SOCCER/National League Previews: Best remembered at Tolka Park, perhaps, for the league he didn't win, Damien Richardson brings his Cork City side to face Shelbourne tonight in the hope of securing an eighth straight victory in the capital, one that would move the southerners significantly closer to their first championship title in a dozen years.
Richardson has virtually a full squad for the game (live on Setanta Sports 8.0) with John O'Flynn's groin strain the only problem the visitors have to contend with. The striker will have a fitness test this morning before the manager decides whether to risk him.
While a win would put City in a commanding position ahead of the final game against Derry - and would be enough to secure the title if their rivals lose at home tomorrow - avoiding defeat is of critical importance.
For the visitors to do that they will have to contain Shelbourne's runway top scorer Jason Byrne who has been averaging a goal a game since the start of July and whose five in three outings towards the end of last month earned him the Eircom/Irish Soccer Writers' Association Player of the Month award for October.
"It's been great (to be scoring so regularly) but it was too late to make any real difference," said Byrne yesterday. "We slipped up in the middle of the season and while the recent run (they have won 10 of their last 11 league games) is great in one way it sort of makes it all the more disappointing at the same time because it shows what we were capable of doing."
Byrne, like his manager Pat Fenlon, accepts that whichever of the top two sides finishes top after next Friday's final round of games will have earned the right to call themselves the best side in Ireland but it is Fenlon who will have to decide how to shake his squad up in order to regain top spot next season.
"The work has already started in terms of planning out our preparations for next year," he said yesterday. Glen Fitzpatrick has not been offered a new contract while neither Kevin Doherty nor Alan Cawley will return after loan spells away and one or two more squad members may follow them out of the club.
Fenlon, though, will hold talks with Curtis Fleming about staying on for next season over the coming week after the veteran's ability to play in several different positions proved invaluable during the latter half of the season.
"Maybe the fact that he came a little bit late for us was costly for us," said Fenlon who may nevertheless drop the former Ireland international in order to bring back either Stuart Byrne or Jim Crawford this evening.
If the Tolka Park game casts something of a shadow over the rest of this evening's Premier division programme there will nevertheless be huge interest in the game just up the road at Dalymount where Shamrock Rovers and Waterford United come face to face with each other.
Taking three points is of crucial importance to both clubs as they look to improve their position near the foot of the table. The hosts, however, are without four players due to suspension.
"I know they have problems but the last time we played them they came down here with something like eight lads missing and beat us so even if they're missing seven this time I'd view that as a bit of an improvement for them," says Waterford United boss Brendan Rea.
With the assistance of Pat Dolan, Rea has already overseen a remarkable improvement in United's form but having battled their way back from a position where they were widely being written off, the club's former defender is anxious that they don't squander everything now.
"After all that the lads have achieved in the last few weeks it would be really terrible for us to land ourselves back in trouble now," he says.
"Once we got our confidence back we always knew we'd be in with a great shout of staying up and since the Bohemians game things have been getting better with each game. We know they're a solid team with everything to play for as well, though, and their fans have been absolutely fantastic so we're certainly not going up there telling anyone we're going to win."
United will be without Kenny Browne for the game following the 19-year-old's sending off against Cork. "There's a few bumps and bruises too after the Munster derby but hopefully the rest of the lads will be okay."
Tonight's fixtures (7.45 unless stated): Bray Wanderers v Bohemians, Drogheda United v Finn Harps, Shamrock Rovers v Waterford United, Shelbourne v Cork City (8.0).
PremierPermutations: Ifs and buts as league nears an end
Four points for Cork or results at least as good as those achieved by Derry over the remaining two rounds of matches will ensure that the southerners secure their first title in a dozen years. If Damien Richardson's side wins this evening and Derry lose at home to St Patrick's Athletic tomorrow then the wait will be over even sooner for the Turner's Cross club.
For Derry the possible routes to glory are that they win tomorrow while Cork fail to do so at Tolka Park this evening in which case a draw would be good enough for them at Turner's Cross next week when the two meet.
If they draw while Cork lose and the two teams then draw against each other it will all come down to goal difference and, quite possibly, the number of goals scored, with Cork currently having a slight edge in the former department, Derry in the latter. In any other scenario where neither team wins this weekend then Derry will have to beat their rivals next week.
One more point for Derry would confirm Shelbourne's already virtually certain third place finish. That will mean InterToto Cup football for the Dubliners unless Derry win the league and Cork the FAI Cup in which case the second Uefa Cup spot will go to the league's third-placed side and whichever one of the three teams (Drogheda United, Bohemians and, theoretically at least, Longford Town) finishes fourth will take the InterToto spot.
At the foot of the table, Finn Harps must beat both Drogheda and Bray if they are to have any chance of avoiding automatic relegation although two more points for Shamrock Rovers would send Harps back to the first division regardless of how well their own results go.
Waterford, meanwhile, will be safe if they beat Roddy Collins' men at Dalymount this evening while a draw would leave Brendan Rea's side with a two-point advantage going into the last round of games when Rovers travel to UCD and United host Drogheda. Should the visitors lose this evening then they would, bar a freak result at Belfield next weekend, need to beat Drogheda and hope their rivals fail to beat the students in order to avoid the play-offs.
