25 MINS: Back at Tallaght Stadium, Johnny Kenny is looking dangerous for Shamrock Rovers.
Byrne spots Burns who composes himself under pressure to thread the pass through to Kenny. He doen’t connect well though, Waterford breath a sigh of relief.
Elsewhere, there’s been a goal at Dalymount Park. Dayle Rooney put Bohemians ahead against Galway United in the 20th minute.
Still scoreless between Sligo Rovers and St Patrick’s Athletic at the Showgrounds, Drogheda United and Dundalk at United Park, and Derry City and Shelbourne at the Brandywell.
Shamrock Rovers 1 Waterford 0; Derry City 0 Shelbourne 0
19 MINS: Chance for Waterford.
McMeanamy finds Parsons who gets the shot off. Shamrock Rover’s goalkeeper Pohls does well to block but he doesn’t hold onto it. Defenders caught in the headlines but they manage it wide.
Shamrock Rovers 1 Waterford 0; Derry City 0 Shelbourne 0
14 MINS: Shamrock Rovers are really up for this.
Honohan gets on the end of a long pass and tips it on to Byrne. His shot pulls wide, a great chance but nothing from it.
Shamrock Rovers 1 Waterford 0; Derry City 0 Shelbourne 0
4 MINS: SHAMROCK ROVERS GO AHEAD IN TALLAGHT!
Goal from Johnny Kenny.
Shamrock Rovers 1 Waterford 0
And we’re off.
We’ll be focusing on Derry City v Shelbourne and Shamrocks Rovers v Waterford, but we’ll keep you updated on how things are going across the other three games too.
While the main focus of the evening is the title race, all is not yet decided in terms of who will be heading to Europe.
Quick summary: The Premier Division winner qualifies for the Uefa Champions League, second and third in the league qualify for the Uefa Europa Conference League, along with the winners of the FAI Cup.
The FAI Cup winner is a point of interest here. Derry City will meet Drogheda United in that decider on Sunday week – if Drogheda win, the third/fourth place league battle between Derry and St Pat’s will come into play.
If St Pat’s finish in third spot tonight, Derry can still get to Europe by winning the FAI Cup. If Pat’s drop to fourth behind the Candystripes, they’ll need Derry to beat Drogheda next week to gain passage to the Conference Cup.
But if St Pat’s finish fourth AND Derry lose the FAI Cup final, Derry and Drogheda will be Europe-bound.
Now that we’re all suitably confused… I think I feel a headache coming on.
Get ready, we’re 15 minutes out from kick-off.
And at Tallaght Stadium...
SHAMROCK ROVERS:
1 – L Pohls
2 – J Honohan
4 – R Lopes
5 – L Grace
7 – D Watts
10 – G Burke
16 – G O’Neill
21 – D Burns
23 – N Farrugia
24 – J Kenny
29 – J Byrne
WATERFORD:
31 – S Sargeant
2 – D Power
5 – G Horton
7 – B McCormack
8 – B Crowe Baggley
9 – P Amond
10 – C Parsons
15 – D Leahy
17 – K Radkowski
27 – D McMeanamy
53 – S Flynn
The aforementioned Gavin Cummiskey is at at the Brandywell and he’s earning his keep. He has the teams for us.
DERRY CITY:
1 – Brian Maher
25 – Duncan Idehen
6 – Mark Connolly
20 – Andrew Wisdom
2 – Ronan Boyce
15 – Sadou Diallo
28 – Adam O’Reilly
7 – Michael Duffy
12 – Paul McMullan
21 – Danny Mullen
11 – Colm Whelan
SHELBOURNE:
1 – Conor Kearns
2 – Sean Gannon
29 – Paddy Barrett
4 – Kameron Ledwidge
3 –Tyreke Wilson
6 – Jonathan Lunney
8 – Mark Coyle
67 – Liam Burt
77 – Rayhaan Tulloch
9 – Sean Boyd
10 – John Martin
As you’ve likely figured out by now, this season has been a bit of a roller coaster.
“From afar, the 2024 League of Ireland Premier Division is open to ridicule. Up close, the season has been a wild, Dublin-derby-fuelled, financially nonsensical race to the final Friday night,” our soccer correspondent Gavin Cummiskey writes ahead of this evening’s fixtures.
“Defending champions Shamrock Rovers are still going for another title but their manager, Stephen Bradley, says their overall standards slipped during this campaign as they expanded their ambitions to a successful European campaign.
“Rovers’ domestic results have certainly plummeted. Victory over Waterford in the final game could see them finish on top with 61 points, which is a stark drop from 72-, 79- and 78-point finishes in their previous three title-winning years.
“The field has never been so bunched. According to St Patrick’s Athletic manager Stephen Kenny, the coaching and spread of players across all 10 clubs has markedly improved since he left Dundalk to become Republic of Ireland under-21s manager in 2019.”
Read the full article below:
Here’s how things stand before tonight’s action:
Again, a win for Shelbourne over Derry City wins them the title. A Shels loss opens the door for Shamrock Rovers, in which case a win for them over Waterford would see Stephen Bradley’s charges retain the title for a fifth year.
If Shelbourne get a draw and Rovers a win, they’ll be level on 61 points. Then it comes down to goal difference and, if that doesn’t separate them, goals scored.
At the other end of the league table, things are less exciting.
Dundalk, currently with 25 points to their credit, are bound for the First Division next season. Tonight’s game against Drogheda won’t change that, their fate is already sealed.
As for Kevin Doherty’s Drogs, they’re not exactly safe either. Their position second from the bottom of the league table, to which they are also shackled regardless of this evening’s result, means they will face the winner of Bray Wanderers and Athlone Town (taking place tomorrow at Dalymount). Winner plays in the Premier Division next season while it’s the First Division for the loser.
How’s your head for permutations?
David Gorman had his pencil and paper out earlier this week to clear up all the different scenarios that could play out tonight.
Here’s what he came up with:
Shelbourne will clinch their first league title with a victory over Derry City at the Brandywell, or if Shamrock Rovers fail to beat Waterford in the final game of the season. They are guaranteed at least the Uefa Conference League qualifying next season.
Shamrock Rovers can win a fifth title in a row by beating Waterford at home on Friday, if Shelbourne fail to beat Derry City. Should Shelbourne draw against Derry and Rovers win, Rovers’s superior goal difference will see them become champions. Rovers can still also miss out on Europe in the unlikely event that they lose to Waterford, St Pat’s win, Derry City beat Shelbourne and Drogheda United beat Derry City in the FAI Cup final.
St Patrick’s Athletic have won an incredible eight games in a row, but it is just too late to win the most improbable title. However, they have put themselves in a great position for European football, where a ninth win in a row, against Sligo Rovers, would guarantee a top-three placing. They must at least equal Derry City’s result against Shels to guarantee top three, for example losing to Sligo Rovers while Derry draw would see them finish fourth. However, fourth place will also get European football should Derry win the FAI Cup final against Drogheda. Should they finish fourth and Drogheda win the FAI Cup final, then they would miss out on Europe.
Derry City cannot win the league after losing to St Pat’s on Friday. Focus will turn to the FAI Cup final, which would bring European football, or finishing in the top three should they lose that final – the most likely scenario by beating or drawing with Shelbourne and St Pat’s losing to Sligo Rovers.
Good evening everyone and welcome to The Irish Times live blog for the last round of games in this season’s League of Ireland Premier Division.
Muireann Duffy here to keep you company on what is set to be a nail-biting end to the league.
The 2024 title is still up for grabs. Will Stephen Bradley’s Shamrock Rovers make it five in a row, or will Damien Duff’s Shelbourne claim their first title since 2006?
There are five games taking place this evening, two of which are of concern to that title race. Here’s the agenda, with all games kicking off at 7.45pm:
- Rovers v St Patrick’s Athletic – The Showgrounds
- Bohemians v Galway United – Dalymount Park
- Drogheda United v Dundalk – United Park
- Derry City v Shelbourne – Brandywell Stadium (Live coverage on RTÉ2 & RTÉ Player)
- Shamrock Rovers v Waterford – Tallaght Stadium (Live coverage on RTÉ News channel & RTÉ Player)
