League Preview: St Patrick's Athletic -v- Derry City

ST PATRICK’S ATHLETIC

St Patricks Athletic have an opportunity to go back to the top of the Premier Division league table this weekend if they can beat Derry City who they host in Richmond Park on Friday night.

The Saints currently lie in third position on 35 points but as the top two teams, Sligo Rovers and Shamrock Rovers, are both in European action the Inchicore side can join them on a three-way tie at the top of the table if they can secure all three points against Derry.

Stephen O’Donnell’s side have been one of the form sides in the league this season and even though they went down 3-2 away to Bohemians last weekend they had put together a very strong run of positive results prior to that, picking up 10 points out of a maximum 12 including an impressive 2-0 victory over pace setters Sligo Rovers.

Speaking to the Pats media team during the week, O’ Donnell said: "I felt when we played Derry the last time in Richmond, they had a real good character amongst the team, they worked hard with that sending off early on and it took us a while to break them down and they never gave up.

“Ruaidhri (Higgins) had good decent players and it looked to me like a good group of players to work with when he came in. 

“Obviously they have strengthened in the last week or so since the window has opened, so they are not resting on their laurels, and they obviously see it as an opportunity to do something between now and the end of the season with the acquisitions they have made so it's going to be a really tough game.

“Like every game is, we are not at a level where we can drop off 10/15% and still expect to win games, we have to be proper at it and treat every opposition with the utmost respect to get anything from the game which we will this week.”

DERRY CITY

Derry have only lost twice in 13 games since Ruaidhri Higgins took over as manager so they will have no fears about the task facing them in Inchicore on Friday night.



They had a good 2-0 win against Waterford in the Brandywell last weekend and while they were a little unlucky to lose 2-1 to Dundalk the previous weekend, they were unbeaten in the last three games up to the clash at Oriel Park.

18-year-old Evan McLaughlin scored on his debut in the Waterford match with the second goal coming from ex-Celtic player Joe Thompson.

Thompson is one of a number of absentees for the trip to Dublin, he has returned to Scotland for the weekend following the birth of his son, while Marc Walsh and new signing Jamie McGonigle are on the injured list.

McGonigle is a recent signing from NIFL club Coleraine and he made a very lively debut for the Candystripes against Waterford and almost scored a goal with a spectacular lob which just drifted wide of the upright.

Speaking to the media ahead of the trip to Richmond Park, Higgins said: “It's a difficult place to go at the best of time but they're also playing really well at the minute. I honestly believe they are genuine title contenders this season.

“We've been doing OK ourselves as well of course and the new faces we've brought in recently have re-energised the group. We've prepared properly for the game and we'll do what we always do and go and try to win it.”



 

MATCH STATS

These two sides have been fairly evenly matched in recent years, in the last eight fixtures, Pats have won three, Derry have won two with a draw the outcome on the other three occasions.

Their most recent meeting was in the Brandywell on May 24th, the sides serving up an entertaining draw in that match with Ronan Boyce and Joe Thompson scoring for Derry and Lee Desmond and Billy King netting for Pats.

BETTING

St Patricks Athletic 7/16; Draw 13/5; Derry City 7/2.

PREDICTION

St Patricks Athletic 2 - 1 Derry City

 

St Patricks Athletic

Injured: Shane Griffin

Doubtful: None

Suspended: Lee Desmond, Ian Bermingham.

 

Derry City:

Injured: Marc Walsh

Doubtful: Jamie McGonigle

Suspended: None

Unavailable: Joe Thompson

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