The rivalry between Bohemians and Shamrock Rovers is a tale as old as time, and a footballing microcosm of the North-South divide of Ireland’s capital city.
The pair will now have to swap the chocolate eggs for chicken and eggs this weekend in preparation for the second edition of the season of this long-standing rivalry in Tallaght on Easter Monday.
Derby Dismay in D24
Shamrock Rovers have only won one out of four Dublin Derbies this season, which was at home to St. Patrick’s Athletic on matchday five.
They have failed to win any Dublin Derbies away from home, including their opener at Lansdowne Road which attracted a record crowd of 33,208 to see Bohemians go 1-0 for Dublin Derbies over the Hoops this season.
Rovers thought they had it won on Friday night away to Pat’s, however, the Inchicore side leveled up in added time, with the Hoops leading for all of four minutes before Joe Redmond rescued a point for the Saints.
In between, champions Shelbourne held Shamrock Rovers to a 1-1 draw at Tolka Park with the Hoops’ Jordan McEneff cancelling out Harry Wood’s early goal.
The good news for Hoops fans is that they are seven games unbeaten heading into the early Bank Holiday kick-off, having failed to win their first three games of the season.
That sluggish start has cost them ground in the title race however, lying third behind Southside rivals Pat’s on goal difference and FAI Cup holders Drogheda United by a point.
Indeed, the two sides above them feature in the later kick-off at United Park, meaning Monday will be a chance for the Hoops to go top, and what better way to do that than against their arch-enemy in the form of their Phibsboro counterparts?
Bohs on the Bounce Back?
It has been a turbulent opening quarter to the campaign for Bohemians, whose manager has been walking on eggshells, with supporters saying he should get the sack.
However, Alan Reynolds seems to have saved his job, at least until Monday, with back-to-back home wins for his side over Cork City and Sligo Rovers, both of whom now find themselves in the relegation places.
What started positively with the aforementioned Lansdowne win has failed to live up to the hype. Bohs’ highest scorer, Colm Whelan, has scored in just two games, the Lys Mousset experiment looks dead and buried, foreseen by some and surprising to others, the defence looks fragile, squad depth shallow, and the tactics questionable.
All of this has dragged the former Waterford assistant’s side into the relegation picture, with his job security not being helped by the news of former Gypsies boss Keith Long’s departure from the blue side of Munster on Saturday.
Back-to-back home wins have given Bohemians a bit of breathing room from the drop. However, Bohs come into this fixture needing a win if they are to be serious about finishing in the top half, as many argue they should be on paper.
Unfortunately for fans of the D7 giants, football is not played on paper, it’s played on grass, and Bohs will need to up their game considerably from Friday night’s win over Cork City to have any chance of taking anything across the River Liffey.
Form Tells the Fortunes
Undoubtedly, Shamrock Rovers have the better form, having failed to lose since gameweek three.
In addition, since the turn of the decade, Bohemians have only managed to win five out of 19 games against their Southside counterparts, and you have to go back to 2019 to find the last time Bohs did a double over the Hoops.
It only gets worse for Bohs fans, as Rovers haven’t failed to beat the Gypsies in a league season since the 2018 campaign when they lost three and drew one.
Go back even further, to the double-winning season in 2008, and you’ll find the last time Bohemians did the sweep, winning all three encounters.
Unlike Friday night, a side deservedly carries the ‘favourites’ tag, suggesting that Ireland’s third smallest county is likely to be painted green and white by Shamrock Rovers
However, they say form goes out the window for a derby, so if recent history is anything to go by, we should be in for a fantastic Bank Holiday clash.