St Patrick’s Athletic v Sligo Rovers, Richmond Park, 7.45pm, RTE2
Sligo Rovers can take a giant leap towards securing European football for next season as they face St Patrick’s Athletic tonight.
The Bit O’ Red need four points to guarantee successive qualifications or to better Derry City’s result this evening.
Victory for the Candystripes would put them firmly back in the race for third ahead of a meeting of the north-west sides next week.
Pat’s could seal second place with a win of their own. Despite making changes against Bohemians last Monday, they went 2-0 up in the first half, before surviving an onslaught to secure a point.
The match is live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player.
Team News
St Patrick’s Athletic: Ronan Coughlan & Jamie Lennon return from suspension with John Mountney (knee) unavailable. Ben McCormack is recovering well from the ankle knock he suffered with the Ireland U19s last month
Sligo Rovers: Shane Blaney and Colm Horgan are available again. Regan Donelon will have a late fitness test. Danny Kane is ruled out for the rest of the season.
What they said
Stephen O’Donnell (St Patrick’s Athletic): “It’s been a really busy schedule the last few weeks, with lots of games and we’ve got another one coming up on Friday against Sligo.
“We have to keep working hard and keep giving our all to get the results, and we want keep our run of good performances going and keep the momentum.
“Personally, it has been good to get a few 90 minutes under my belt over the last few weeks and get myself fitter, stronger and performing better.
“It’s an important part of the season now, we have the cup final coming up and obviously we have a few games left in the league, our main aim on Friday is to try to win the game and secure second place.”
Liam Buckley (Sligo Rovers): “It is one game at a time for us. We’re trying to put as many points on the board as possible and a win would certainly help us in the race that we’re in.
“St Pat’s have had a good season, they play a good brand of football and they’re up there in second place with the FAI Cup final to come. I think they’ve won 12 out of 16 at home, they could have had more goals against Bohemians in the first half the other night when they went 2-0 up.
“But we’ve done alright ourselves and we’ve been in the top three for a long time. It’ll be tight and we go there looking for another good result.”
Waterford v Shamrock Rovers, RSC, 7.45pm
There was heartbreak for Waterford after conceding an injury-time goal to Derry on Tuesday evening.
The three points would have moved them clear of Finn Harps and now their lead is just one going into this difficult game with the champions.
Marc Bircham continues to work wonders but it would require a new level this evening with the in-form Hoops in town.
Injuries are starting to mount and the short recovery period from Tuesday will not help either.
Shamrock Rovers clinched the league crown amid scenes of celebration in front of 7,000 fans at Tallaght Stadium.
Focus now turns to just how many points they can win the league by.
Team News
Waterford FC: Prince Mutswunguma and Darragh Power are absent through injury, while Ronaldo Green, Junior Quitirna, Matthew Connor, Eddie Nolan and Greg Halford are doubts. Brian Murphy is back from suspension however.
Shamrock Rovers: Chris McCann is suspended. The Hoops also say they have some “knocks” which will be assessed pre-game.
What they said
Marc Bircham (Waterford FC): “We were disappointed with the goals we conceded but we have to look to Friday. We’ve had injuries and suspensions and our squad is really stretched and lads are playing through the pain but that’s what this club means to them.
“Friday will be a game where nobody expects us to win so there’s no fear there. We know no matter what happens the worst we can finish is ninth so we’re going to have a go at teams and look for points in the last three games.”
Stephen Bradley (Shamrock Rovers): “We’ve won the league with three games to spare. Last year the motivation was to complete the season unbeaten. What is it this time, to create a bigger points gap?
“The points gap does come into it, but the standards and levels that the players have set over the last couple of years come into play. We don’t just turn that off and on, and tomorrow will be no different, we’ll go to win the game.
“We know Waterford are a good side, we saw that in Tallaght and they were very good against Derry during the week. Their form since the manager has come in has been brilliant, he’s done a brilliant job, and we know it will be a tough game, but we have our own standards to live up tonight.”
Finn Harps v Derry City, Finn Park, 8pm
Despite their brilliant start to the season – and a revival later in the year – Finn Harps find themselves in the relegation play-off with three matches to go.
They’ve been here, done it and sold the t-shirts when it comes to great escapes but having 39 points and being in ninth place is even a new one for the Donegal outfit.
They were unable to break down Drogheda United last Monday and will see this as a key game due to to their main rival facing the champions Shamrock Rovers.
A big crowd will be present for this derby fixture against a Derry City looking to make Europe.
They can reel in Sligo Rovers if results go their way before they face Liam Buckley’s side, while fourth spot is certainly achievable as well.
Injury-time goals against Bohemians and Waterford in the last week have kept them ticking over but it is certainly time to start a run of wins if they want to keep inside the top four.
Team News
Finn Harps: Adam Foley, Johnny Dunleavy, Shane McEleney, Ethan Boyle and Barry McNamee are doubts for the game but Sean Boyd will be absent through suspension after his red card against Drogheda. Kosovar Sadiki returns from suspension however.
Derry City: Marc Walsh is out with a hamstring problem. Ciaran Harkin returns from suspension.
What they said
Ollie Horgan (Finn Harps): “We huffed and puffed on Monday night but probably didn’t do enough to open Drogheda up from open play. On another day we might have won the game but we have nobody to blame but ourselves
“We kept a clean sheet which was a positive. We’re going to have our work cut out but we just hope we’re talking about playing Derry next year. We need to score goals. We’re not done yet, we still have a fighting chance.”
Joe Thomson (Derry City midfielder speaking to the Derry Journal): “The derby is perfect for us to try and get going again.
“We were in the next two days after the Waterford game, we have all looked after ourselves as we have a good bunch of professionals so we’ll be making no excuses.”
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