DAMIEN DUFF and Ruaidhrí Higgins insisted it remains a three-horse race for the title — with both certain no one should discount Shamrock Rovers. Top two Shelbourne and Derry City drew 0-0 at Tolka Park on Monday night , a result that maintains Shels’ three-point lead. Yet while the game was billed as a title six-pointer, both gaffers warned that Rovers are not out of it as they continue to look for a fifth league crown in a row.
The Hoops are 11 points behind Duff’s Shelbourne with a game in hand, and eight adrift of Higgins’ Derry with two fewer matches played. If they win their games in hand and beat Shelbourne and Derry in their remaining fixtures, they would actually go ahead of the Candystripes and trail their fellow Dubliners by just five points. And Duff reckons the Hoops and Stephen Bradley will be happy to be ignored in the title talk.
He said: “Everyone keeps talking about Derry and us but I never thought Rovers were out of it, regardless of ten, 12 points. “Brilliant team, brilliant players, brilliant manager. Everything about them is brilliant.
"They’ve been going along nicely and they’ll be happy that nobody is talking about them. "I’m not stupid, they are absolutely in it.” Higgins agreed, saying: “They’re not out of it.
"One hundred per cent they’re involved in it because I’ve no doubt they’ve got the quality to string a load of wins together. “I’m not just firing it out there for the craic, I genuinely believe they’re in it.” But he insisted his side’s form has them right in it too, pointing out that the defeat in the Europa Conference League to FCB Magpies of Gibraltar has overshadowed all their other results.
He added: “We’ve been really good in recent weeks apart from one disastrous performance, you know the one I’m talking about. “We’ve won six of our last eight before the Shels game. "We played football like that in the first half-hour.
” And he also believes that drawing 0-0 with the leaders, despite playing 60 minutes a man light after Sam Todd’s red card, proves that his side are up to the challenge. Higgins continued: “I found out that we are up for it, I found out that we are made of the right stuff and I have no doubt after this result that we are up for the challenge. “We were free-flowing, played some brilliant stuff.
"Arrogance is the wrong word but played with a bit of a swagger in a difficult venue against a really good team. “I thought 11 v 11 we should have been two or three up, we were the better team, the dominant team, and we looked like we were in the ascendancy, and then we get a man sent off. “I am really proud of the players, we saw two sides of us.
"At 11 v 11 we played some beautiful football, 11 v ten we rolled our sleeves up, showed proper commitment, proper desire. “We thoroughly deserved a point and over the 95 minutes had the better chances.” Higgins had no complaints about Todd’s red card — for two yellows, both for fouls on Liam Burt — but he did feel Shelbourne’s John Martin should also have been sent off.
Duff, meanwhile, felt it was a missed opportunity for his side, saying they should have won having had the numerical advantage for so long. He added: “Let’s call a spade a spade, it’s a better point for Derry than us, down to ten men for 60 minutes. “Outside of that, it’s another decent point, we’re light squad-wise so before the game, would you have took it? “Possibly not because I always back ourselves to beat anyone at home, but it’s a point.
We haven’t lost, a clean sheet, we move on. “Obviously there is a bit of frustration from me and from the lads, there is no music and you can feel a bit, ‘Is that two that got away?’ “You don’t know until the next month, the month after, so yeah, a good point but it would be great to get three. “And you could say it was a great opportunity to get three because you’re playing against ten men.
It’s very simple.” Duff also felt there was a nervousness to both teams in what was their penultimate meeting of the season — they also clash on the final day of the campaign. But he insisted the title pressure is not getting to his side.
He said: “There has been a lot of pressurised games. "Drogheda last year, 4-2, last game, that was bloody pressure and was probably our calmest, most brilliant performance in two years. “Am I worried? No.
it was a big bloody game, there was apprehension in the air, you could feel it even from them.” But Shelbourne’s title chances have been dented after Hull City exercised a recall option in Will Jarvis’ loan deal. The winger 21, is returning to his parent club ahead of the Championship season.
The Tigers kick off against Bristol City on Saturday afternoon. It is a big blow for Shelbourne as Jarvis has been a key man this season, winning the SSE Airtricity Soccer Writers Ireland Player of the Month award twice and scoring eight goals. He played the full 90 minutes of the draw with Derry.
Jarvis told club media: “All good things come to an end unfortunately . . .
I’ll be hoping to get my winner’s medal for the league in the post. “It’s a big opportunity for me. I hope Shelbourne fans see it as an opportunity, I didn’t want to leave the club but all good things come to an end.
” Jarvis had been a regular all season, just as defender Gavin Molloy was before Aberdeen triggered his release clause. But Shelbourne are well stocked with wingers at present, with Harry Wood who signed permanently from Hull last month and Rayhaan Tulloch providing options. Duff added: “It’s another bump in the road.
But it’s similar to Gav, we move on. “Will is devastated leaving, he didn’t want to go, he was told to go home, even though I feel here is his spiritual home. “I don’t want to see him back because it means he’s failed.
But what a guy. “I love him, I love the way he dribbles, he’s a special player. "I hope he kicks on with the rest of his career.
"We’ll miss him but hopefully not too much.”.
