Bray Wanderers -v- Dundalk
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Dundalk make the trip down the east coast on Tuesday evening as they face Bray Wanderers in their rearranged Airtricity Premier Division clash in the Carlisle Grounds (kick-off 7.45pm).
Bray Wanderers have not made an ideal start to the third phase of games, having lost two from two, however both defeats where by a single goal to Bohemians and St. Patrick's Athletic and speaking to Braywanderers.ie about the Saints clash, Bray's Director of Football Pat Devlin said he couldn't fault his players for their effort and they were unlucky not to earn a draw. Ahead of the Dundalk game, he said, "We are looking forward to getting back out on the pitch and are looking to getting back on track".
Bray have the upper hand in recent times in this fixture, last season three of their six victories in the league were against Dundalk. Devlin welcomes back Gary Dempsey for the game. He missed last Friday night's defeat due to a family appointment. Defender Adam Mitchell was red carded in that game and will miss out. Bray will also be missing Stephen Brennan(calf), Jake Kelly(hamstring), Darren Quigley(elbow) and Gary Shaw(foot).
Dundalk come into this game on the back of a six goals to one trashing of Galway United, having drawn with Shamrock Rovers prior to that so confidence in the Lilywhite camp will be high. Talking to dunddalkfc.com, striker Mark Quigley was pleased at how his side are playing, even though the performances have not been matched with points.
“Performance wise, it has been good,” he said. “Obviously, results haven’t been good. Well, obviously going away to the champions and getting a draw is a good result but having been 2-0 up and played so well, it was a little bit hard to take. The other night, I thought it was one of the best games we’ve probably played this season, winning 6-1, and playing well. I think for 70 minutes against St. Pat’s we were much the better side. I think a couple of long balls and a couple of set-pieces killed us a little bit. I’m a bit disappointed with the results but obviously the performances were good. We’ve got four points out of three games where we probably should have got nine. It’s probably our best run (of performances); we’ve seemed to have copped on to what way we’re playing"
Manager Ian Foster will again be without young duo, left-back Eoghan Osborne (fractured tibia) and central midfielder Stephen McDonnell (knee), while there are doubts over experienced pair, centre-half Colin Hawkins and striker Jason Byrne (both hamstring). Central midfielder Stephen Maher is again expected to take his place on the bench, while his counterpart Dean Bennett (ankle) should be fit to start. McDonnell, incidentally, will see a specialist again next Monday which should determine whether or not the 19-year-old will require surgery.
Bray Wanderers
Injured: Stephen Brennan(calf), Jake Kelly(hamstring), Darren Quigley(elbow) and Gary Shaw(foot)
Doubtful: None.
Suspended: Adam Mitchell
Dundalk
Injured:Eoghan Osborne (fractured tibia), Stephen McDonnell (knee).
Doubtful: Jason Byrne (hamstring), Colin Hawkins (hamstring), Dean Bennett (ankle).
Suspended: None.
Referee: Anthony Buttimer
Paddy Power Odds: Bray Wanderers 6/4, Draw 11/5, Dundalk 13/8
Extratime prediction: Draw 2-2
Bray Wanderers have not made an ideal start to the third phase of games, having lost two from two, however both defeats where by a single goal to Bohemians and St. Patrick's Athletic and speaking to Braywanderers.ie about the Saints clash, Bray's Director of Football Pat Devlin said he couldn't fault his players for their effort and they were unlucky not to earn a draw. Ahead of the Dundalk game, he said, "We are looking forward to getting back out on the pitch and are looking to getting back on track".
Bray have the upper hand in recent times in this fixture, last season three of their six victories in the league were against Dundalk. Devlin welcomes back Gary Dempsey for the game. He missed last Friday night's defeat due to a family appointment. Defender Adam Mitchell was red carded in that game and will miss out. Bray will also be missing Stephen Brennan(calf), Jake Kelly(hamstring), Darren Quigley(elbow) and Gary Shaw(foot).
Dundalk come into this game on the back of a six goals to one trashing of Galway United, having drawn with Shamrock Rovers prior to that so confidence in the Lilywhite camp will be high. Talking to dunddalkfc.com, striker Mark Quigley was pleased at how his side are playing, even though the performances have not been matched with points.
“Performance wise, it has been good,” he said. “Obviously, results haven’t been good. Well, obviously going away to the champions and getting a draw is a good result but having been 2-0 up and played so well, it was a little bit hard to take. The other night, I thought it was one of the best games we’ve probably played this season, winning 6-1, and playing well. I think for 70 minutes against St. Pat’s we were much the better side. I think a couple of long balls and a couple of set-pieces killed us a little bit. I’m a bit disappointed with the results but obviously the performances were good. We’ve got four points out of three games where we probably should have got nine. It’s probably our best run (of performances); we’ve seemed to have copped on to what way we’re playing"
Manager Ian Foster will again be without young duo, left-back Eoghan Osborne (fractured tibia) and central midfielder Stephen McDonnell (knee), while there are doubts over experienced pair, centre-half Colin Hawkins and striker Jason Byrne (both hamstring). Central midfielder Stephen Maher is again expected to take his place on the bench, while his counterpart Dean Bennett (ankle) should be fit to start. McDonnell, incidentally, will see a specialist again next Monday which should determine whether or not the 19-year-old will require surgery.
Bray Wanderers
Injured: Stephen Brennan(calf), Jake Kelly(hamstring), Darren Quigley(elbow) and Gary Shaw(foot)
Doubtful: None.
Suspended: Adam Mitchell
Dundalk
Injured:Eoghan Osborne (fractured tibia), Stephen McDonnell (knee).
Doubtful: Jason Byrne (hamstring), Colin Hawkins (hamstring), Dean Bennett (ankle).
Suspended: None.
Referee: Anthony Buttimer
Paddy Power Odds: Bray Wanderers 6/4, Draw 11/5, Dundalk 13/8
Extratime prediction: Draw 2-2
