FRIDAY 20 JULY
AIRTRICITY LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION
SHAMROCK ROVERS v BRAY WANDERERS
Aaron Greene remains out of the Hoops squad with a knee injury, while there are also slight doubts over Craig Sives who picked up a knock in Tuesday night’s game against Ekranas. Gary Twigg will miss the game through suspension.
Kieran Marty Waters who was sent off against Shelbourne last Friday night will miss Bray's trip to the Tallaght Stadium. Also missing will be Ger Pender who picked up a serious shin injury against Scunthorpe on Tuesday. Captain Danny O'Connor and fellow defender Adam Mitchell return following their suspensions for the Shelbourne game.
Also back in the squad are defender Dave Webster, who missed Bray's last two outings with a knee injury and midfielder Sean Houston who sat out last weeks game with a thigh strain.
What the managers say:
Stephen Kenny: "“I thought our back four, and Oscar, were excellent on Tuesday night. We defended very well on the night and I feel we set a standard against Ekranas. Now we need to maintain that in the league.
“Overall it was a good performance and I’ll be looking for us to build on that in this game against Bray. They are a good side and have been causing problems for a lot of teams this year, but our home form has been good.
"And I think if we perform well on Friday we can get a win, which is very important for us at the moment.”
Pat Devlin: "We are back to full strength now. Games between ourselves and Shamrock Rovers have been great games and I expect Friday night to be no different."
DUNDALK v DERRY CITY
Dundalk goalkeeper Peter Cherrie set to make his 100th league appearance for the club, having signed back in July 2009.
Centre-half Luke Danville (medial ligament knee) is a long-term absentee and continues on the sidelines.
Seventeen-year-old central midfielder Conor McDonald also remains out with a twisted ankle that has been troubling him for the past three weeks.
Striker Shane O’Neill (groin), who has not played since coming on against Drogheda United in the EA SPORTS Cup on 25 June, is also unavailable.
Left-back Eoghan Osborne (shin) last week missed just his second game since returning in April after over a year out, and will be absent for another fortnight.
Experienced defender Liam Burns (dead leg) is doubtful having been forced off midway through the second half against Rovers.
Forward Michael Rafter, who was an unused substitute last week, is back to full fitness following a hamstring injury.
The only player to appear in every game for Dundalk this season, midfielder John Mountney is available this Friday but will sit out next week’s trip to Bohemians due to suspension.
Meanwhile, left-sided player Dan Cunningham, who has not featured since the home defeat by Bohemians on 27 April, and goalkeeper Ger Hanley, who broke his wrist on his Premier Division debut at UCD last month, have both left the club by mutual consent.
Derry will be without Stewart Greacen (ankle). Kevin Deery (knee) and Rory Patterson (hamstring) through injury while Ruaidhri Higgins will miss out through suspension.
What the managers say:
Darius Kierans: "The response that the players gave us last Friday was unbelievable,” Kierans said.
“The work-rate was unreal. But, as I said to them after the game, it needs to be like that every week. That should be the minimum at this level of football.
“That should be a given; that level of work-rate and commitment, and the discipline in the performance and the shape of the team.
“Hopefully, we can build on it.
“It’s very important that we don’t get carried away with last week. It was a good performance but I would have loved the three points.
“It’s vital that we start getting points and wins on the board on a regular basis. UCD are a good team and they always finish the season strongly.
“Derry have some fantastic players, a lot of match-winners in their squad. For me, Derry are one of the top three teams in the country, so it’s going to be difficult. What happened in The Brandywell is long gone.
“But we showed last week that we’re more than capable of being a match for any team in this league.
“Nobody likes coming to Oriel Park – there’s no doubt about that – and we have to make it as difficult as possible for any team that does come.
“We need to find a consistent level. There have to be certain elements of our game that must be a given. The elementary mistakes have to stop. Sometimes, we’re not doing the easy or simple things in football.
“Hopefully, we can tidy that up over the coming weeks.”
Declan Devine: "There is no doubt that Friday's game will be difficult. Dundalk are coming into the fixture off a good result last week at home to Shamrock Rovers, and their players will be looking to impress in every game until a new manager has been appointed.
"But from our own point of view we need to build on last weeks performance and once again give a good account of ourselves. We will have some players back for this game so we should be in a better position to go and compete."
SHELBOURNE v DROGHEDA UNITED
Shelbourne will once again be without Barry Clancy, serving out the last of a three week suspension for being sent off against St. Patrick's Athletic at Inchicore.
Glenn Cronin also misses out as he continues to recover from the ankle injury received away to Derry City.
Apart from these two, Alan Mathews will have a full squad to select from.
Drogheda's Brian Gannon will not make the trip to Tolka Park. Ryan Brennan is suspended following his dismissal v St Pat's on Sunday, while both Stephen Quigley and Eric Foley are back from suspension.
What the managers say:
Alan Mathews: "We know we will have to produce a really top class performance to achieve the three points on offer, but I firmly believe that we have the players to take on any side this season, and we’ll into the game full of confidence."
Mick Cooke: "It's nice to be where we are in the table, we will enjoy it as long as it lasts. We were hopeful of a point against Pat's on Sunday, but to come away with three was excellent. And it gives us a nice bit of confidence.
"There is no real talk of it (being in second) around the dressing room. The lads are coming to training and working hard, it's not something we want to focus on really.
"Everyone is really focused on the job at hand at the moment and we aren't getting ahead of ourselves. There is still a long way to go this season and nothing has been decided yet.
"It's never easy travelling to Shelbourne, they are playing well at the moment and so are we. I reckon it should be the game of the night. But we are five games unbeaten now in the league and we just want to keep that run going."
