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Longford Town -v- Monaghan United
- Deniese O'Flaherty
- Fri, May 21 2010
Longford Town will hope to bounce back from last weekend’s defeat to Finn Harps when they take on Monaghan Utd at Flancare Park on Friday night (kick-off 7.45).
All eyes will be on Town manager Tony Cousins’ team selection; whether or not Stephen Conlon will retain his place in goals after a farcical display in Finn Park last week. Conlon certainly played his part in Harps win; scoring both their goals.
It’s not the first time the netminder’s display has cost the Town valuable points; he gave away a rather silly penalty against Wexford Youths a few weeks ago but surprisingly Cousins kept faith with him.
In other teams news Chris Deans should start in the heart of defence after putting in a fine performance last week when introduced for the injured Simon Kelly. Craig Mooney who missed last weekend’s game because of exams should be available while Mike Lee is in contention for a starting role. Fiachra McArdle and Kevin Cronin are doubts.
Cousins was disappointed with last weekend’s display in Finn Park and is looking for consistency from his players. “We had three or four that were not at the races against Finn Harps and we can’t afford that,” he told Extratime. “The way it is we can’t be handing out goals. If you want to be up there you have to look for consistency and enough players that can put performances together week in, week out. At the moment we haven’t enough of that.”
The Town boss has identified areas he wants to improve and is hopeful of doing that in the transfer window. “We’ll have a look and see what we can do in July. I want to try and improve where I think we need improving. I’ve got to improve the squad. I want to hold on to the players that are doing it for us on a regular basis,” said Cousins.
For Monaghan it’s a case of trying to get back to winning ways. After a seven game unbeaten run in the league they have lost to Derry City and Shelbourne in their last two outings.
United have some injuries to contend with for the trip to Flancare Park but both Cathal O’Connor and Darragh Hanaphy are available. Cooke admits that the Town will provide formidable opposition for his side. “It will be a tough game, we drew with them 2-2 at the start of the season. Both teams go into the game on the back of a defeat, in our case two defeats, so it will be an interesting game,” he told Extratime.
Venue: Flancare Park
Referee: P McLaughlin
paddypower.com odds: Longford Town 15/8 Draw 11/5 Monaghan United 6/5
Longford Town
Doubtful: Fiachra McArdle, Kevin Cronin
Injured: None
Suspended: None
Monaghan United
Doubtful: None
Injured: Alan Byrne, Brian Gartland
Suspended: None
Extratime Prediction: 2-1 to Monaghan
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