Title race hots up but who’ll keep their cool?

As the League of Ireland season enters the business end, the major talking point from the weekend gone by is this: what is going on at Sligo Rovers?

The calamitous 7-0 hammering at the hands of relegation-threatened Drogheda United was one of the shock results of the season, for a variety of different reasons. But the limp nature of the Rovers performance – off the back of a similarly insipid display against UCD in the Cup – was worrying.

It has been a trend. All things considered, this has been a pretty good season for the Bit O’Red, who currently occupy fourth in the table and remain level on points with Waterford in third. European football is achievable with eight games to play.

Rovers, though, have shown an ability to be consistent at being inconsistent.

Prior to Saturday’s defeat, John Russell’s side had won five of their previous six league matches, including notable victories over Shelbourne, the league leaders, and defending champions Shamrock Rovers. Yet, there was also a spell through seven weeks in the month of April and into May when Rovers won just once in ten games.

Given the state of flux in the squad, and the level of turnover in players from last season, you can perhaps forgive an element of inconsistency through the season. And, there’s also a financial game at play: Rovers simply do not have the resources other clubs have. Sitting in fourth, they are punching considerably above their weight. However, the manner of the display at Weavers Park on Friday night last beggared belief, so much so it prompted assistant boss, Ryan Casey, to apologise to fans for the result and performance and the manager, John Russell, released a statement on the matter too, a couple of days after. The only way is up, but Rovers will need to show more bite on a regular basis to secure European football at the Showgrounds next season.

In a wider context, the league is shaping up for a run in that could be as interesting as we’ve seen over the last number of years. That is largely down to the fact that no team in the running for the league title appears to have the ability to really take the run-in by the scruff of the neck.

Shelbourne still look like the team to beat, but they will need to be better than they were against Bohemians on Friday night if they are to lift the title. Damien Duff’s side battled to a 1-1 draw, but they conceded a poor opener to Danny Grant and were gifted an equaliser just moments later through poor defensive play by Bohs.

Duff was magnanimous in the aftermath, accepting that his side probably didn’t do enough to garner all three points, but Shels will be aware that their form has not been great. A quick glance at their recent record lays bare that fact – they haven’t won any of their last four league matches, collecting just three points in that run. Also, there was a nervy Cup triumph over Galway United on penalties.

Shels have been tough to beat but haven’t been exactly prolific in front of goal, scoring just 30 times so far this season. Five teams have scored more, but the Tolka Park outfit have been superb defensively, conceding just 18 goals.

One of the teams with major aspirations this term is Derry City. The now league leaders have been a curious case over recent seasons, with much expected but little delivered. An FAI Cup triumph in 2022 – following a 4-0 hammering of Shels in the final – is something, but not enough based on the level of investment the Candystripes have had over the last few years. Yet, they find themselves at the summit now, albeit with a game more played than Shelbourne.

Derry have bundles of quality in their squad and real winners – Pat Hoban, the long-time Dundalk striker, has three league medals for example – but you get the sense that this is the season for them to deliver.

Manager Ruaidhri Higgins has been given plenty of time to get things right but, increasingly, he has started to come in for criticism, with fans growing increasingly frustrated with Derry’s apparent lack of progress. Last season, when they had chances to seriously challenge an out-of-sorts Shamrock Rovers, stung particularly badly. This year, Derry’s exit to the hands of Gibraltar’s Bruno’s Magpies in Europe was a dismal low point of the season, but to be fair to the Candystripes they have rallied.

Since the start of June, they’ve only lost once in the league (to Sligo Rovers) and the manner of their victory in Waterford last Friday night points to a side with some momentum on their side, after securing a 1-0 victory via a fortuitous winner after a goalkeeping error.

Shamrock Rovers’ season started with high hopes of securing a fifth league title in a row, but their hopes of nabbing the crown again this term are fading rapidly. Prior to the weekend, you could make a reasonable case that Stephen Bradley’s charges had the wherewithal to mount a serious challenge over the coming weeks, with three games in hand on Derry City and two on Shelbourne.

Yet, again, the Hoops failed to capitalise and were somewhat fortunate to earn a point from their meeting with Galway United, with Danny Mandriou’s late equaliser ensuring a 1-1 draw at Tallaght Stadium.

That leaves Shamrock Rovers 10 points off the summit, with two games now in hand on Derry. Yet, you can’t guarantee the Tallaght club will win those two matches, given they’ve won only ten of their 26 games to date.

It’s hard to pinpoint any one reason for their flat form, but something has been off this season. They have done well in Europe, and will play in the Conference League group stage, but domestically Shamrock Rovers have been a shadow of the side we’ve seen over recent seasons.

With a busy sporting summer coming to a close, there’s a real opportunity for the League of Ireland to now become one of the sporting stories of the autumn with the title race set to heat up even more as the weeks pass by, with big personalities and big clubs involved.

From now, the games truly begin.