St. Patrick's Athletic -v- Derry City

ST PATRICK’S ATHLETIC

St Pats will approach this game with memories of last season’s FAI Cup final still fresh in their minds. Last November Derry City ensured that the Saints’ 51 year wait for a Cup win would continue by beating them in extra time at the Aviva Stadium and gaining some measure of revenge would be nice. But, more importantly, a win on Friday night would bring Pats to within a point of Derry who are currently second in the Premier Division table.

After an unconvincing start to the campaign St Pats have caught fire in recent weeks with last weekend’s 2-0 win over league leaders Sligo really opening up the title race. It also brought their recent winning streak to five from their last six league matches.

With goal-scoring being the principle issue in a team that didn’t quite fulfil their potential in 2012, manager Liam Buckley will be pleased to note that his side have scored six goals in their last two outings and have only failed to score on one occasion in the league so far this year. But it’s at the back that Pats have looked most impressive.

Apart from a disastrous showing at Shamrock Rovers in early March when the Pats defence conceded three times, they have held firm this year, keeping six clean sheets in eight league matches and have not conceded a single goal in their last four outings.

Buckley has a fully fit squad to chose from as goalkeeper Brendan Clarke has recovered from a knee injury that kept him out of the side for the last two games against Shelbourne and Sligo.

Speaking ahead of the game Buckley told stpatsfc.com “Friday is going to be a great game of football, a real top of the table clash. Derry are a top group who like to get the ball down and pass it, while we’re a top group too, so it really should make for an entertaining game.”

DERRY CITY

Derry City are having a wonderful season so far and they come into Friday night’s clash with St Patrick’s Athletic on the back of six straight wins and an unbeaten run that stretches to eight. They will also be quietly aware that their hosts will still be hurting after last season’s dramatic FAI cup final in which the Candystripes came out on top, 3-2 after extra time.

Derry’s impressive sequence of wins started in the most unlikely way with a 1-0 win away to Cork City that came courtesy of a fortuitous handball award and an 87th minute penalty that was gleefully buried by Rory Patterson. But if there was a touch of fortune about that result, the five wins since then speak of a side brimming with confidence.

Since losing to Sligo on the opening night, Derry have knocked six past UCD and beaten Cork, Shelbourne, Bray and Bohemians without reply, while Shels and Bohs were both hit for four. But it is the two most recent results that have been most impressive, a 3-1 win over a vastly improved Dundalk and a 2-1 victory last Friday night over Shamrock Rovers.

Speaking prior to the game, Derry manager Declan Devine recognised that his team meet St Pats at similarly positive points in their respective arcs.

“We are all really looking forward to this game as we know it will be a great test of our character and we will be able to judge how far we have come since the start of the season”, he said, before adding, “I have been down to watch St Pats a number of times over the last couple of weeks and I feel that Liam has put together a great squad and the additions of both Killian Brennan and Conan Byrne have added to their attacking options.”

Devine’s own options are reduced by the continuing absence of several players, notably Stuart Greacen, Kevin Deery, Sean Houston and Paddy Kavanagh, but the squad on duty will be the one that has so far produced such impressive results and the Candystripes will be confident of extending their winning streak.

Referee: Padraigh Sutton

MATCH STATS

This is the first time these teams have met since the FAI Cup final at the Aviva Stadium last November. Derry won that one 3-2 after extra time but Pats had the better of the three league meetings in 2012. Pats won 2-0 at the Brandywell in May and 3-0 at Richmond Park in September. Derry won the third game, 2-0 at Brandywell a fortnight before the Cup final.

The last time Derry failed to score at least two goals in a league game was against Cork City at Turner’s Cross six games ago. Derry won 1-0.

St Pats have scored 14 goals in league & cup this season with 12 of these being scored by players whose surname begin with either a ’B’ or an ‘F’. So far the Bs have seven to the F’s five. 

BETTING

St Pats 5/4; Draw 11/5; Derry 21/10.

PREDICTION

Home win, 2-1.

St Patrick’s Athletic

Injured: None.
Doubtful: None.
Suspended: None.

Derry City

Injured: Stuart Greacen, Kevin Deery, Sean Houston, Paddy Kavanagh.
Doubtful: None.
Suspended: None.