Shamrock Rovers players, management and supporters were celebrating for a multitude of reasons in the last week and now their real test is on the way.
With narrow wins of Dublin rivals Bohemians and St Patrick's Athletic secured, the Hoops were seeing off, not teams which are likely to challenge them at the head of the table, but some of their most difficult games they face in a regular series.
As such, they’ve moved 10 points clear of Dundalk and one further clear of Derry City. While there are additional games for the main challengers to come, you would struggle to find many people who think the league trophy is heading anywhere but Tallaght Stadium.
More concerning for the chasing pack is the two wins came when the Hoops were without some of their key men. Jack Byrne, Danny Mandriou, Richie Towell and impact player Neil Farrugia were all missing on Monday as a youthful bench took its place in Richmond Park.
News of the Hoops’ interest in Darragh Burns this week is another worrying sign for the rest of the league. Having taken Andy Lyons from Bohs, another top young talent heading to the champions would further enhance their dominance.
Tonight’s fixture in Finn Park is the final domestic game before the beginning of the Champions League campaign on Tuesday. Injuries mean Stephen Bradley cannot shuffle his pack as he may wish, but he is certainly in a position to blood one or two youngsters in order to keep some stars fresh for the game with Hibernians.
Harps showed their famous resolution in securing a draw with St Pat’s in the dying stages last week having been 2-0 down. Ollie Horgan said it hasn’t been seen enough this season and they will have to be at their very best to get anything from this game.
Bohemians and Derry City have managed to pick themselves up from slumps, at least in a small way, and they meet tonight in an important clash in Dalymount.
Victory over Shels and being unfortunate not to score to take a point from the Hoops is a sign of progress. With three new players set to be available this month, possibly even tonight, there is a lot to play for in the second half of the season.
Derry’s victory in UCD was unconvincing but did enough to keep them in the top three and ticking on.
This will be tougher task, and like Shamrock Rovers, they’ve been struggling with injuries and now set to begin their European campaign.
Second place Dundalk host the Students and will be confident of maintaining their position, but were held 2-2 in the Bowl in their last meeting.
Finally Tim Clancy welcomes his former side Drogheda United to Dublin 8 again. The Saints have suffered eight defeats in 22 matches after Monday’s result. They do not begin European action until the middle of the month.
There’s been lots of ups and downs for Clancy in his first year in charge of Pat’s and it was another disappointing period in their last two games. A European challenge will be their goal and with other sides having games in hand, picking up three points here will be vital .
United continue to impress, taking another point last week against Sligo Rovers. They sit 10 points from the relegation placings and are far ahead of expectations under Kevin Doherty. That’s also the gap between the teams going into this clash.
Finn Harps v Shamrock Rovers, Finn Park, 8pm
Stephen Bradley has issued a reminder to his players of a defeat they suffered in Finn Park last year in a bid to avoid complacency creeping in.
Harps were 2-0 winners in a shock result last season which aided them on the way to survival
"We went there last year, and didn't show up, and they beat us quite comfortably. They beat us by two but it could have been more.
"We know that if we don’t go there with our very best that we will get turned over, so we will go there and give Finn Harps all of the respect that they deserve and make sure that we are ready for the game.
"Their attitude is brilliant, they never stop and they never stop fighting. We saw that last Friday against St. Pats when they were 2-0 down until the 87th minute, but they kept going and might have felt that they could have won it in the end.
"We will go and respect them from the 1st minute until the final whistle."
Richie Towell will return with Graham Burke also available for the Hoops.
Jack Byrne, Danny Mandriou and Neil Farrugia remain out.
Finn Harps boss Ollie Horgan is under no illusion at the difficulty of the task ahead.
"We know well the battle we have on our hands. We've conceded six goals over the two games we’ve played with Shamrock Rovers this season which tells you all you need to know about their quality and the task ahead of us," he said.
"We just have to hope we’re spurred on by the final ten minutes or so from Friday night and that we might catch them on an off night."
Ethan Boyle who scored the late equaliser against St Pat's last Friday is suspended, while David Webster remains out injured.
Jesse Devers, Regan Donelon and Ryan Rainey are also doubts.
Bohemians v Derry City, Dalymount Park, 7.45pm
Keith Long has seen enough from his Bohemians team since the start of the second half of the season to believe they can climb up the table.
Since the short mid-season break they have beaten Shelbourne 1-0 but lost to Shamrock Rovers by the same scoreline at Tallaght Stadium last week.
Long said: "Last week, we were disappointed not to come away with something from Tallaght.
"Our performance deserved more but a slow start to the second half cost us and we left frustrated having conceded a goal from a set play in what was an otherwise positive team display.
"Derby games are normally won by the odd goal and games are very often defined by small margins. Teams will punish those moments and we must learn from Friday in order to grind out results in tight games."
As well as the injured James Talbot (shoulder) and Grant Horton (knee), Long will have to do without his three new arrivals - Ryan Burke, Josh Kerr and John O’Sullivan - despite the transfer window opening tomorrow.
Long added: "Unfortunately, we are unable to call upon any of our recent signings due to an association rule that only allows players to be registered 24 hours after the transfer window opens.
"It is unfortunate that 1 July lands on a Friday and it is deeply frustrating not to have the lads available for selection despite having all the necessary paperwork ready in advance of the window."
Derry City are feeling optimistic as they return to Dublin again this week.
Manager Ruaidhri Higgins is looking for his side to build on their victory in UCD and is well aware that the Foylesiders have a more than decent record in Dalymount.
"It's been a fairly happy hunting ground for us right back to my own days as a player but none of that will count for much on Friday" he said.
"I thought they were very unlucky to come out of their last game against Shamrock Rovers with nothing. They were excellent in that and deserved far more.
"They have brilliant attacking options, as good as anything in the league in some areas. We have to be on our guard and be ready for that and try to stamp our own authority on the game."
Eoin Toal is edging towards fitness but is likely to miss this game. Ronan Boyce, Cameron Dummigan, Michael Duffy and Ciaron Harkin all remain unavailable.
The City boss also confirmed that work was ongoing to try to freshen the squad up during the July transfer window.
"It was never going to be wholesale changes but we are working hard to bring one or two new faces in over the coming weeks."
"Like many clubs, doing business in this window can often be difficult, but we are definitely working on it."
Dundalk v UCD, Oriel Park, 7.45pm
Dundalk head coach Stephen O'Donnell has warned his players - and the club’s supporters - not to take this game lightly as they prepare to host struggling UCD.
The Lilywhites, who missed a number of gilt-edged of chances in their 0-0 away to Shelbourne last time out, now find themselves ten points adrift of leaders Shamrock Rovers, albeit with two games in hand.
"The consensus might be that UCD are struggling because they are bottom of the table but they have still been very competitive and only lost their last two games by a single goal," said O'Donnell.
"They are well organised, they are well-coached, they have good legs and they are enthusiastic. They're also just three points behind Finn Harps who are in the play-off position. Some teams can find themselves with no hope and be marooned but that’s not the case with UCD and barring the game with Derry City at the Brandywell earlier in the season, they’ve been competitive every week.
"Nobody, players or supporters, should be complacent on Friday evening. We have got to remember where we have come from in the sense that we have made massive strides but we are still nowhere near the finished article and we have no right to be complacent."
St Patrick's Athletic v Drogheda United, Richmond Park, 7.45pm
The Saints had their best result of the season against Drogheda at Head in the Game Park.
A 4-0 victory was a big lift when they really needed it and, with two setbacks in the last week, they could do with another here.
Saints boss Tim Clancy admits there is lots riding on this clash: "It's a huge game for us after a couple of poor results, we'll be looking to get back to winning ways and put the last couple of results right. Every game in this league is tough and that is what we're expecting from Drogheda.
"We got an early goal up there last time from Darragh with Doyle adding a great second from Ben McCormack's pass, then Billy and Kyle added more in the second-half.
"We want to be aggressive again in the game, be on the front foot in and out of possession, we're aiming to dominate the game from the start, to create chances and take them and hopefully get three points."
Sam Curtis (ankle), Adam Murphy and Ronan Coughlan (both hamstring) remain on the sidelines with Jamie Lennon (foot) and Paddy Barrett (operation) still recovering.
James Abankwah has left to join Udinese.
Chris Lyons came off the bench last week against Sligo Rovers and could come into contention to start for the visitors.
Much of their good work this year has come at home, with life proving more difficult on the road.
Their success in UCD was the only away win of the season so far but having extended their unbeaten run to five games, Kevin Doherty's side will be confident of leaving Inchicore with a positive result.
