Setanta Cup 1st Rd 2nd Leg - Team News

Following last week’s exciting first round Setanta Cup ties, the second legs take place on Monday. Each League of Ireland side travels north of the border for the decisive legs of these ties.

Extratime.ie brings you the team news for each of the League of Ireland clubs vying for a place in the next round.

Cliftonville v Cork City

Cork City will be heavy favourites to advance to the next round of the Setanta Cup when travel to Belfast to meet Cliftonville with a 4-0 advantage.

The Leesiders will be thankful of that lead as they do have a number of injury concerns to deal with ahead of this clash.

Due to work commitments, Dan Murray misses out while Darren Dennehy has been officially ruled out with a calf injury as is Brian Lenihan.

The flu has ensured both John Dunleavy and Stephen Kenny will miss out and midfielder Colin Healy is a doubt with a hamstring strain although they do not have any suspensions.

Despite the lead that his side hold, manager Tommy Dunne believes there is still work to be done and told CorkCityfc.ie: “It is going to be a very tough test because Cliftonville are a good side and with them being at home, I know they will be strong.

“This tie is far from over, it is only half time and we still have work to do to reach the next round.

“We have given ourselves an opportunity with our performance at Turner’s Cross,” he continued. “But we will be going into the game knowing we need to be at it from the start.”

Coleraine v Shamrock Rovers

Shamrock Rovers meet Coleraine on Monday night knowing that they will have to be at their best if they are to advance to the next round.

The Hoops will be chasing the game, having lost 1-0 in the first leg at Tallaght Stadium although thankfully for them, they have no injury worries to contend with and manager Trevor Croly has a fully fit squad to choose from.

He also feels confident though that his side will be available to overturn the deficit and advance: “We are expecting a tough game tomorrow and it will be a real test for us.

“We were disappointed with the result in Tallaght last week but we feel we can turn it around and get a win. It is an important competition for us and one we really want to progress in so we will be giving our all to do that.”

Portadown v Drogheda United

Drogheda United go to Shamrock Park to take on Portadown in the driver’s seat following their thrilling 3-2 win in Louth last week.

They still have injury worries ahead of this one though as defender Alan McNally remains sidelined for the next 6-8 weeks after undergoing surgery and Brian Gannon is also still recovering from a knee operation.

Stephen Quigley will miss out with the flu while new signing Dean Gaynor could feature for Mick Cooke although the Drogs are still awaiting international clearance for fellow new recruit Michael Daly.

Manager Cooke is hoping the fact that Portadown played over the weekend may be a deciding factor in this second leg.

He said: “It is obviously going to be a tough game on Monday night but Portadown played on Saturday so we will hope that we are a bit fresher than them going into this game.”

On his team selection, Cooke is still unsure himself who will take to the field just yet: “I am going to wait to have a look at the pitch before I pick the team and I am not sure yet who will start for us.

“I thought that the way we played last week, we should have scored four or five but we will not be short of confidence and I’ll be telling the lads that they need to start the way we did at home and hopefully we will be in the next round of the cup.”

Glentoran v St Patrick’s Athletic

St Patrick’s Athletic go to the Oval on Monday night to meet Glentoran with the tie still poised on a knife edge following the 0-0 draw in Inchicore.

There are still a few selection headaches they will have to contend with as Jake Kelly is out of action with a thigh strain while John Russell remains suspended due to his sending off in the same competition last year against Cliftonville.

Kenny Browne could also miss out with an ankle injury although Greg Bolger has overcome a thigh problem and is fit again for the Saints.

The Dublin side lost 1-0 on their last meeting at the Oval due to a Daryl Fordyce goal during a game in which Irish international Keith Fahey saw red for Pats and manager Liam Buckley will be hoping for a better result this time around.

He was pleased though with what he saw from his side at Richmond Park and told stpatsfc.com: “We are still in the tie and I was happy with the efforts that the lads put in.

“We will have to juggle a few things around this time as we have 20 in our squad and with the greatest respect to them all, I think they each expect to be in the starting XI so we will use everyone from that end.”

The former Sporting Fingal boss is also hoping for a big performance this time around and is eyeing cup glory.

“They are a decent team and they will be fit as they are two-thirds of the way through their season and very competitive,” he continued. “That being said though, we want to win the tie and this competition if we can.

“It is a very important trophy and being All-Ireland champions would be very nice for St Pats.”