General
- Thursday September 19th, 2019 @ 16:37
TEAM NEWS: Shamrock Rovers Vs ST PAT'S (Friday, 8pm)
St Patrick's Athletic make the short trip to Tallaght Stadium on Friday evening for an SSE Airtricity League Dublin derby against Shamrock Rovers (kick-off 8pm).
Fifth placed St Pat's travel to Tallaght with Stephen O'Donnell's side trailing fourth placed Derry City by a single point, with Bohemians only a further point ahead in third position in the league standings.
Tickets for St Pat's supporters are available to purchase online HERE or from the St Pat's offices at Richmond Park on 125 Emmet Road, Inchicore.
In team news, O'Donnell will have a full squad to select from having seen most of his squad feature the 0-0 draw at home to UCD last Friday and the 1-0 win over Cabinteely in the Leinster Senior Cup.
"All in all we would have been disappointed to just come away with a point," O'Donnell commented when reflecting on last week's result in the league against UCD. "But I suppose four points from the first two games is not the worst start. It's all about the demanding off each other and the players demanding to have the levels higher."
Ahead of his first Dublin Derby against the Hoops in the Saints' dugout, O'Donnell spoke of the need of his players to apply themselves right for the game.
"I'm really looking forward to it and the players are too. It's going to be a tough game. Shamrock Rovers and Dundalk have been a good bit clear of the rest this season. So we know we are going to be up against it. But one thing that we know we have is belief in the dressing room. We are going to instill a lot of belief in the dressing room when we are going to Tallaght looking to get something from the game."
"The boys have trained really well again this week, with good recovery from the games last weekend. We are raring to go and really looking forward to going to Tallaght full of hope and full of focus of getting a result."
For Saints' defender Lee Desmond, in his fifth season at the club, a win in Tallaght is something he has tasted on a few occasions and he believes a result on Friday could stand the Saints in good stead in their push for European football.
"I would describe Pat's against Rovers as my favourite game as there's no better feeling than going up to Tallaght and winning. We haven't had a great record against them in the last year or two, so it's a good chance to put things right with a new manager and everyone has got a good bit of a buzz. So we are going up there knowing that we need points as at this point of the season, we're looking to get as many points as possible and try finish as high as we can in the league table."
ðŸâ€ËœÃ… Ã¢€Ã…“Rovers Away Is My Favourite Gameâ€Ã‚Â
â€â€ St Patrick's Athletic FC (@stpatsfc) September 16, 2019
⚽︠Big week ahead as our #Saints2019 prepare for a Dublin derby against Shamrock Rovers this Friday
🎤 Lee Desmond has been helping us look ahead
🎫 Away tickets here https://t.co/OZrJvtf3JZ
ðŸâ€ËœÃ‚ Weâ€Ã¢â€žÂ¢d love a massive away support ðŸâ€Â´âšªï¸ÂÂ⚽︠pic.twitter.com/GCDEfZym55
