Bohemians -v- Sligo Rovers

• Abi Armstrong
• Fri, Jun 19 2009


Bohemians welcome Sligo Rovers to Dalymount Park on Friday night hoping to bounce back from a heavy defeat to St. Pat’s last weekend.

Cup Wins
Both teams come into this game fresh from Cup victories. Bohemians brushed aside Mayfield last weekend, putting eight goals past the Cork side. Sligo needed a replay to see past fellow Premier Division side Cork City, with Rafael Cretaro proving to be the hero with two goals on the night.

Full Strength
Bohemians manager Pat Fenlon will be buoyed by the fact he has almost a full squad to pick from. Graham Carey, the on loan Celtic midfielder, will miss the game due to a one match suspension. Jason McGuinness ends his five match ban, returning in time to be considered against the team he picked up the suspension against.

The manager expects Sligo to be lifted by their replay victory over Cork City on Tuesday night. "They are a good team, with good players. We have never had an easy match against them in my time with Bohs," he said.

Bohs boast the best home record in the league this season. Six wins along with one draw have yielded 19 points from their eight home matches. Their only home defeat came at the hands of Cork City.

Sligo Injuries
Paul Cook will be without Stephen Parkhouse and he is joined by Gavin Peers who was injured in training on Monday (thigh). Shaun Holmes (ankle) is also out with an injury whilst both Jason Noctor and Richard Ryan are suspended.

Form
Sligo Rovers are 15 points behind Bohs. They have picked up just nine points from a possible 24 away from home this season, with the only wins coming against Dundalk (2-0) and Derry City (2-1). The first encounter between these sides ended in a 0-0 stalemate in the Showgrounds.

Extratime.ie Prediction: This is the third game in a week for Sligo Rovers, with a trip to Cork and Dublin on either side of the home match. Their squad is pretty thin as well, with Cook often naming less than the allowed number of subs. Bohs will have too much depth in their squad. Home win; 3-1.