Stephen Bradley celebrates a third Dublin Derby victory of the season. Photo: Shamrock Rovers Facebook
A sold-out Tallaght Stadium witnessed another tense Dublin Derby between Shamrock Rovers and Bohemians last Friday night. It was a cagey affair with little quarter given and both sides felt aggrieved at referee Rob Harvey's decision to keep the red card in his pocket for the duration, with Keith Long feeling Sean Kavanagh should have been sent off for an early foul on Promise Omochere. Hoops fans were also unimpressed at a strong Conor Levingston challenge on Andy Lyons after the whistle had already gone.
Nonetheless, the home side ran out victorious in a very similar way to the March meeting of the sides in the South Dublin venue, where a scrappy Rory Gaffney goal was the difference between the two sides. Sandwiched between these two 1-0s was what can be described as a reasonably comfortable 3-1 away win for the Tallaght side at Dalymount Park in April. Comfortable that is, by Dublin Derby standards!
7th July marks exactly six years since Stephen Bradley's first game in charge of Shamrock Rovers as caretaker manager against RoPS of Finland in a Europa League qualifier following the departure of Pat Fenlon. Credit must go to Shamrock Rovers' board for backing the young manager but I'd like to examine exactly how crucial his recent results against Bohemians have been in his success over the last few years.
Rory Gaffney's goal sent the home fans into ecstacy. Photo: Andy O'Connell/SRFC Media
If we rewind to 2019, the last year that Shamrock Rovers did not win the title, the Hoops finished in second place, nine points behind Dundalk. In that season, Stephen Bradley's men picked up just three points from twelve in the four clashes with their cross-city rivals, missing out on nine. This is in direct contrast with the truncated 2020 season, where Rovers won both Derbies.
While the 2021 record is not as positive, the last meeting of the pair - a 3-1 home win for Bohs in November - took place after Shamrock Rovers had already secured their second consecutive title and were rotating their squad. Young German backup goalkeeper Leon Pohls was between the sticks that night for only his second ever Premier Division start. While that may be trivial to Gypsies fans who deservedly took the bragging rights on that occasion, Rovers had still returned a respectable four points from a possible nine in the three other games.
The 2019 FAI Cup success to deny Dundalk the treble and secure the club's first cup success in 32 years is often seen as a fulcrum point of the Bradley era. However, a cup success is dependent on more than just the final. Every round is just as important as the next and I think this is especially true with regard to the semi-final that year, a 2-0 victory at a packed Dalymount Park.
So what does all this mean for Rovers fans? Well, they will obviously need more than just victories over Bohemians to secure a third title in a row but their 100% record thus far against their rivals is unlikely to hurt their ambitions.
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