Credit:
Derry City -v- Sligo Rovers
- Alan Smith
- Thu, Apr 09 2009
It will be a case of David meets Goliath at the Brandywell tomorrow night, as struggling Sligo Rovers travel to top of the table Derry City (kick-off 7.35pm). Second from bottom Sligo had their first win of the season last time out, against fellow strugglers Bray Wanderers at home, while a convincing win against St Patrick’s Athletic meant the Candystripes stayed on top of the league six games in.
On Top
Derry remain unbeaten - the only side in the top tier - and their only dropped points thus far have come against the champions and an impressive Galway United. After the 3-0 hammering of St Pats on Tuesday night, assistant boss Alan Reynolds said, "We are obviously delighted not only with the result against St Pats but the manner in which we played. We passed the ball really well and were clinical with our finishing in the first half. It’s that type of play that we will need to re-produce if we are to overcome Sligo Rovers.
“Sligo had a good result against Bray midweek and will be confident, but we have prepared well and are in good goalscoring form. So hopefully we can continue in that vein and secure another 3 points and give our loyal home support a good start to the Easter weekend" added Reynolds.
Four down Paul Cook has strong doubts over the fitness of ex-Derry duo Stephen Parkhouse and Brian Cash, as well as Mauro Almeida. All three were expected to be involved at home to Bray on Tuesday night but in the end they never featured and will miss out again at the Brandywell. Chris Butler, as has been the case for some time now, will also be ruled out of the tie as the Bit O’Red go in search of their first win on the road. Conor O’Grady, Owen Morrison and Shaun Holmes have played for the Candystripes and all should play a part for Rovers against their former club.
The home team will be without club captain Peter Hutton who has a groin injury, while Stephen Gray is ruled out through suspension. Sammy Morrow is expected to make a comeback though, which will mean Stephen Kenny is going to have a dilemma about who to start up front, especially since Thomas Stewart is in a rich vein of form.
Home Favourites
The league leaders are 8/15 favourites for the win, with Sligo 9/2 to get their first away win under their belt. The draw, meanwhile, is available at 5/2 with Ladbrokes. Last season, the three meetings between the sides ended in stalemate with just each side scoring a goal each in 270 minutes of football. The game is live on TV, with Damian Hancock the man in the middle.
Extratime.ie prediction: A home win but it should really be a question of how much; we go for 3-1.
About Alan Smith
Alan Smith works as a sub-editor for the Guardian newspaper in London. Originally from Cork, he freelances for several other newspapers and websites. Follow him on twitter @alansmith90.