“It’s About Points, Not Bragging Rights” – Duff Focused Ahead of Dublin Derby Clash | OneFootball

The League of Ireland champions return to Tolka Park tomorrow night for the first Dublin derby of the 2025 season.

Damien Duff’s Reds welcome last season’s runners-up Shamrock Rovers to Tolka Park. Kick-off is at 7:45 pm, and the game is live on Virgin Media.

Tolka Park is set for its highest attendance since the 2004 sell-out against Hajduk Split, with 5,100 expected, including 4,100 in the home sections of the famous old ground.

Duff reported a virtually clean bill of health ahead of the visit of their old Ringsend rivals:

“Ali Coote is back. He missed the first game but came on last week. Ali was set to start against Derry but took a knock at the end of training on the Thursday. Great to have him on the pitch in Waterford and ready to make an impact. As I always tell the lads, you have to be ready.

“Evan Caffrey was disappointed going into that Derry game that he was not going to start, but within 12 hours, he was in the starting lineup and he scored.”

Caffrey came off during the 1-0 win over Waterford a week ago after a terrible challenge that saw the home side finish the game with 10 men. Duff was relieved to see the midfielder, who today celebrated his birthday, walk away from the tackle:

“It was awful… one of the worst I’ve seen in the league in four years. Disgraceful. But he recovered well, he’s a strong lad. Listen, we’ve got a strong bench, as strong as anyone’s.

“I asked questions about the lads last year, about lifting performances for games outside of Dublin derbies. It was levelled at us from outside as well.

“Listen, we won the league last year by winning games beyond Dublin derbies, so I don’t think it’s accurate to say we struggled in non Dublin Derbies last season. You don’t win anything in a fortnight—it’s a 36-game season. What we need to do is stay grounded and stay humble, keep doing our work.”

The Reds go in search of a third win on the spin, having beaten Derry City at home a fortnight ago and Waterford at the RSC last Friday night. Duff feels both games showed different attributes of his squad:

“It’s about finding a way. There was a marked difference between the two performances—big intensity in how we worked hard for each other and defended on the opening night. The game against Derry had a different feel compared to Waterford.

“Last week, we couldn’t take anything away from the performance. We had very good spells and dominated, but the conditions made it a battle. The wind, the pitch, down there, it was tough, but I couldn’t be more pleased with the start and that we had to find a different way to win than we did the previous game.”

The Reds face a Rovers side who have been flying the flag for the League of Ireland in Europe. Duff had plenty of praise for the Hoops but remained focused on what his side can do:

“Derbies were a topic we referenced in a team meeting this morning. They’re not about bragging rights, they’re about putting points on the board. If you want to win the league, you have to win Dublin derbies.

“You also need a strong points return from Friday-to-Monday games. More often than not, if you manage that, you’ll be there or thereabouts at the end of the season. It’s about using our squad, not just the starting players, and figuring out the best way to win games.

“We have a strong bench, and credit to the medical team and staff for keeping the lads fit. The issues a couple of players have that are keeping them from playing, they came back with them, they didn’t pick them up here on our pitch. But we’ve got a strong squad, and we’ll use it over the weekend and across the season. No doubt about it.”

Duff knows they face a stern test tomorrow night under the lights at Tolka Park:

“They’ll try to play their usual game, they like to dominate possession. For so long, they were the best team in the country. They’ve been brilliant and have represented the country so well in Europe. They set the standard. Tomorrow, though, our focus is on us.”