Rovers win proves Shams need new leaders to step up to the plate
Pico Lopes absence is already being felt by the Hoops
International football was all the rage at Tallaght Stadium on Friday night - and then the reality of actual Premier Division football in the League of Ireland took centre-stage and Sligo won the battle of the Rovers, against the Shams as they like to call them.
You see the Sligo diehards regard themselves as the true and only worthy owners of the Rovers moniker in domestic Irish football, a claim they sometimes love to throw in the face of anyone from outside Yeats Country as I have found to my cost.
Shamrock Rovers are the Shams in their vernacular. And their Rovers did lay claim to the bragging rights again on Friday night as their snatch and grab late, late win proved once again that nothing can be taken for granted in football - not your right to a name or your right to a win.
Let’s get back to international football before we discuss the Sligo win in this battle of the Rovers. Before the match, those sitting around me in the main stand were keen to discuss the international merits of Shams ‘keeper Ed McGinty and winger Adam Brennan, both of whom report to the Irish team hotel on Monday morning for the friendlies against Qatar and Canada.
They are just the latest players to benefit from Heimir Hallgrimsson’s almost over eagerness to experiment post the Prague disaster that was the World Cup play-off against Czechia. And they probably deserve their chance, even if my own belief is that Brennan should stay with the Under 21s barely six months into his Premier Division career after serving his time with UCD in the First Division.
McGinty is a different story. He’s now 26 years of age and played under 21 football previously for both Stephen Kenny and Jim Crawford so he is not new to the international debate.
What’s interesting is that both McGinty and Brennan will report for senior Ireland duty this morning - even though the Shams or Rovers, depending on what you want to call them, face a rejuvenated Bohs at Dalymount Park tonight.
We will call them the Hoops for the rest of this article actually, that can’t spark an argument. And Hoops boss Stephen Bradley remained true to his word on Friday night when he confirmed that both his players will be allowed to put their international ambitions before club duties tonight - even though Bohs have kept Dawson Devoy out of the Ireland camp until after tonight’s fixture and Friday’s game, with Sligo of all people.
Bradley, once the brightest young talent in Irish football, is to be applauded for allowing his players to take advantage of an opportunity he never got himself. But you have to wonder if he had second thoughts on Friday night when the Shams never seemed to get out of second gear against a Rovers side that never gave up chasing and harrying and generally getting in the way of the champions.
John Russell’s team got the reward for their perseverance with Carl McHugh’s injury time winner, a goal that was always in danger of coming the more Shams failed to impose themselves in their usual manner despite the probings of an impressive Jack Byrne in their midfield.
That it was a defensive error from the home team that led to the winner, this time from Tunmise Sobowale, was no surprise. They were too slack and too lacking in focus throughout, something Bradley will doubtless address at Dalymount on Monday night.
And that brings us back to international football. Pico Lopes was a more than interested spectator at Tallaght Stadium on Friday night. Before the match he was part of a moving tribute by the club to those players, supporters, officials and volunteers who are no longer with us. At half-time he received an emotional send-off from the Tallaght fans as he prepared to set sail on the World Cup adventure with Cape Verde over the weekend.
At full-time he shook many hands as well-wisher after well-wisher offered their support ahead of the games against Spain, Uruguay and Saudi Arabia.
Pico was a busy man on Friday - off the pitch. On it, he was badly missed and more so for his leadership qualities I suspect. Shamrock Rovers need to find a new Pico while he is away on World Cup duty, someone who will drag them out of their occasional slumbers and ensure they remain focussed game in, game out. That’s what sets the top teams apart - no doubt Stephen Bradley will ponder that conundrum as Pico, Ed and Adam enjoy their international breaks.