Given the rainfall of the last month it was always likely to play a part in the opening weekend of the SSE Airtricity Premier Division, and so it proved with Friday’s Opening Virgin Media fixture between Shamrock Rovers and Dundalk falling to a waterlogged pitch.
At our Sport for Business League of Ireland Breakfast last week, Virgin Media Director of News and Sport Mick McCaffrey spoke of the great relationship between the free to air broadcaster and the LOITV offering that covers all other games.
That was in reference to the failure of the floodlights at Tolka Park on last season’;s opening night and a quick half time switch to live coverage from Waterford United.
This year the switch had a bit more notice in turning the Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium into the centre of attention.
James MacLean’s return and a late winner from Joshua Thomas certainly held the attention and was enough to see Derry City top the table after the first weekend.
21,472 took advantage of a rare dry afternoon to make it to the Aviva Stadium on Sunday but a third consecutive 0-0 draw between Bohemians and St Patrick’s Athletic failed to live up to the sense of occasion.
The crowd was down from the 33,208 that went to last season’s similar fixture between Bohs and St Pats, but still outstripped by five times the number that could have been present at Dalymount Park.
It was also more then the combined attendance for the four matches the two dublin rivals played in the league last year.
This is bound to become a more regular occurrence as Dalymount prepares to be redeveloped from the end of this season and that number of fans is still a very strong measure of what can be hoped for with more games to be played there.
Next weekend’s TV game sees the last two Champions Shelbourne and Shamrock Rovers lock horns in what already has pulses racing.
Image Credit: Aviva Stadium
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