LOI preview: Hoops on brink, Bohs

Stephen Bradley runs in the Dublin marathon on Sunday morning alongside his assistant Glenn Cronin.

Afterwards he embarks on a marathon trip to the Ryan McBride Brandywell - via helicopter - where Shamrock Rovers will make their latest attempt to formally box off the Premier Division title.

Rovers' title run-in/expected coronation has been a long exercise in delayed gratification so far.

It initially looked like it might have been formally done and dusted on the last Friday of September, when the Hoops beat Bohemians 2-1 in Tallaght and Derry City trailed Drogheda at half-time.

However, Danny Mullen's second-half equaliser in Drogheda at least ensured that Bradley's side would have to wait a bit longer for the official confirmation of their 22nd title win.

But Rovers were on the goal-line. Nearly a month on, they're still on the goal-line.

Two 1-0 losses to Shelbourne and St Patrick's Athletic, combined with Derry's wins over Sligo and Waterford, have postponed the title celebration party on a couple of occasions already.

This is only a minor irritant for Rovers and there's obviously no great panic.

Even should Derry win this afternoon and extend the wait, it will only have the effect of making the 2025 Premier Division look more competitive and dramatic to posterity than it was in reality.

But Bradley will presumably be keen that Rovers complete the job without further delay, given that they're already in the midst of their Conference League campaign, which has thrown up a much rougher sequence of fixtures than that which faces Shels.

Goals have deserted them since the FAI Cup semi-final bonanza against Kerry, with none in the last three games.

The manager, however, points to the number of chances.

"We created a number of opportunities (against Celje) and on another night we score," Bradley told the Shamrock Rovers website.

"The Celje keeper made two brilliant saves and they fall either side of our player standing there. They’re the small margins we’re talking about.

"We went to Inchicore, Joseph Anang made three brilliant saves, from Graham Burke and Rory Gaffney. That’s just the way it’s falling, with Shels they cleared two off the line. So you can look into it that we haven’t scored in three games or look into the facts and the numbers and see what it really looks like."

Derry, for their part, will be seeking to avoid the spectacle of another Dublin club claiming their league title on their home pitch.

In Tiernan Lynch's first term, they've already eclipsed the points tally they amassed last year, where their title challenge tailed off horribly in the closing weeks. Their season is very much in the same vein as the 2022 and 2023 seasons, where they wound up finishing as a relatively distant second to the Hoops.

Their primary concern will be retaining hold of second place with Shelbourne mounting a strong charge late in the campaign. If they do hold on, it will be their fifth runners-up finish in the league since their last title win under Felix Healy's management in 1996-97.

Michael Duffy has hit a good burst of form in the last couple of weeks, scoring the winner against both Sligo and Waterford (the former coming very late in the game).

His manager has been touting the 31-year-old's claims to an international cap late in his career, with Lynch saying he "didn't see any reason" why he shouldn't be in and around Heimir Hallgrimsson's national squad.

One discouraging factor for the Candystripes is their appalling record against Rovers. They have won just two of their last 29 league matches against the Hoops and just three of their last 17 home games in the fixture in all competitions.

Kicking off an hour later in Dalymount Park, Bohemians and Shelbourne face off in a game with big implications in the battle for European places.

Bohs had been vying for second place for most of the season but their form has tapered off in the last couple of months, with just five points procured from their last six games, their sole win coming at home to Waterford.

Shels, leaving aside their bitter disappointment in Skopje on Thursday, have been going in the opposite direction, Joey O'Brien's side shooting up the table with four wins on the bounce.

A win over their north Dublin neighbours in Sunday combined with a Rovers win in the Brandywell will propel the defending champions into second place.

More importantly, they can guarantee European football with a draw.

Alan Reynolds' side won the same fixture last May, Dayle Rooney scoring the winner in a game where Shels finished with nine men.

That game is best remembered by the internet for the suspended Damien Duff forsaking a spot in the Jodi Stand for a grassy knoll overhanging the Des Kelly End. Duffer will likely give Phibsboro a miss altogether this time around.

Bohs' need is probably greater with anything other than a win taking third place off the table, and damaging their prospects of fourth. Should they take fourth, they will be in the invidious position of cheering on Shamrock Rovers in the FAI Cup final - if they can bear it.

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