Mervue United -v- Cork City

Mervue Utd entertain second placed Cork City in their only home game this month and their first at Fahy’s Field in almost a month in the Airtricity First Division with kick off at 7.45 p.m. on Friday night.

Tommy Dunne’s side will be looking to bounce back from dropping two points at home to a struggling Wexford Youths at Turners Cross last Friday night following a 2-2 draw which produced a dramatic late finish. If Cork are to maintain their promotion push for Premier Division status next season they cannot afford to be dropping points at home, that said they have only lost one league game in this campaign and remain unbeaten away from home.

Johnny Glynn’s side will come into the game in confident mood on the back of their biggest Airtricity League win since joining the league back in 2009 following last Saturday night’s 5-0 away win over Galway city rivals, Salthill Devon. Mayo native Peter Dravins open his Airtricity League account with two first half strikes, while Pat Hoban and David O’Brien added second half efforts before Jason Molloy completed the rout with a brilliantly executed free-kick.

The last time these two sides met at Fahy’s Field it was an historic occasion as Mervue hosted their first ever League of Ireland game at their revamped home ground on a cold snowy night back in early March. That game finished honours even as the home side scored both goals on the night, Eric Browne (og) at the wrong end while Mike Tierney headed the equaliser, ironically both players have now departed the Galway club.

Glynn will have to plan without the suspended Noel Varley who saw red late on in last week’s derby game, while long term injuries continue to rule out Nicky Curran (knee), Damien O’Rourke (Achilles), Dan Cunningham (hand), Tom King (knee) and goalkeeper TJ Forde (cruciate). Striker Mike Collins will also missed the game with an ongoing ankle problem, while John Mountney should be available having trained this week after he had to retire with an injury in last week’s biggest win of the season.

“We will be looking to build on the excellent derby win of last week and will have to perform to the same levels again if we are to get anything from a tough Cork City side who will be disappointed at having dropped points at home last weekend. We can expect a backlash from that result so are guaranteed another difficult game for us against one of the top teams in this division” commented Glynn on Friday night’s challenge.

City manager Tommy Dunne has stressed the importance of Friday’s fixture, stating: “it is a tough place to go, as was proved earlier in the season when we drew one all up there. It is important for us to get back to winning ways after drawing last week. At this stage of the season, it is vital that we look to pick up three points and that we are at it from the start of the game. I can’t stress enough how important the game is, it is probably the most important game of the season to date for us.”

Dunne has a number of injury concerns ahead of the game, with Davin O’Neill struggling with an Achilles injury, Greg O’Halloran (hamstring), Shane Duggan (calf) and Derek O’Brien (knee). Stephen Mulcahy will miss the remainder of the season with a knee injury, while GAA commitments again rule out Neal Horgan. Gearóid Morrissey will return to the squad having recovered from a virus.

Mervue Utd United
Injured: Nicky Curran (knee), Damien O’ Rourke (achilles), Tom King (cruciate), Dan Cunningham (broken bone), Mike Collins (ankle), TJ Forde (knee)
Doubtful: None
Suspended: Noel Varley

Cork City
Injured: Stephen Mulcahy (knee),
Doubtful: Davin O’Neill (achilles), Greg O’Halloran (hamstring), Shane Duggan (calf) and Derek O’Brien (knee)
Suspended: None

Referee: Phil Caschera (Kildare)

Paddy Power odds: Mervue Utd 6/1 Draw 11/4 Cork City 4/9

Extratime prediction: A repeat of the March game, 1-1.