Tuesdays's EA Sports Cup Previews
Credit: Extratime Team (ETPhotos)
Four more EA Sports Cup matches down for decider this Tuesday evening. With quarter final places on offer, we preview all four games.
Cork City v Limerick
Limerick travel to Turners cross on Tuesday evening to Face Cork City Foras Co-op in this EA Sports Cup Munster Derby. Both have started their league campaigns well and lie joint third on 19 points.
Manager Tommy Dunne is expecting to have a full squad to pick from. Cillian Lordan picked up a knock against Wexford Youths but is expected to be available. Gearóid Morrissey is also likely to make his club debut. Dunne is also set to give some of his younger squad members a run out, with one eye on next Friday night's crucial league clash with Derry City.
Pat Scully said "We have a lot of games at the moment with League Cup, Munster Senior Cup and Airtricity League games but we are coping well. I was very happy with our defense against Athlone Town and we can continue to perform well if we stick together and do our jobs as we have been doing and play to the final whistle as we did against Athlone Town".
Extratime Prediction: 2-1 to Cork City.
Waterford United v Tralee Dynamos
By Simon O'Gorman
On the face of it this EA Sports Cup second round tie between Waterford United and Tralee Dynamos should hold few surprises. Waterford United have surged into 2010 with the kind of energy that has their supporters dreaming of Premier Division football while Tralee compete in the altogether chillier climes of the Newstalk ‘A’ Championship.
Tralee received a bye to this stage of the competition and as such are untested, but they have gone through their ‘A’ Championship Cup programme unbeaten, having drawn with FC Carlow and Cobh Ramblers and beaten Limerick’s reserves 2-1.
Seamus Long, Kevin Murray and Josh Byrne are all out for the home side and if Tralee look hard enough there are other tenuous suggestions that the playing field may be more level than it first appears.
Extratime Prediction: Waterford to win 3-1.
Sligo Rovers v Letterkenny Rovers
Letterkenny Rovers will look to take an Airtricity Premier Division scalp on Tuesday evening when they travel to The Showgrounds to face Sligo Rovers.
The task for the non-league outfit may be made easier by the poor start to the season Sligo have had. Just two wins in twelve games for Paul Cook’s men have left them third from bottom of the table, although they have been beaten just three times.
Goals have also been hard to come by so far wit just twelve goals coming in twelve games. Sligo will be without Mauro Almeida for the clash. Almeida is out for several months with an Achilles injury.
Extratime Prediction: Sligo Rovers to have enough, 2-1.
Monaghan United v Bohemians
Airtricity Division 1 high fliers Monaghan United welcome Premier Division champions Bohemians.
Monaghan United have started the season in superb form. Five wins from their opening eleven games have left Mons in third place behind Derry and Waterford.
Having suffered only their second defeat in the league against Derry City, Monaghan United will have to pick themselves up again for this tie with Bohemians. Mons are again without Shane Grimes and Darragh Hanaphy.
Bohs come into the game on the back of successive wins, giving Bohs three wins from their last four outings. Bohs lie joint fourth in the table and also have a game in hand. An up and down season seems to have been put behind Pat Fenlon’s men.
Bohs also have the small matter of the Setanta Cup Final against St. Patrick’s Athletic on Saturday, and Fenlon is expected to hand changes to many of the fringe and A Championship players.
Extratime Prediction: Bohs to win after extratime.
Cork City v Limerick
Limerick travel to Turners cross on Tuesday evening to Face Cork City Foras Co-op in this EA Sports Cup Munster Derby. Both have started their league campaigns well and lie joint third on 19 points.
Manager Tommy Dunne is expecting to have a full squad to pick from. Cillian Lordan picked up a knock against Wexford Youths but is expected to be available. Gearóid Morrissey is also likely to make his club debut. Dunne is also set to give some of his younger squad members a run out, with one eye on next Friday night's crucial league clash with Derry City.
Pat Scully said "We have a lot of games at the moment with League Cup, Munster Senior Cup and Airtricity League games but we are coping well. I was very happy with our defense against Athlone Town and we can continue to perform well if we stick together and do our jobs as we have been doing and play to the final whistle as we did against Athlone Town".
Extratime Prediction: 2-1 to Cork City.
Waterford United v Tralee Dynamos
By Simon O'Gorman
On the face of it this EA Sports Cup second round tie between Waterford United and Tralee Dynamos should hold few surprises. Waterford United have surged into 2010 with the kind of energy that has their supporters dreaming of Premier Division football while Tralee compete in the altogether chillier climes of the Newstalk ‘A’ Championship.
Tralee received a bye to this stage of the competition and as such are untested, but they have gone through their ‘A’ Championship Cup programme unbeaten, having drawn with FC Carlow and Cobh Ramblers and beaten Limerick’s reserves 2-1.
Seamus Long, Kevin Murray and Josh Byrne are all out for the home side and if Tralee look hard enough there are other tenuous suggestions that the playing field may be more level than it first appears.
Extratime Prediction: Waterford to win 3-1.
Sligo Rovers v Letterkenny Rovers
Letterkenny Rovers will look to take an Airtricity Premier Division scalp on Tuesday evening when they travel to The Showgrounds to face Sligo Rovers.
The task for the non-league outfit may be made easier by the poor start to the season Sligo have had. Just two wins in twelve games for Paul Cook’s men have left them third from bottom of the table, although they have been beaten just three times.
Goals have also been hard to come by so far wit just twelve goals coming in twelve games. Sligo will be without Mauro Almeida for the clash. Almeida is out for several months with an Achilles injury.
Extratime Prediction: Sligo Rovers to have enough, 2-1.
Monaghan United v Bohemians
Airtricity Division 1 high fliers Monaghan United welcome Premier Division champions Bohemians.
Monaghan United have started the season in superb form. Five wins from their opening eleven games have left Mons in third place behind Derry and Waterford.
Having suffered only their second defeat in the league against Derry City, Monaghan United will have to pick themselves up again for this tie with Bohemians. Mons are again without Shane Grimes and Darragh Hanaphy.
Bohs come into the game on the back of successive wins, giving Bohs three wins from their last four outings. Bohs lie joint fourth in the table and also have a game in hand. An up and down season seems to have been put behind Pat Fenlon’s men.
Bohs also have the small matter of the Setanta Cup Final against St. Patrick’s Athletic on Saturday, and Fenlon is expected to hand changes to many of the fringe and A Championship players.
Extratime Prediction: Bohs to win after extratime.
