Friday 14th June 2013.
Dalymount Park.
Kick Off: 7:45pm
Referee: Tomás Connolly
Pride, passion and bragging rights. Local derby games against close rivals is always significant but the big Northside derby between Bohemians and Shelbourne this Friday night has an extra layer of importance sprinkled on top of it.
Both teams lie in the wrong half the table and with a good portion of the season complete, points are becoming increasingly important to all teams involved in the battle to preserve Premier Division status.
Visitors Shelbourne lie rooted to the table and have done for the majority of the season. Shels are currently 8 points behind UCD and Bohemians who both lie on 14 points. New manager John McDonnell is aware of the monumental task on hand and in recent weeks has steadied the ship and tightened up the defence somewhat. Narrow 1-0 losses to Derry and Shamrock Rovers in subsequent weeks, while disappointing, is also a sign that perhaps things are improving at the back for the Drumcondra natives.
Worryingly for Shelbourne, they've only scored 6 goals in 16 games in the league and is a big reason as to why they're in the position they're in.
Paul Crowley (hip injury), full back, Rob Cornwall (ankle injury) and former Bohemian Robert Bayly are all set to miss out on this crunch fixture.
While Shelbourne may have their difficulties, they can take some hope that Bohemians have been very inconsistent at home this season having only picked up 7 points at Dalymount Park this season.
The Phibsboro based club haven't yet beaten a team above them in the league outside of the bottom 4 and have leaked a lot of goals in home fixtures in league and cup competitions.
They say that all form goes out the window when it comes to derby games and this could well prove to be the case however Bohs should be full of confidence having come away with a massive point and a clean sheet in the 0-0 draw away to Sligo last Saturday. Manager Aaron Callaghan will hope to give the home fans something to cheer about in a game he has dubbed as a "cup final for both clubs".
Owen Heary (hip), Luke Byrne (dead leg) and Keith Buckley (hamstring) are all slight doubts but are expected to make the starting XI.
It's an intriguing game and one which could have massive bearing on the relegation scrap. In the last meeting between these two sides, Ryan McEvoy scored the only goal in a narrow victory at Tolka Park earlier in the season.
Blog prediction: 1-1
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Shane Saunders
Twitter: @ShaneSaunders88
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