For those of you that don’t know, you have just entered Dalymount Park on a day when the fiercest derby game on the Irish football calendar takes place.
Bohemians and Shamrock Rovers have a mutual understanding of disliking everything that the other club represents. It is a friendly rivalry…..of sorts.
While both sets of supporters will sling verbal grenades at each other from opposite ends of the ground, the real battle always takes place on the pitch. And for those that are new to this fixture, they are in for a treat.
There has always been a competitive streak to these games and the current crop of players that represent the two clubs have dived straight into that tradition by ensuring that each of their encounters thus far have been explosive affairs.
This particular game should be just as exciting because Rovers are chasing Bohs at the top of the Premier Division table. The Hoops are trying to narrow the gap on their city rivals, while also attempting to knock the reigning champions off their perch.
After opening up a five point lead in Week 20, Bohs know that they can extend that even further if they can collect all three points from this fixture. On top of that, they also have the chance of seeking some revenge over their hooped opponents.
When the teams last faced off against each other it was in the Tallaght Stadium. Everything was going according to plan for The Gypsies as they took the lead through a Jason Byrne penalty and they were closing out the game when disaster struck.
Gary Twigg popped up with two late goals to catch Bohs off-guard and leave them feeling dizzy. This was not in the script and didn’t seem possible as Rovers rarely threatened up to that point yet they went away with the win.
So Bohs will definitely feel that they owe The Hoops, especially since their rivalry has been so heated through the years that neither team wants to be on the losing side more than once in the same season.
Expect to see plenty of aerial challenges, crunching slide tackles, and shoulder-to-shoulder collisons. Pat Fenlon and Michael O’Neill will send their teams out with a gameplan in mind, but these sort of games normally turn out to be something that neither manager can prepare for.
If one were to forage through the logs of League of Ireland games in decades gone by, this would be one of the main fixtures that would stand out. It is a rivalry that has some added bite and that makes it quite special.
Bohs have been performing well of late and just came through a tough two-legged Uefa Champions League tie with Red Bull Salzburg, but their desire to win this game against Rovers will be just as high as it was when they faced the Austrian champions.
It would be foolish of this column to advise you to sit back and enjoy the game, because it is quite likely that those around you will be constantly leaping from their seats as they make their presence felt on the game.
Perhaps the best thing about this Dublin derby is the interaction with the fans.
Songs are sung with that little bit more passion, the will to win is stronger than it is in other games, and the buzz of excitement from the stands is felt by the players as they attempt to do all that they can to win the game.
This is not a friendly rivalry. It is Bohs v Rovers. This is when it matters most.