Barrett "Wary Of Threats" From Mervue

Limerick Under-19 manager Tommy Barrett knows “anything can happen” in Cup football, with the boss “wary of the threats” posed by Mervue United who they entertain in the last 16 on Saturday afternoon.

The young Superblues have enjoyed a perfect record against Mervue at Under-19 level, winning all nine meetings between the clubs going back to September 2012.

That includes a 4-2 success at Fahy’s Field earlier this season, where Conor Maguire, Seán McSweeney, James Duggan and Killian Hayes were on the mark for the Shannonsiders.

However, Barrett says there will be no complacency as his players aim to secure a quarter-final spot and bounce back from last weekend’s home loss to unbeaten Southern Elite Division leaders Waterford United.

“It’s always a tough game against Mervue,” Barrett told LimerickFC.ie. “They score a lot of goals and they have got some good results in the league. It’s the Cup and anything can happen.

“We have a good record against Mervue but it’s a different year and we know we’ll have to be on our game. You can lose very easily if you’re not concentrating and not doing the right things.

“They could have taken the lead before we scored when we played them in the league in September. Tommy Holland pulled off a great save. We’re wary of the threats they have.

“We’ll make a lot of changes for the game. I think we need to do that and have a look at players. We said we would take that approach up until Christmas. We’ll review it over the break and see if we’re going to stick with that and change every week.

“We need to play lads, see what they’re like and see if they are ready to play in games. Most of our lads should be ready to play in every game I think because they have been getting runs. We’ve been using the squad so they should be used to matches at this level now. There should be no excuses.”

Limerick remain without joint-top scorer McSweeney through injury as well as Oisín Kelly. Centre-half Paudie O’Connor is also likely to miss out. Long-term injury victim Shane Walsh is again an absentee. Striker Duggan (flu) is doubtful.

The young Blues were beaten 3-1 by Waterford at the Fairgreen last Saturday, with two early goals putting the visitors in the driving seat. Substitute Shane Lowth pulled one back in the second half but Limerick quickly conceded again, killing off their hopes.

Mervue come into the game with just Salthill Devon below them in the league table, but they did lift themselves off the bottom with a thrilling 4-3 victory over their Galway rivals at Fahy’s Field last weekend.

Prior to that, they had fallen to a heavy home defeat by Shamrock Rovers, but that came after positive results against Wexford Youths (3-1 away win) and Bray Wanderers (0-0 home draw).

While they lie in tenth place, Mervue have scored the joint-third highest number of goals in the division, alongside Limerick on 19, but they have also conceded the most. Both teams gained a bye through round one of this competition.

This Enda McGuill Cup second-round fixture has been moved from the Fairgreen and now takes place at Charleville AFC’s new all-weather facility, due to the inclement weather conditions. Kick-off is 1pm. Admission is €5 (includes a draw and programme) while Under-16s Go Free.