Kavanagh enjoying new role

NATIONAL LEAGUE:HAD BIRMINGHAM City not been promoted last summer then Paddy Kavanagh might have felt he had a long-term future at the club but they were and "Steve Bruce said he wanted to buy big after that," he recalls. So the Dubliner returned home and joined Bray where, after the month he's just had, Eddie Gormley must be rather glad to have him just now.

The Wanderers boss signed Kavanagh to play out wide but with a plague of injuries afflicting his strikers, some improvisation was required and after last week's call up to Pat Fenlon's Irish under-23 squad the news that he has been named as the Eircom SWAI Player of the Month for April is a pretty good indication of how well the former UCD man has reacted to the switch.

"It was a bit of surprise for me when Eddie took me aside after training one night and asked me how I felt about trying it as a striker for a while," he says. "I'd played up front until I was 15 but then my height went against me I suppose. I've enjoyed it back up there and the two goals against Galway probably defined the month for me."

There was an important one against Finn Harps too and Gormley will be hoping that the run continues against Drogheda United as Wanderers look to maintain an improvement that has taken them to sixth in the table.

Kavanagh, Gavin Whelan and Gary McCabe have all been troubled by injuries over the past week but all three are expected to be fit for the game while United boss Paul Doolin expects Joe Kendrick, Paul Keegan and Jason Gavin to make it. However Brian Shelley and Dan Connor miss out through injury.

After some difficult weeks UCD have a full squad for the trip to Richmond Park where the home side are missing Damien Lynch, Joe O'Cearuill and Dave Partridge. The students have a knack of springing surprises on occasions like this and have a recent League Cup win over tonight's opponents to point to. Pete Mahon, you suspect, though, would probably just settle for getting through the 90 minutes without conceding another dodgy penalty.

At Turner's Cross, Cork City will look to bounce back from two straight defeats against a Sligo side that has really clicked in recent weeks. The hosts will again be without injured Gareth Farrelly while Danny Murphy is suspended but Joe Gamble is back from a ban and Dave Mulcahy is back in contention having recovered from a groin strain. Darren Murphy is still out but his recent form was rewarded yesterday with a call up to the Irish under-23 panel.

Sligo's Steve Feeney and Seán Doherty are both out while Romauld Boco, Anto Murphy, Danny Ventre and Gavin Peers face fitness tests.

Shamrock Rovers add the suspended Pat Flynn to their list of absentees for the visit of Derry City to Tolka Park. The Dubliners, who haven't won in five league games, are again without Chris Mulhall, Darren Stapleton and John Martin while the visitors will be missing Seán Hargan, Sammy Morrow and Ciarán Martyn.