General
- Thursday August 31st, 2023 @ 13:10
Match Preview: Saints V Shelbourne (01/09/23)
The Saints will hope to continue their excellent form on Friday evening as they make the trip across Dublin to face Shelbourne.
Kick-off is at the usual time of 7.45pm with over 1,000 St Patrick's Athletic fans set to be a packed away end at Tolka Park.
A very small number of away tickets remain on sale via the Shelbourne website HERE, no away tickets will be on sale from the ground.
The match will be available to watch on LOITV for those unable to attend.
St Pat's come into this Dublin derby having been 1-0 victors over UCD in Belfield last Friday evening.
Captain Joe Redmond climbed highest to score the header that won his side the game just before half-time at The Bowl.
New signing and Northern Ireland international Ryan McLaughlin made his debut at right-back, one of three changes that had been made to the side after the FAI Cup penalty-shootout victory over Derry City the previous week.
That result means the Saints stay in 2nd place, four points adrift of Shamrock Rovers in top spot with Derry City, Bohemians, Shelbourne and Dundalk all within touching distance of the top four in the race at the top.
St Patrick's Athletic have had an excellent domestic record of late, with ten wins and just one loss in their last 14 games, they also come into the weekend as second top scorers in the League with 50 goals scored in their 28 games so far, only leaders Shamrock Rovers (51) have scored more.
OPPOSITION WATCH / RECENT MEETINGS
The Inchicore men have had the upper hand on The Reds this season, having won all three of the games, all of them by one goal to nil with set piece goals proving the difference in the derbies so far.
The last encounter between the sides was a victory for Jon Daly’s men at Richmond Park in June thanks to a stunning Jake Mulraney free-kick.
The first meeting was in February and that one was decided by an 84th minute Eoin Doyle strike in Inchicore.
St Pat's other trip to Tolka Park this season was back May and it proved to be a special one for teenage defender Sam Curtis, who scored his first goal in senior football to separate the sides and give his team the 1-0 win.
Shelbourne are currently in 5th place in the Premier Division, with 43 points from their 28 games, Damien Duff's men are seven points adrift of tomorrow's opponents.
They have lost just five league games this campaign, three of them against St Pat's, their last defeat in the league was against Pat's on June 23rd.
Their last game was a 1-0 away win against Sligo Rovers last Saturday, with Mark Coyle's goal winning it Shels.
JON DALY: "These derby games and atmospheres are fantastic to be involved in!"
Manager Jon Daly has overseen a brilliant run of domestic form, his side remain unbeaten since the 9th of June (9 matches), their last defeat came in the last minute away to Drogheda United.
Tomorrow's match will be Pat's only league game for the next three weeks, with the international break to come followed by an FAI Cup 1/4 final away to Finn Harps, their next league outing will be at home to Dundalk on September 22nd.
Daly is hoping his team can pick up the three points before the league break:
"We were delighted to get the three points against UCD, it sets us up nicely coming into this week, it's a big game against Shelbourne and one we are looking forward to."
It's two well-matched teams. They've got some very good players in their team that can cause you problems, and they have caused us problems across the three games this season.
We scored our three goals from three set plays so it shows you the importance of them and what they can do for you. Shelbourne are very well organised.
Damien Duff has them well-drilled and playing good football. It's up to us to put in a performance that merits the three points."
ANTO BRESLIN: "We're looking forward to another big game!"
Defender Anto Breslin has been a key part of the success under Jon Daly this season. Breslin is one of only two outfield players to have played every minute of every game so far this season in the LOI Premier Division and he's hoping to continue that run:
"Dublin derbies are always a great atmosphere. There's gonna be a thousand Pat's fans in the away end, so we’re looking forward to that.
It's always a tough game against Shels. They're a tough team to break down, they don't concede many goals so it be a very difficult game, it was three set piece goals (in the three 1-0 wins) so the games are always tight.
We pride ourselves on clean sheets and I think we've kept four in a row which is great. Myself, all the defenders and also Dean Lyness who has to get a mention, he's pulled off some unbelievable saves in the last few weeks.
We've got a young squad but the lads are really excited. It's great to have so many young players because they are fearless. It's an exciting time of the year."
TEAM NEWS
Tom Grivosti (knee) and Axel Sjoberg (hamstring) will miss the game.
AWAY TICKETS
A very small number of away tickets remain on sale via the Shelbourne website HERE, no away tickets will be on sale from the ground.
LOITV
The match will be available to watch on LOITV for those unable to attend.
UPDATES
As always, updates can be found on the Official St Pat's FC App - available now on both the App Store and Play Store.
Updates will also be available across all the club's social media channels.
Image credit: Inpho Sports
