Preview – Shelbourne vs Derry City
Shelbourne vs Derry City – Friday 31th March 2023 – KO 7.45pm – Tolka Park
SSE Airtricity League of Ireland – Premier Division
Ruaidhri Higgins takes his Derry City side to Tolka Park on Friday night as the International break ends with a game against Shelbourne in front of ‘live’ RTE cameras.
It is of course the first meeting of the teams since the cup final in November, however it’s fair to expect that this will be a very different type of challenge for the Candystripes.
It’s been a decent start so far for Damien Duff’s side including a win at home to Bohemians and a draw against Shamrock Rovers.
Derry’s Assistant manager Alan Reynolds insisted that the visitors would have to be ready for a difficult evening in Drumcondra.
“They’re always really well organised and are a very difficult team to play against, especially at home” he said.
“We know Friday night will be exactly the same and while we’re glad to get back playing again, we’ll have to be at our best if we’re to give ourselves a chance of winning.”
City’s injury list probably meant that the recent break came at a good time, however the Waterford man was giving little away ahead of this weekend.
“We’ve said recently that a few of the injured lads were getting close to a return and that’s very much the case now.”
“We know we’re going to be missing Mark Connolly, but him apart, the rest of the squad is in, or near to being in contention at this stage.”
“As Ruaidhri has said, the lads who have come in have done a fantastic job.”
“We’re very happy with the options we have and that quality in the squad will stand us in good stead in a long season.”
The league programme starts to ramp up again over the next couple of weeks- City following this one up with home games against Drogheda and Bohemians next Friday and the following Monday before a trip to Dundalk after that.
Friday’s game kicks off at 7.45 and will be shown live on RTÉ2.
Coverage
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As usual, both Drive105 and Radio Foyle will be providing live commentary coverage of the game.