s Athletic manager Stephen Kenny and Assistant Brian Gartland
On the Waterford result on Friday, Bradley went on to say: “What I felt afterwards was what I felt when we reviewed it. The first half was pretty even, if anything, Waterford were the better team in the first half. They started well and scored a good goal but we came into it then.
“Then second half I thought we were better, especially when we made the changes. They gave us real energy.”
“Waterford were straight out of the blocks and full of confidence after four wins in a row and their dangerman Padraig Amond’s superb header gave them a tenth minute lead. Were we a bit off it in the early stages?
“Yes, we were. To be fair, you have to give Waterford credit. They were good and sometimes that happens away from home. But what was important is that we were nice and calm when that happened. We got to half time 1-1 and as I said, we were better second half and when we made the subs we were very good.”
Pat’s managed by Tallaght man Stephen Bradley and captained by Joe Redmond from Kilnamanagh will be hoping their team will close the lead at the top.
