In this week 2 match on Feb 25th, Derry City will host Shamrock Rovers at Brandywell Stadium in a clash of these two evenly matched Premier Division teams. Weather on match day is looking like a cloudy and cool day, with daytime temperatures of only 7 degrees, making for an unpleasant day. 3rd placed Derry City is fresh off their 2-2 draw against Dundalk. Steven Bradley scored the first goal for Dundalk in the 31st minute, then in the 40th minute, Cameron Dummigan sent in a beautiful pass which was converted by Joseph Thomson . They’re hoping to improve on their recent performance, having lost 0 of their last 10, while in their last match, 1st placed Shamrock Rovers, recorded a 3-0 shutout win against UCD. Sean Hoare scored the first goal for Shamrock Rovers in the 39th minute, then Daniel Mandroiu added another in the 1st minute of the first half’s stoppage time In the end, UCD was frustrated by Shamrock Rovers’s defence and couldn’t put any tallies on the board. Shamrock Rovers ended the match with the shutout victory. Shamrock Rovers is looking for direction having earned 12 points in their last 10 matches.
These two teams have not yet played each other this season, so it will be interesting how the match turns out. Last season Shamrock Rovers won the head to head battle with 3 wins.
Daniel Mandroiu has been on a hot streak lately. In the last five games, hes scored six goals for Shamrock Rovers. Derry City is fortunate enough to have McGonigle in top form. In the last five matches the attacker has scored five goals.