Winless Hoops host St Pat’s in Dublin Derby

WINLESS Shamrock Rovers will be hoping to put their early season woes behind them when they host a Dublin derby with St Patrick’s Athletic on Friday evening.

With four draws and a loss to start the season, the Hoops find themselves eighth in the table which is level on points with St Pat’s, who sit ninth.

In their opening games of the season against Sligo Rovers and Drogheda United, Stephen Bradley’s side were leading by a goal until they had a player sent-off – with the opposition finding parity as a result.

After losing 2-1 against title contenders Derry City, the defending champions Shamrock Rovers completed an epic comeback against Cork City to share the spoils after an eight-goal thriller.

After the final whistle of last weekend’s nil-all draw with Shelbourne in Tolka Park, some fans expressed their frustration with the results with defender Sean Hoare.

Responding, Hoare told them that “winning or losing, we need your support”.

This year, the Hoops are attempting a drive for four titles in succession, although they do stand eight points adrift of league leaders Bohemians.

On Monday evening, Rovers gave some of their squad players an opportunity to get minutes in the tank against Bray Wanderers in the Leinster Senior Cup.

Bray dumped Rovers out with a 2-1 victory at the Carlisle Grounds, Justin Ferizaj netting for the Tallaght outfit just a few minutes from time.

Friday night at Tallaght Stadium marks an opportunity to gain Dublin bragging rights and register their first three-pointer of the season, potentially getting Rovers’ season up and running.

But the Saints are not going to cough up three points easily.

In their first meeting last season, a Chris Forrester goal pushed Pat’s on to a 1-0 win over Rovers.

However, in their next three meetings across the 2022 season, the Hoops recorded the maximum nine possible points over the Inchicore outfit on their way to securing a third title in a row.

Tim Clancy’s men have succumbed to Dundalk, Sligo Rovers and Bohemians last Friday night, but did draw with Derry City and they had the measure of Shelbourne, beating them 1-0 through Firhouse man Eoin Doyle.

While both teams have experienced somewhat sputtering starts to the season, a Dublin derby on Friday night will go a long way to marking the start of their season.

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