Killian's set for Brennan family duel
ST PATRICK'S Athletic star Killian Brennan says he is ready to put his 100pc record from his sibling rivalries on the line this week, starting today, in a critical few days for the league champions.
Pats appear to have recovered from an early-season slump in form, which saw them earn just one win in the first five games of the new campaign, to put together a three-match winning streak, the latest three-point haul coming in Friday's 3-1 defeat of Bohemians.
Brennan is back on familiar turf this evening, facing up to home-town club Drogheda United, with a well-known face in the opposing side as his younger brother Gavin will be in the Drogheda side.
With four Brennan brothers lining out for four different clubs this season, those fraternal battles are regular features on the calendar, and another family affair is in store this weekend as his kid brother Seán should be in the Athlone Town XI which comes to Richmond Park on Friday.
Killian won the first Brennan battle of the season, overcoming another brother, Ryan, when Pats beat Shamrock Rovers two weeks ago, so he's keen for more of the same in tonight's meeting with Drogheda.
"It's one game and one win for me, from the Pats v Rovers game the other week, in terms of the matches between all the brothers this season, I have a 100 per cent record and I want to have that intact after this game against Gavin and Drogheda tonight," Killian said.
"I don't really need any extra motivation for this game tonight. Apart from anything else, it's a big match for us as the teams around us like Cork and Dundalk seem to be winning a lot of their games, so the points are important to us.
"As well as that, it's a big match with me, as a Drogheda lad, going back to play them in Drogheda. I get stick at nearly every away ground in the country, but I seem to get more at United Park as I am a local lad.
"But it's also a massive game as I could be up against Gavin in midfield. These are always big games for us. We are family, but for games like this you have to go in with the approach that, for 90 minutes, he's not your brother, it was the same when me and Ryan were up against each other in the Pats v Rovers match.
"There has always been massive rivalry between us all – we even supported different teams in England, little things like that, and we are all very competitive. It's about getting the bragging rights over one another, even for a few days," Killian added.
"I enjoy the battles, I loved playing against Ryan but you have to get yourself into the right frame of mind. I can't go into this match tonight thinking I can't make a tackle because Gavin's my brother, we will both go at it with full commitment and then chat about it after the game."
The timing of the game, a 6pm kick-off, suits Pats as Liam Buckley's men will know before kick-off how leaders Cork City have fared in their 3pm game against UCD, while they can also go into the second half aware of how second-placed Dundalk have managed at Athlone Town.
But Pats are adept at winning games on their own merits, as they showed on Friday, coming from 1-0 down to beat Bohemians 3-1.
"Bohs on Friday was a big win for us and I think it says a lot about our character," said Brennan, who missed that win through suspension but should be back in the side tonight.