Credit:
St Patricks Athletic -v- Sporting Fingal
- Brendan White
- Thu, Apr 01 2010
St Patricks Athletic will look to continue their good start to the season as they welcome newly promoted Sporting Fingal to Richmond Park for an intriguing Dublin derby. (kick off 7.35pm)
St Pats have started their league campaign in good form, with three wins and one draw from their four games to date. Wins over Galway United, Shamrock Rovers and UCD and a draw against Dundalk last weekend leave St Pats joint top of the table with Bohemians.
Last weekend saw St Pats drop their first points of the season in a highly entertaining affair away to Dundalk. Their defence has been essential to the good start, having conceded no goals so far while scoring seven, but Fingal’s fire power should be a stern test.
St Pat’s have no suspensions while Pete Mahon’s only injury concern is captain Damian Lynch who is struggling with a thigh strain.
“Sporting must be the strongest promoted sides for many a year and their team is littered with players who have won top honours. I’m very familiar with some of the players at Liam Buckley’s disposal because they played under me at UCD and I’m delighted to see them doping so well. Apart from the unlucky defeat to Bohemians on the opening day, Sporting have been in fine form and we know we’re in for a serious test”, Pete Mahon said.
Sporting Fingal have started well in their first ever Premier Division season. A narrow opening day defeat was followed by a 1-1 draw home to Sligo Rovers. Two wins in a row against Bray Wanderers and Drogheda United have propelled Fingal into fourth in the table at this early stage.
This will be the first ever League meeting between the sides, although the teams did meet in the 2008 FAI Cup with St Pat’s winning 2-0 after a replay.
Alan Kirby returns from injury after missing out last week due to a back strain so manager Liam Buckley’s only absentee is Lorcan Fitzgerald with a fractured cheekbone.
“It’s a nice boost to have virtually a squad to choose from, bar Lorcan Fitzgerald, for what is a very important game against the early pace-setters, St. Patrick’s Athletic,” said Buckley.
The victory over Drogheda United last week gave Fingal their first home win of the season and Buckley is aware of its importance.
“We’re coming into the match in a bit of form. Having won our first League match the previous week in Bray, it was important to get the first home win under our belts against Drogheda last Friday and I was delighted by the emphatic nature of the result.
“That was our third match in the space in seven days and went a long way to illustrating the importance of possessing depth to our squad.”
Venue: Richmond Park
Referee: A. Buttimer
paddypower.com odds: St Patricks Athletic 11/10 Draw 11/5 Sporting Fingal 21/10
St Patricks Athletic
Doubtful: Damian Lynch
Injured: None
Suspended: None
Sporting Fingal
Doubtful: None
Injured: Lorcan Fitzgerald
Suspended: None
Extratime.ie Prediction: 2-2 draw
About Brendan White
Brendan White is Extratime News Editor and is responsible for the news section of Extratime.ie. Brendan also covers matches in Dublin and Waterford. You can contact Brendan on twitter @whitebrendan.