When the League of Ireland fixtures came out for the first week of the new season, it’s fair to say they were all of intrigue, but without a real blockbuster game.
Tonight certainly brings one and it will be shown live on RTE2 with kick off at 7.45 pm.
The Ryan McBride Brandywell stadium will be sold out as champions Shamrock Rovers visit potential challengers Derry City.
There is a great excitement in Derry at bringing home the stars names which hail from the city, added to by manager Ruaidhri Higgins signing a new four-year contract this week.
The opening match of the campaign may have been a sign of things to come.
Goals, going in at both ends, helter-skelter football mixed in with moments of real quality, and trying to find a balance with all the new attacking recruits.
Time will be needed for Derry to become the threat to a Hoops squad which took years to build. It’s not easy to manage that expectation when every seat is taken in a packed stadium and fans will create a partisan atmosphere.
One thing that hasn’t taken long is the Brandywell being filled with excitement and this game should be a thriller.
The thriller in Oriel Park and Damien Duff’s baptism of fire grabbed all at the attention last week, while it was a routine win against UCD for the league champions.
That was a perfect game for the Stephen Bradley’s Hoops to find their feet. This will be a fantastic gauge of both teams in week two of the league.
Derry were without a number of players for last weekend’s season opener at Oriel Park, with the likes of Michael Duffy and Patrick McEleney missing out.
While not giving too many details, Derry assistant boss Alan Reynolds says things are looking up on the absentee front.
“One or two of those lads have trained this week and while we don’t have everyone available just yet, we’re not far away now” he said.
“It’s a tough game of course and obviously we’ll respect Shamrock Rovers. Like any team coming here though we have to be positive and try to win. It’s the same with this match as well.”
One thing that is certain is that the game will be played out in front of a rammed Brandywell.
Tickets have been at an absolute premium this week with online allocations selling out in minutes as soon as the club put them up.
There is plenty of excitement in the Derry air at present, but Reynolds says that no-one is getting carried away.
“It’s been clear how much it means to people and that is really adding to the atmosphere. It’s similar to the last time I was here when Stephen came back from Dunfermline. That support will really lift the players now too.”
“We’ll stay focused however. There are a lot of good teams in the league and every point needs to be earned.”
The Hoops, who sold out their away allocation of 350 tickets in less than 10 minutes, are trying to play it cool going into the game.
Stephen Bradley is keen to keep the game in context.
“We just focus on the game in hand, like we always do, we don’t get caught up in what’s said outside. I’m sure people will want to watch two good sides, but we just focus on our performance and what we’ll bring to the game.
“We’ve always liked the pitch up there; it’s a big pitch and it suits how we play.
“We know it will be a difficult game, they have good players, there’ll be a full house, it’s their first home game and they have really high expectations this year, but we’ll go up and enjoy playing there.”
Sean Kavanagh is out while Neil Farrugia is doubtful.
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