Kildare County -v- Monaghan United
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Kildare County will play host to Monaghan United in this First Division clash due to take place in Station Road on Saturday evening [kick-off 7.45pm]. County have been a much improved side of late, with a win over Mervue United and a draw with Limerick giving them four points out of their last two games.
However, they still trail Mervue and Longford Town by ten points at the foot of the table and will need to continue picking up points as they battle against the potential threat of relegation to the Newstalk ‘A’ Championship in 2010. On the injury front, Cathal Brady and Colm Daly will continue to miss out but, other than the aforementioned duo, Kildare County Director Of Football Joey Somerville has a fully fit squad to choose in.
When one considers how big the Kildare County squad currently is, this will leave Somerville with quite a few selection headaches. Yet, as Somerville explains, this is something that he is more than happy to deal with.
“We’re going to have some very disappointed lads sitting in the stands tomorrow night but that is the sort of competition for places that we want. We need to have a bench full of players who can come on and influence a game and we will certainly have that for the Monaghan game,“said Somerville.
Kildare welcome back Davy Byrne following his four-match ban for a straight red-card against Longford and he will give County options in both defence and midfield, he recently played centre-half in friendlies against Leyton Orient and Dundee United.
Further up field, Somerville will have to decide what formation will best suit for this game with Christy Doran, Orrin Farrell, David O’Riordan, Trevor Bowers, Philly Hughes, Dean Barrett and David Lee all vying for places either on the wing or up front.
Monaghan United have had a decent campaign so far, and they currently lie in seventh position on a total of 22 points. Although they did lose to Sporting Fingal two weeks ago, and could only secure a scoreless home draw against Waterford last week, they did manage to win two-in-a-row before that against Mervue and Limerick, so will be full of confidence going into this game.
They will be looking towards David Freeman [formerly of Nottingham Forest] and Karl Bermingham [formerly of Manchester City] to give them the spark they need up front, while at the back Brian Gartland and Aidan Lynch are also key men.
Monaghan also have a number of former Kildare County players in their squad such as Cathal O’Connor, Barry Clancy and Stephen McCrossan. Also on their books is Alan Byrne who, along with Philip Byrne and Philip Gorman, has made over 100 appearances for the Station Road outfit.
Kildare do not have the best of records against most the teams in the League Of Ireland, but they have gotten the better of Monaghan in head-to-head clashes with 11 wins out of 25, as well as gaining eight draws. Monaghan were far superior when they met in April though, when they enjoyed a 5-1 victory in Kingspan Century Park.
Extratime.ie Prediction – With 17 points currently separating the sides, it would be easy to plump for an away victory. However, Kildare have been playing well in recent games and have the players at their disposal to keep this form going. 1-1.
However, they still trail Mervue and Longford Town by ten points at the foot of the table and will need to continue picking up points as they battle against the potential threat of relegation to the Newstalk ‘A’ Championship in 2010. On the injury front, Cathal Brady and Colm Daly will continue to miss out but, other than the aforementioned duo, Kildare County Director Of Football Joey Somerville has a fully fit squad to choose in.
When one considers how big the Kildare County squad currently is, this will leave Somerville with quite a few selection headaches. Yet, as Somerville explains, this is something that he is more than happy to deal with.
“We’re going to have some very disappointed lads sitting in the stands tomorrow night but that is the sort of competition for places that we want. We need to have a bench full of players who can come on and influence a game and we will certainly have that for the Monaghan game,“said Somerville.
Kildare welcome back Davy Byrne following his four-match ban for a straight red-card against Longford and he will give County options in both defence and midfield, he recently played centre-half in friendlies against Leyton Orient and Dundee United.
Further up field, Somerville will have to decide what formation will best suit for this game with Christy Doran, Orrin Farrell, David O’Riordan, Trevor Bowers, Philly Hughes, Dean Barrett and David Lee all vying for places either on the wing or up front.
Monaghan United have had a decent campaign so far, and they currently lie in seventh position on a total of 22 points. Although they did lose to Sporting Fingal two weeks ago, and could only secure a scoreless home draw against Waterford last week, they did manage to win two-in-a-row before that against Mervue and Limerick, so will be full of confidence going into this game.
They will be looking towards David Freeman [formerly of Nottingham Forest] and Karl Bermingham [formerly of Manchester City] to give them the spark they need up front, while at the back Brian Gartland and Aidan Lynch are also key men.
Monaghan also have a number of former Kildare County players in their squad such as Cathal O’Connor, Barry Clancy and Stephen McCrossan. Also on their books is Alan Byrne who, along with Philip Byrne and Philip Gorman, has made over 100 appearances for the Station Road outfit.
Kildare do not have the best of records against most the teams in the League Of Ireland, but they have gotten the better of Monaghan in head-to-head clashes with 11 wins out of 25, as well as gaining eight draws. Monaghan were far superior when they met in April though, when they enjoyed a 5-1 victory in Kingspan Century Park.
Extratime.ie Prediction – With 17 points currently separating the sides, it would be easy to plump for an away victory. However, Kildare have been playing well in recent games and have the players at their disposal to keep this form going. 1-1.
About Daire Walsh
Daire Walsh began reporting for Extratime in 2009, when he covered Kildare County's games in the League Of Ireland First Division. He currently reports on games involving the league's Dublin sides and also Bray Wanderers. … View Full Profile