General
- Tuesday May 22nd, 2018 @ 15:50
TEAM NEWS: Rovers Vs Saints (Tuesday 8pm)
St Patrick's Athletic make the short trip to Tallaght Stadium on Tuesday night as they face Shamrock Rovers in the SSE Airtricity League (kick-off 8pm).
The Saints head into the game off the back of four straight league wins, with their most recent win coming last Friday in Richmond Park when they defeated Derry City 5-2.
In team news, the Saints will give late fitness tests to Dean Clarke and Killian Brennan as they recover from respective knocks picked up last week.
With Pat's having suffered only one defeat in their last eight games, manager Liam Buckley is keen for his side to maintain their run of form which sees them sitting in fourth position at the start of this week. "We are currently on a good run of fom and the couple of wins recently have given us all some confidence to bring in to each game and hopefully that will continue," Buckley told stpatsfc.com.
"I was very pleased with the performance we put in against Derry. I felt we played well, and were a little unlucky with the goals we conceded. However to come back from trailing on two occasions showed that the lads have real character and credit to them for bouncing back.
"We've another big game on Tuesday against Shamrock Rovers so there is no let up. We have been encouraging the players to do all right things in terms of recovery and being prepared for the game.
"Dublin derbies are always entertaining and anything can happen. We've recently played Rovers in Richmond and came out of the game with three points, so we know what to expect from them. It will be another really tight game and hopefully we can come out on the right side of the result once more as we know that our support will be there in huge numbers."
For midfielder Conan Byrne, a Dublin derby in Tallaght Stadium is one which excites the winger who has excelled for the Saints in Tallaght Stadium in the past having scored four times for Liam Buckley's side in a 4-0 win back in 2013.
"The hope will be to make it five wins in a row," Byrne told stpatsfc.com. "But we are just taking it one game at a time. Tallaght Stadium is one of the toughest places to go to get a result, but we will all be up for it. We have taken great confidence from the last four wins and hopefully we can make it five on Tuesday.
"Dublin derbies are huge for St Pat's players, be it in Tallaght, Dalymount Park, Tolka Park, wherever. If you cannot get up for a Dublin Derby you might as well hang up the boots. It is always a great occasion and atmosphere and the fans are always up for it so hopefully we can reward our fans with three points."
