Limerick FC -v- Monaghan United FC

Limerick will be looking to bounce back to winning ways when they host Monaghan United, still searching for their first victory of the season, at Jackman Park on Saturday evening (kick-off 5pm). This will be Pat Scully's first home game in charge of the Shannonsiders, who have so far failed to reach the heights expected of them.

Poor return
Despite losing at Shelbourne last week, though, Limerick have fared better than Monaghan since the campaign kicked off last month. The Blues have picked up four points, all of which have come at home, though that will be considered a poor return as many observers tipped them to challenge for the title. Monaghan themselves were seen as dark horses for promotion but Mick Cooke’s side have only one point to their name, that coming on the opening day when they battled back from 3-0 down to draw at Longford Town. Under Scully, Limerick will be expected to begin a good run of form, and if they are to make a push for promotion, they must take flight sooner rather than later.

Knowing me, knowing you
Scully, installed as successor to Mike Kerley just last week, was heartened by his side's display at Tolka Park despite the 1-0 reverse. "It was disappointing to get beaten," he said. "It will take a bit of time for the players to get to know me and for me to get to know the players. The way I like to do things might be completely different to what the players are used to, so it will take a bit of time to get things sorted out. But, in saying that, I don't like losing and I didn't like losing on Friday night.

Room for improvement
"It was disappointing to give away a poor goal early in the game," Scully added, "but the players' response in the second half was fantastic. We pinned Shelbourne back and it was obvious late in the game how worried Shels were. I think we deserved at least a draw out of the game. We can take plenty of positives from it. We have loads that we can improve on and now we're looking forward to the Monaghan game. It is a big game for us. Without being disrespectful to Monaghan, it's a home game and it's a game we should be winning. It will take time to get the players fit and to get my ideas across, but at the same time we have to keep getting results. We need to get a result against Monaghan and it would be great to win at home."

'No excuse'
However, Monaghan manager Mick Cooke, who saw his side hit a new low with a defeat at home to Mervue United last weekend, remains optimistic ahead of the long trip south. “I was very disappointed with the result and our performance against Mervue," he said. "We were severely punished for a lapse of concentration in the first half when we gifted Mervue their first goal. Weather conditions didn’t allow for good football but it is no excuse for our showing on the night. This was a game that we should have won. Even though our performance was poor I felt we were by far the best team.

Proving a point
“We will just have to pick it up," Cooke added. "This week’s game against Limerick will be tough - our away record against them in recent years is not great. Limerick, like ourselves, have made a poor start to the season but they are after signing a very experienced manager in Pat Scully, so if anyone can get them on the right track he will. I know that our team feel that they let themselves down last week and they will be out to prove themselves. I believe that we are much better than our points total would suggest. A good result in Limerick would restore our confidence, a share of the points would be a good result for us and that is well within our capacity, and it would set us up well for next week’s home game against Sporting Fingal.”

Blues boost
Cooke will have a full squad to choose from, however, opposite number Scully may have to prepare for the game without his first-choice strike partnership of John Tierney (hamstring) and Paul Cummins (ankle). Cummins was expected to miss another 3-4 weeks but his injury is not as serious as first diagnosed and he faces a late fitness test before Saturday’s clash. On a positive note, the Shannonsiders are boosted by the return of Jason Hughes from suspension, while both Pat Purcell and Wayne Colbert are expected to be recalled to the starting XI after being unavailable in recent weeks.

extratime.ie prediction: Limerick are due a good run of form and they look like the stronger of the two sides. A 2-0 win for the home side is the most likely outcome of this game.