Joey O’Brien: Small Margins Will Decide Brandywell Battle | OneFootball

The League of Ireland Champions Shelbourne FC get back on the road tomorrow night as they make the trip to the Ryan McBride Brandywell stadium to face Derry City in the SSE Airtricity League of Ireland Premier Division.

Fresh after a week’s rest, the Reds trained at the AUL today having not had a game last weekend due to an early FAI Cup exit.

Reds boss Joey O’Brien made full use of the extra week. He told ShelbourneFC.ie on Thursday night: “All good, we’ve had a really strong week of training. Injury-wise, Tyreke is back. It looked like it could have been a bad one, but he’s worked incredibly hard while he was out. He made sure to keep on top of his fitness away from the pitch, which has allowed him to come straight back in and bounce back quicker. That’s great to see. Conor Kearns is still out.”

“It was a good opportunity, after a busy period, to have a bit of a break. The lads got a few days off to recharge, get away from each other, and just step back from everything. Before we went away we had a really good training game, Jack Henry Francis and Tyreke, for example, both got game time, Jack played 60 minutes. So great to have them both in the mix now.

With the business end of the season fast approaching as the Reds enter the home straight, O’Brien knows every game at this stage takes on extra significance:

It’s a happy hunting ground for Shels, with memories of last year’s triumph on the final day never far from the minds whenever Derry City is mentioned, O’Brien believes the experience of getting a result with it all on the line will stand to his players this time around:

“We’ve spoken about the good vibes in recent weeks, but also about creating new memories. We were disappointed with how we played last time we were there, we got beaten 2-0, didn’t really do near enough, so this is a chance for us to put it right. It’s a big opportunity going into the Friday–Monday run. We’ve given ourselves work to do to get into that European place, but we can do it.”

They face a formidable challenge against a Derry City who’ve produced some of their best football on home turf, in the League of Ireland this year they’ve only lost to Shamrock Rovers, Drogheda and Waterford FC at home. O’Brien knows they will need to be at their best to get a result:

“It’s always been a tough place to go. They’ve got some really excellent players, lads who’ve come into the team and really got to know the league quickly. Duffy is one of the best in the league, full stop, for the last few years, so it’s a really tough task. We can’t be going there dreading either, we’ve had probably the most memorable night in the club’s history there a few months ago. We’ll look to go and attack.”

The Reds will approach the trip with plenty of confidence, following last week’s deserved win over Galway United, since taking the top job at Tolka Park, O’Brien is undefeated in the League of Ireland, a run he’s hoping to continue tomorrow:

“At this stage it’s all about results. Football especially at this time of the year is the results business, and it was massive for us to get that win over the line against Galway last time, it leads straight into this one, after a good week to recharge and reset. The league is so tight, with so many good teams. We know it will go all the way in that Europe race. You saw it with Derry and Bohs, a real ding-dong game that could have gone either way. It comes down to small margins, so we have to nail our performance and be positive in attack, and that’s how you come out the right side of it.”