LOI preview: Caulfield and Kenny renew old rivalry
The opening round of the Premier Division largely lived up to the expectation of the new season and now brings plenty of talking points into week two.
One match is deferred until Sunday as Shamrock Rovers take on Cork City on Sunday, after the Tallaght side played in the UEFA Conference League last night.
The champions are back where they left off after victory over Derry City and they will look to add to their total at the RSC tonight.
Next week brings a meeting of the Reds and Hoops so Damien Duff will be all too aware there is a chance to build a lead early on in the season, much like they did in 2024.
It won't be easy after the Blues showed their own credentials as they left Sligo with three points.
Two loanees, Conan Noonon and Tommy Lonergan, were on the scoresheet in The Showgrounds while Stephen McMullan made a hugely encouraging debut.
It will be close to a sell-out at the RSC and the same can be said as we look west.
St Patrick's Athletic were expected to cruise to a win over Drogheda United on the opening night but the Boynesiders have different ideas as they kept the game scoreless.
Kenny will renew rivalries with old foe John Caulfield. The duo had many battle in the middle of the last decade as Dundalk and Cork City dominated the league.
Kenny is looking to create more history with the Saints and has assembled a highly-talented squad.
Caulfield's prescence on the night is in doubt following the death of his mother during the week.
Elsewhere Bohemians will look to take the momentum from their Aviva Stadium success over Shamrock Rovers to a new-look Derry side.
The final game of the night sees two potential relegation strugglers clash as Drogheda United and Sligo Rovers face off, a fixture which yielded an 8-0 victory for the home side last year.
Waterford v Shelbourne, RSC, 7.45pm
Sean Boyd showed his worth again last week
The RSC was the venue Shelbourne made a breakthrough when book a place in the FAI Cup final three years ago.
There is a different look to the Shels squad in 2025, beginning the year with the five goals between the President's Cup and the opening league fixture.
Damien Duff has described Waterford as a "tricky challenge".
"What do you expect from Waterford,?" he posed.
"The same again, and more. Games last year were always very competitive, not much between us.
"They've tweaked the formation and brought in quality players, they have a brilliant captain and striker in Padraig Amond, and an excellent manager in Keith Long.
"They’re a tough nut to break down, and it’ll be a tricky challenge, but nothing different from what we expect, which is a very, very tough game."
The other big postive for Shels is they have a near fully-fit squad.
Duff completed his group this season with the addition of James Norris on loan from Liverpool. The young defender made a good first impression. Duff said:
"He's settled in very well, he’s a great character, top-quality ability, and a fantastic addition to our squad. He’ll play a big role this season."
The victory in Sligo came at a price for the Blues. They finished the game a man down after using all their substitutes when Ben McCormack picked up a knock.
Rowan McDonald, McCormack and Grant Horton will all miss the visit of Shels after picking up injuries in last week.
Navajo Bakboord is a doubt for the game, whilst Matty Smith, James Olayinka and Trae Coyle remain absent due to longer-term injuries that forced them to miss last weekends opener.
Manager Keith Long said: "There was a brilliant travelling support last Saturday in Sligo.
"We had over 4,000 fans in the RSC for our first game of the season last year, and hopefully we'll have that fantastic support again tomorrow against the champions."
Galway United v St Patrick's Athletic, Eamonn Deacy Park, 7.45pm
Galway United and St Patrick's Athletic began the season with a draw
One of the most unique parts of last week's opening weekend was Galway United conceding two goals.
The Tribesmen were fortunate to go in level at the break against Cork and perhaps came off second best overall.
Regardless, they showed their usual excellent character to take a point from the game.
Moses Dyer made his debut but otherwise Galway went with the tried and trusted.
They may opt for a different approach back on home soil.
Pat's were unbeaten in their four meetings with the Tribesmen last season, that included three wins, one of which came on the opening day of 2024.
Stephen Kenny is excited by the big attendance in Eamonn Deacy Park: "It's tremendous commitment from the St Patrick's Athletic supporters, to travel to Galway on a Friday evening in tough weather conditions and getting there travel wise.
"The level of passion is really great, the players really feel it, that's important and we need to have that every week, we need to find that ourselves and also from the terraces we need to feel it to propel us on to good things."
Midfielder Kian Leavy (ankle) remains out which defender Sean Hoare while also miss the game with a knock.
Derry City v Bohemians, Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium, 7.45pm
Michael Duffy scored Derry City's first goal of the season
It's early days in the Tiernan Lynch era at Derry City as he prepares to take charge of a competitive game at the Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium for the first time.
The lights went out in the stadium and also for the City defence at times as they were very much second best.
It was a tough end to the season for City supporters last year and they were desperate for something to cheer.
They do have players to come in as a quickly-assembled group will take time to gel.
Robbie Benson, Ben Doherty and Danny Mullen are all nearing a return and could enter contention tonight, having missed out last week.
Bohs boss Alan Reynolds is looking to keep feet on the ground after a positive opening to the campaign.
"It was an important three points and it was important for us to get off to a good start. But that's all it is - a good start.
"We still have a lot more work to do to get where we want to be."While we were delighted with the result, there were aspects of our performance that I wasn’t happy with too, so nobody will be getting carried away. We have to keep pushing ourselves and continue to strive to get better in every game."
Reynolds, a former assistant manager with Derry, is adamant his side should be underdogs: "There is no doubt in our players' minds that we are travelling to play a team who will be title contenders this season.
"That is the expectation up there, so we have to be better again than what we were on Sunday because the Brandywell will be hopping and Derry will come at us on their own patch.
"They’ll be disappointed with their result last Friday but they were a new team playing against the champions, who are a settled group, so I expect them to be much stronger."
Jordan Flores (calf) and Alex Lacey (calf) are doubts for the Gypsies.
Drogheda United v Sligo Rovers, Sullivan and Lambe Park, 7.45pm
Drogheda United go in search of a first victory of the season
Kevin Doherty revealed Drogheda United had been irked with criticism stemming from the President's Cup performance and that they were written off for the opening league clash with St Patrick's Athletic.
A resolute defensive display - coupled with some chances on the break and a penalty decision that should have gone their way - led to a brilliant point for United against one of the favourites for the title.
The FAI Cup winners made light of some key absentees in that game and they will welcome this week's opponent after memories of last year's fixture.
A 8-0 scoreline was a low point in an otherwise solid season for Sligo as, after an FAI Cup to UCD, they were obliterated on a humiliating night.
It's a new day for all concerned, however, with both teams looking for a first win of the campaign.
Sligo had positives in what was a game of two halves against Waterford, while Drogheda will look to build on their point in Inchicore.
Rovers will be again without Wilson Waweru and Stephen Mallon. Otherwise, Russell has a full squad to choose from. New signing Jake Doyle-Hayes could be in line for a first start.
Bit O' Red boss John Russell said of their loss last week: "We asked for a reaction at half-time and we certainly got it. We started with great speed in the second half and deservedly got the goal back through Owen Elding. I think if we score that penalty then we go on and win that game.
"But it shows how tight this league is and how games are decided in those pivotal moments. Waterford go up the other end then and scored what ended up being the winner. But the momentum stayed with us and we kept creating, so we are really encouraged by that despite not taking anything from the game."
He is hoping to leave last year's loss behind.
"They're at home for the first time since they won the cup and they've already sold out their gate and that's great to see", he said.
"They'll be full of life and backed by a big and loud crowd coming off the back of an impressive draw with Pat's. It's a tough ground to go to. Our record could be better up there recently and we're looking to change that. It's a tight ground, compact and everyone's on top of each other so it's important not to get overwhelmed and enjoy what you're doing.
"But we back ourselves against anybody and we know we have to be at it from the first touch. We know what we can do and what we need to do to come away with a good result. We'll certainly be going there looking for the win."
