Shelbourne's title charge is no longer being billed as an early season novelty but a real live prospect.
Two Will Jarvis penalties saw them down an out-of-sorts Shamrock Rovers in Tallaght last week, establishing a six-point lead at the midway point of the campaign.
Damien Duff has been at pains to portray his team as the most hated in the league, which initially felt like a mix between a branding exercise and an obvious attempt to generate a siege mentality. However, it could be on the brink of becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy and, as we know, nothing provokes hostility like success.
Going by Duffer's interviews, both pre and post-match, the Shels manager hasn't caught a glance of the Premier Division table since the get-go. The leaders welcome Sligo Rovers to Tolka Park as they continue their surprise tilt at a first league triumph for 18 years.
Their closest current pursuers Derry City are in Oriel Park this evening, as new Dundalk boss Jon Daly takes his first game on home turf. Last weekend saw an inauspicious start as the league's bottom team went down tamely in Galway.
As in previous years, Derry's away form appears more solid than their home form, though they have been held to a large number of draws on the road.
Dundalk, for all the upheaval, have kept a whopping six straight clean sheets at home since shipping five goals on a nightmare evening against Sligo.
Are the champions in crisis? Their squad ravaged by injuries, Shamrock Rovers have taken just five points from their last six games and have slipped nine points off the pace. Stephen Bradley has been supremely relaxed in the midst of other barren runs but, in the past, these slumps tended to occur much earlier in the season.
They are in Drogheda tonight, a traditionally sticky encounter against Kevin Doherty's dogged outfit who are scrapping for points.
Stephen Kenny was denied his first win at the death against Bohs last week and his Pat's side are back on home turf this evening, with a buoyant Galway United the visitors to Inchicore.
Meanwhile, it's fifth against sixth in Waterford, with Keith Long and Alan Reynolds both facing off against their old clubs. Bohs are seeking to avenge their 1-0 home loss to Waterford early last month.
Drogheda United v Shamrock Rovers, Weaver's Park, 7.45pm
Rovers' hopes of a first ever five-in-a-row in League of Ireland history are looking a bit dicey, with the champions battling a ruinous injury crisis.
Despite suffering another setback last week, Stephen Bradley maintains they played well overall in their 2-0 home loss to Shelbourne.
"We couldn't have asked much more from the players," the Hoops' boss said. "First thirty minutes we were brilliant, should’ve been two or three up, then we had all the disruptions. We gave away a really poor first goal with the penalty when Josh ducked when he should just head the ball. Then we had the injury disruptions after that which slowed and changed the rhythm of the game.
"Second half we took control of the game again, but we sloppily gave them another penalty, by playing them in on goal when we had clean possession. We had spoken at half time, that was their only way into the game.
"So that was really disappointing, but I thought when you take away the two goals we gave away, considering everything that happened, I thought the players were really good. We controlled the game, created good chances, more chances against Shelbourne than we have done for quite some time.
"Many teams would’ve felt sorry for themselves or downed tools when everything was happening, going down to ten men, but the players responded really well. Take away the two errors, we were really good."
Rovers are still in the midst of an extreme injury crisis, which is some mitigation for their recent form. Dan Cleary, Trevor Clarke and Josh Honohan all absent on Friday. Darragh Burns is out for the next fortnight at least, while Sean Hoare and Rory Gaffney may lose the reace to be fit for Friday's game. Roberto Lopes is suspended.
On the positive side, Dylan Watts and Richie Towell are back available.
Drogheda United boss Kevin Doherty isn't inclined to read much into Shamrock Rovers' recent form, noting "they've been in worse positions than that before and managed to win the league."
"They hit the woodwork twice in the first seven or eight minutes against Shels, so that match could have been so different and they are still title contenders, 100 per cent," Doherty told the Drogheda Independent.
Drogs have been characteristically dogged and stubborn this season but still occupy the promotion/ relegation playoff place, three points clear of their Louth rivals.
However, they shipped seven goals in their past two defeats, conceding two very late goals to lose at home to Galway and then losing 4-2 away in Waterford.
"As much as the last two games really hurt us, a bit of perspective is needed as well," the Drogheda boss said.
"We've been through plenty of tougher times in regards to losing games, and that’s not to shy away from happened, but every single player is on board with everything we’re doing.
"We worked and spoke about eveything over the weekend and we were in yesterday (Monday) and worked on things and tried to come up with solutions. It’s not an easy fix, but we need to keep working to correct it."
Aaron McNally remains sidelined for the hosts, while Warren Davis is a doubt.
Dundalk v Derry City, Oriel Park, 7.45pm
Incongruously, Dundalk are aiming to beat their own home clean sheet record this evening. Previously, they've kept six home clean sheets on the spin in 1991 and 2015 - both seasons where they went on to win the title. Tonight, they can beat the record and they're currently bottom. Go figure.
Jon Daly took the team for his first game in Galway last Friday a mere four hours after arriving off the plane from Scotland. He's since added Graham Kelly - who he worked with at Pat's - and goalkeeping coach Peter Cherry to his management team.
"The home form has been very good," says Daly. "Defensively solid. It's something we'd like to maintain. I'm talking about playing attacking football and it's built on the foundations of having a strong defence. The boys have defended very well.
"I genuinely feel, looking at the squad, we have some of the best players in the league in the building. It's just trying to get that self-belief back into them.
"(Derry) are definitely title contenders. They're a fantastic outfit, Ruaidhrí Higgins is a top manager.
"They have, in the armoury, some of the best attacking players in the league. The likes of (Will) Patching and (Michael) Duffy, (Patrick) McEleney when he's fit. They're starting to get their key players back.
"We're going to have to be defensively switched on if we're going to break that record."
John Mountney, Robbie Benson, Robbie Mahon, Koen Oostenbrink and Dara Keane are all missing for the hosts.
Derry City, boasting a sizable ex-Dundalk contingent, head for Oriel Park, smarting from the failure to grab maximum points from their home game against Sligo last weekend. Indeed, it took a late-ish goal from Will Patching to nab even a draw. The result nudged Shels' lead at the top out to six.
For the visitors, Jordan McEneff remains out, with Sam Todd also ruled absent due to a heel injury. Striker Colm Whelan, however, could be nearing a return after suffering his second serious knee injury last season.
Derry boss Ruaidhrí Higgins was particularly taken by the hosts' anamolous clean sheet record and warned that they could be buoyed by Daly's arrival as manager, the Dubliner having guided Pat's to FAI Cup success last November.
"You look at their league position and might think they're struggling, and then you look at the stats and see a team that hasn't conceded a single goal in their last six home games.
"They have really tightened up at the back and there is quality both in midfield and attack with players in there who have league winners' medals.
"I think Jon Daly is a great appointment for them and I'll wish him every success at about 10 o'clock on Friday night.
"Their fans will get right behind them and they'll hope to get that bounce that comes with a new manager, so we'll have to be ready to deal with that."
Shelbourne v Sligo Rovers, Tolka Park, 7.45pm
Title talk has gone into overdrive around Tolka in the wake of three successive wins, the last two coming in Dublin derbies against St Patrick's Athletic and Shamrock Rovers.
It's 18 years since the league title resided in Drumcondra, at the tail end of what had been a traumatic season as the late Ollie Byrne's vision turned sour, with the club's finances in an increasingly dire state and the team eventually falling over the line at the end of a campaign in which the players went weeks without pay.
It was a sorry conclusion to a glorious era with the revived Shels beginning again in the First Division the following season.
Now, they're certainly back in the big time. With Sligo Rovers coming to town this weekend, Damien Duff has challenged his side to bring their Dublin derby grudge match form into games against teams from outside the capital.
"We've hammered that home all week. Performances outside of Dublin Derbies needed to be better. It bodes well that our last game at home was against a non-Dublin team, Waterford FC at Tolka, and it was a dominant display.
"The team has constantly evolved and grown in my time here. Yes, I’ve criticised them about being highly motivated for Dublin derbies and not always the same for other games. The reality is it’s the same three points on offer, this is just as big as any derby and you could argue it’s one of the biggest of the season."
In addition to everything else going well, Duff reports no injury concerns this week: "First time in three seasons we don't have a single injury or doubt, it’s a great place to be in and almost unheard of in this league."
Sligo have steadied the ship slightly in recent weeks following a precipitous fall over March and April.
A 1-0 win over St Pat's was their first in over a month and manager John Russell was enthused by the 2-2 draw away to title challengers Derry in the Brandywell.
"I thought the players responded in the right manner last week against Derry. It's a really tough place for anyone to go at any stage of the season but our players showed a real edge to their game which resulted in a really impressive performance as we saw.
"That fight and desire played a big part in picking up a really positive result in Derry and those attributes will be key as the season goes on and no more so than against Shelbourne who have had a really good season to date."
St Patrick's Athletic v Galway United, Richmond Park, 7.45pm
In his successful stints elsewhere in the league, Stephen Kenny never required much time to make an impact but Pat's have procured just one point from their first three games under the former Republic of Ireland manager.
They were, however, mere moments away from extracting all three in Dalymount Park last week, denied by Danny Grant's late, late goal.
"We put in a strong performance at Dalymount Park against Bohemians and the concession of their equaliser in the 92nd minute deprived the players of the result their performance deserved," Kenny says on the late sickener in Phibsboro.
The reigning FAI Cup champions currently languish in seventh, much closer to the foot of the table than the top.
On Friday, they welcome Galway United, who won with relative ease at home to Dundalk last Friday. Kenny will once again share a sideline with John Caulfield, his old sparring partner from the mid-to-late 2010s, when Dundalk and Cork City were battling it out at the top of the table.
"We'll have to earn the right to play, we want to pass the ball the way the players can and try to get control, we're looking forward to the games," says the Pat's boss.
"Galway United have had a fine season having got promoted last year, they've built on that, they are in very good form and deserve credit."
Ruairí Keating, who was taken to hospital after suffering a concussion against Bohemians, will miss the game, while Axel Sjoberg and Anto Breslin are ruled out with hamstring injuries.
Successive wins over the Drogheda and Dundalk have lifted Galway United to fourth in the table and they hold two games in hand over both Shamrock Rovers and Derry City just ahead of them.
The westerners have conceded a miserly nine goals thus far, fewer than anyone else in the league including the leaders, but they had been struggling to find the net themselves.
However, they hit five in the past week, late goals from Maurice Nugent and Stephen Walsh digging out a 3-2 win in Drogheda before a comparatively straightforward 2-0 victory at home to Dundalk.
"It's brilliant to think we're nine games unbeaten," Caulfield told Galway Bay FM this week. "The fact that we have the best defensive record is a credit to the lads. But on the other end, we hadn't been scoring many goals. That's the area that we looked at and tried to improve
"But in the last week, away to Drogheda and at home to Dundalk, we got five goals. A lot of work has gone into trying to convert chances.
"Obviously, Stephen Kenny has come in as the highest earner in League of Ireland history as manager. We all know Stephen Kenny's record as a manager. He's only taken over two or three weeks but we know what he does and what he's done in the past.
"But we're really looking forward to it. Our form has been good. Our away form has been good. We've been solid. If anything, it was our home form that was causing us problems early on. But thankfully, in the last number of weeks, we've turned that around as well.
"It's a massive challenge for us. It's hard to imagine they're so far behind us after the opening game of the season when they looked so strong. But that's the nature of this league."
Waterford FC v Bohemians, RSC, 7.45pm
Keith Long's side have shot up to fifth in the table after four wins in their last five, three coming against the league's bottom three sides but another coming via a 3-1 away win over Shamrock Rovers.
Their only loss in the sequence came against the league leaders in Tolka a fortnight ago and last weekend, they bounced back at home to Drogheda, Maleace Asamoah rustling up a hat-trick in a 4-2 victory.
Centre-half Kacper Radkowski is available again after missing the win over Drogs but Harvey Macadam drops out after picking up an injury early last week.
The Waterford boss has been particularly enthused with the home support and is keen for them to generate the noise as his old club, one of the best supported outfits in the league, come to the south-east.
"They'll bring a big travelling away support to create a good atmosphere in the ground, so hopefully we’ll have a big home crowd ourselves.
"The atmosphere in the RSC over the last couple of weeks has been fantastic, so we’d like to build upon that once again if we possibly can."
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