Limerick 37 vs Dundalk

• David Byrne
• Fri, Aug 29 2008




League leaders Dundalk travel to Jackman Park on Friday (kick-off 7.45pm) as they look to maintain their five point advantage at the top of the League of Ireland First Division. John Gill’s side will relish the chance to gain revenge on Limerick, after the Shannonsiders defeated Dundalk in Oriel Park two months ago. The visitors know it will be a difficult task as Limerick’s young squad will be full of confidence after a comprehensive 3-0 victory against Athlone last Monday night in Lissywoollen.

Despite this, Mike Kerley’s side have a huge task on their hands on Friday evening as Dundalk have been in unstoppable form with six wins and two draws from their subsequent eight outings, and another victory here will further strengthen their place at the head of affairs.

Dundalk will have one eye on Waterford’s game against Kildare County as the League leaders hope that second placed Waterford will drop points at home to bottom side Kildare.

John Gill’s side will be understandably nervous about Friday’s game as they look to return to the Holy Grail known as the Premier Division after the disappointment of the last two seasons. Last season saw Dundalk travel to Jackman Park on a high as they were still in the promotion race but a 4-1 drubbing of the County Louth side sent the club’s promotion bid into tatters.

Despite Dundalk’s 2-1 victory against title rivals Waterford United last Thursday night, The Lilywhites Central defender Ben Whelehan has insisted that title chasing Dundalk are not yet anywhere near touching this year’s Eircom League of Ireland First Division trophy.

“No, not yet - far from it,” Whelehan stated to dundalkfc.com. “The table looks nice now, but, as I’ve said before in many interviews, it’s about how it looks at the end of the league campaign. There’s a long way to go, there’s a lot of games to go - we still have to go down to Waterford yet - so there’s a lot of points to be played for.

“It’s just one victory on the road to the league. It is a big boost and we needed that. If we had drawn the game, you’d be disappointed, but we got the three points and we’re happy. It gives us an incentive now - we know now that if we win another game and another team slips up that that gap gets bigger.

“It was a very good win. It’s always good to get a win when you’re playing your close rivals, but I think there’s an awful lot that can be improved on from our end of things. I don’t think we were excellent or anything. I think we just battled and defended well and dug out a result. I don’t think we were at our best at all.

“Waterford showed improvement from when we played them last, but they knew that they had to come up here and do something. In fairness, they tried to play football and they kept the ball probably, possession wise, a lot more than us, but, at the end of the day, we got two goals and we won the game really by just digging in and defending. We just need to improve I think.

“They had to sort of chase us in the second-half and they were pushing three and four men up front, so it was difficult, but we defended well. They’re a big physical side, but I thought we coped with them well. They had a few goalmouth scrambles, but I can’t really remember any clear shots on target that troubled Chris Bennion.”

Limerick 37 Team News: Mike Kerley has a full squad to choose for the first time this season. Limerick have no injury worries and Brendan Daly returns from suspension after missing out on his sides victory against Athlone Town.

Dundalk Team News: John Gill has no suspension worries, however, injuries see John Gill’s men depleted for the long trip to Jackman Park. Strikers Robbie Martin (knee), Tiarnán Mulvenna (calf) and Robbie Farrell (knee) will all again miss out, as will centre-half Aidan Lynch (calf). Elsewhere, the Lilywhites are at full-strength, with Paul Smyth, who has impressed up front recently, again likely to partner Dessie Baker in attack.