The action continues in the Premier Division on Saturday, with games down for decision at Tolka Park and Tallaght Stadium.
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Shelbourne v Waterford, Tolka Park, 2pm, Watch LOI.ie
Shels had made a decent start to life back in the top flight with two wins out of four but boss Ian Morris has been open about his desire to see more from his team.
Morris will be reunited with John Sheridan this afternoon – he played for the ex-Republic of Ireland midfielder at Chesterfield – and he’ll be desperate to hit the ground running.
It’s Sheridan’s first game in charge of the Blues so they it’ll be interesting to see if they benefit for a ‘new manager bounce’.
@Corktod reports on a new era for Waterford FC under former Republic of Ireland midfielder John Sheridan. pic.twitter.com/wTgu220Lwd
— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) July 30, 2020
Team news
Shelbourne: Teenage midfielder Brian McManus could make his debut after joining Shels following a spell with Preston. Daniel McKenna is an injury doubt.
Waterford: Jake Davidson, Robert Weir, Kurtis Byrne and Oluwatunmise Sobowale all joined the club on Friday and could come straight into the first team.
Gaffer Talk
John Sheridan (Waterford): “There are no excuses. We’ll try and be as strong as we can for the first game, and go out and compete.”
Shamrock Rovers v Finn Harps, Tallaght Stadium, 5pm, Watch LOI.ie
Shamrock Rovers didn’t make any moves in the transfer market over lockdown which suggests Stephen Bradley is quite happy with his squad. And why wouldn’t he be? The FAI Cup holders have five wins from five and they can stretch their lead at the top of the table to five points after Dundalk were held by St Pat’s.
Finn Harps will be as dogged as ever but Ollie Horgan’s men, with four points from four games, will know this is as tough an assignment as they could have got in their first game back.
Team news
Shamrock Rovers: Midfielder Greg Bolger will miss the rest of the season after undergoing surgery on his injured shin while Sean Kavanagh is ruled out after suffering a minor setback in training.
Graham Burke, Jack Byrne, Gary O’Neill and Rory Gaffney are all in contention after overcoming knocks.
Finn Harps: Stephen Folan could make his debut after signing for the rest of the season. The former Galway United and Dundalk defender returned to Ireland a few weeks ago after a stint with South Melbourne.
Gaffer talk
Stephen Bradley (Shamrock Rovers): “The players have been excellent and come back really fit and ready to go. Each game that’s gone on we’ve got better and sharper and they look ready.
“Finn Harps have one of the best squads that we’ve faced. When you look through it they have Dave Webster and Ryan Connolly who were here, and Barry McNamee, they have quality all over the pitch. It’s going to be a difficult game.”
Ollie Horgan (Finn Harps): “There’s a bit of a sprint onto the finish now and we’ll need all the bodies we can gather to be able to compete.”
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