SOCCER LEAGUE OF IRELAND:WITH THREE clean sheets paving the way to three wins in their opening four games of the season, Brian Murphy reckons the addition of players like Paul Keegan, Joseph Ndo and Brian Shelley has made the current Bohemians squad even stronger than the one that ran away with the league last year and then beat Derry City in the cup final to complete the double.
The goalkeeper has certainly been doing his bit to date but could face one of his tougher tests in this evening’s televised game against Cork City, who picked up their first win of the campaign against Bray last weekend.
The Dubliners are getting closer to having a full squad to choose from but Pat Fenlon is still without Neale Fenn (calf) and the suspended Gary Deegan.
City, though, have problems of their own with Latvian defender Robert Mezeckis ruled out along with long-term absentee Stephen O’Donnell. On the brighter side, the visitors will have Pat Sullivan and Shane Duggan back from suspension.
Derry have been tracking their title rivals closely over the first few weeks of the campaign and they will look to keep their own sequence of good results going when Galway United come to the Brandywell this evening.
The hosts have Clive Delaney suspended but are in pretty good shape when compared with their visitors.
Ian Foster welcomes back Jay O’Shea from international duty but Jason Molloy and Declan Edwards are suspended, while John Russell and Shane Fitzgerald are still working their way back from injury.
St Patrick’s Athletic will be without both Gary Dempsey and Mark Leech for a matter of months after the pair each broke a leg during the win over Dundalk. Jeff Kenna has John Lester back from suspension but Gareth O’Connor, Brendan Clarke and Stephen Maher are all at least a week or two away from being fully fit again.
Their hosts this evening, Bray, are also some way off having a clean bill of health, with Paddy Kavanagh (ankle ligaments), Derek Pender (ankle) and Daryl Robson (suspension) all set to sit out a fifth game of the season.
In the night’s other game, Alan Mathews will be looking for an improvement and, most of all, some goals from his struggling Drogheda United side against a Shamrock Rovers side whose aim is to string a few wins together. Rovers manager Michael O’Neill once again has a full squad to choose from.
