23-05-2025
Derry City focused on imposing our own game to win titanic Shamrock Rovers tussle: Tiernan Lynch
First meets second in a highly-anticipated encounter between two teams who have battled head-to-head for honours in recent years, with Rovers always managing to stay one step ahead.
The Candystripes have won just one of their previous 12 League games against Rovers and none of the last eight, taking just four points from 32 available.
The timing of a long-overdue win against the Dublin side could not be more essential as they would close the gap on the League leaders to just two points having played a game fewer.
The alternative, however, would see the Candystripes fall eight points behind Rovers if they are defeated.
The implications of the result are widely varying, and Lynch knows the size of the task facing his players on Friday night.
'We always want to test ourselves to see how far away we are,' he said.
'Are there areas where we feel we need to get better at? Are there areas where we feel we're doing really well? You find that out against the top teams, and that's something we're really looking forward to.
'What's in front of us right now is a Shamrock Rovers team oozing with confidence who have a lot of players back.
'They will probably chop and change tomorrow night with a third game in a week, but we have to concentrate on what we have and what we can do and our success.
'They're a team blessed with goals at the moment, and our job is to see how we can nullify that and then worry about our own threat.'
Rovers come to the Brandywell looking for a fifth successive League win and on the back of a dominant 4-0 win over title contenders St Patrick's Athletic on Monday.
But Lynch, who has led his team to five wins in their previous seven games, insists his players' focus is on what they are capable of first and foremost.
'I don't think anyone needs me to tell them about Shamrock Rovers and how good a side they are,' he stated.
'On Monday night, they were very good, very clinical, very dominant. We know what we're getting. It's our job to try and stop it.
'We have to concentrate on ourselves. There's also a lot of talent in our team. Your Mickey Duffys and Gavin Whytes, Liam Boyces and Danny Mullens and Carl Winchesters, and I could keep going.
'That's the biggest thing we have to get our heads around – that you're not out to try and stop Rovers, you're out to try and impose our own game.
'They have threats like any other team in this League has, and that's no disrespect. They're a top team and we know how dangerous they can be.
'If you let them, they will hurt you, so there's two sides to this. What we do out of possession but also where we can feel we can hurt Rovers.'
