Rovers can continue unbeaten run despite injury list

WITH BOHEMIANS about embark on their long-awaited Setanta Cup adventure, Shamrock Rovers can narrow the gap at the top of the Premier Division table to four points this evening provided they make it three wins out of three this season against Ian Foster’s Galway United.

The draw against Dundalk in Tallaght last week was a significant blow to Rovers’ title ambitions and manager Michael O’Neill insists the manner in which his side allowed their lead to slip was particularly disappointing. The slip looked especially costly given Galway had been outplayed at Dalymount the previous week when they conceded five goals to the league leaders who look to have settled back into their stride since the drawn games that coincided with their European outings.

Rovers have Shane Robinson back from suspension for the game but O’Neill has doubts about Paddy Kavanagh (hip), Stephen Bradley (hamstring) and Corie Treacy (knee).

They might be short a few players but shouldn’t be lacking in the confidence given the scale of the unbeaten run they’re on. Recently-signed Graham Barrett, who was capped seven times for the Republic of Ireland, may well play some part tonight.

Derry City are looking to build on a somewhat more limited sequence of positive results as they head to the Bray Wanderers’ Carlisle Grounds, most notably last week’s defeat of St Patrick’s Athletic, while handicapped by the sending off of Clive Delaney.

“The players showed good resolve and great team spirit to overcome St Pat’s after being reduced to 10 men for the majority of the game,” says manager Stephen Kenny. “It’s never easy to win with 10 men so it was a very good result for us.

“We’ve had two league wins in a row now with victories over Sligo and Pat’s and we’d obviously like that form to continue. But Bray, to their credit, are a tough team to beat, especially at home. They have plenty of energy and a few skilful players so we fully expect another hard match after the one-all draw there earlier this season.”

Kenny is without Delaney as well as Sammy Morrow (ankle), Liam Kearney (broken leg) and Mark McChrystal (cheek bone), while Steven Gray and Thomas Stewart are doubts.

Wanderers are still without long-term injury victim Paul Byrne, while Shane O’Neill (ankle) has been laid up since last week. Dave Mulcahy is suspended, as are Daire Doyle and Stephen Brennan.

In the First Division, the top two are in action, with Shelbourne hosting Wexford Youths (8pm) and UCD taking on Limerick at their Bowl. Dermot Keely has skipper Damien Brennan back from suspension but David Cassidy has joined Alan Keely and Kevin Doherty on the club’s injury list, while Dave McAllister is also a doubt with a slight hamstring problem.

The FAI, meanwhile, have confirmed Ireland will again be entering the International Under-23 Challenge Trophy, a competition involving representative teams made up of young players from leagues across Europe. The draw for the second running of the event will be made in Dublin today. Last time around, the League of Ireland team managed by Pat Fenlon narrowly missed out on the final of the competition when, after beating both Slovakia and Northern Ireland, they lost to the Belgians.

The number of entrants is up from eight to 11, with Poland, Portugal, Romania, England and Italy included and three groups (two of four, one of three) will be drawn. A manager for the Ireland team will, according to the FAI, be appointed in the coming weeks.