Drogheda United -v- Derry City

• Sam Griffin
• Thu, Jun 30 2011


Drogheda United host Derry City in this battle of fourth versus ninth on Friday night at Hunky Dorys Park. (Kick-off 7.45)

Drogheda have failed to beat their Northern counterparts on two occasions already this season. The first ended a 2-2 draw with Derry winning the reverse of this fixture in the Brandywell last month 2-0.

Drogheda’s impressive form came to a shuddering halt last week against Bohemians who outplayed the Louthmen and deservedly ran out 2-0 winners. However, despite this, Drogheda have managed to put some space between themselves and Galway at the foot of the table thanks to important wins over Dundalk, UCD and Galway.

Indeed the Drogs have now set their sights firmly on UCD who are currently four points ahead of Drogheda, occupying eight place, as manager Mick Cooke revealed midweek. He said: “We have produced some good displays recently and i will be quietly confident that we can get something at home. We still have our eyes set firmly on UCD and the only way we can catch them is by getting more points on the board.”

Derry have been very impressive all season and have not lost in the league since the end of May.  While this is slightly misleading in that they drew four games in this period, wins against UCD and Bohemians indicate Derry can be as good as anyone in the league on their day.

Much of Derry’s success has been due to striker Eamon Zayed – the league’s top goalscorer. However, several players have stepped up to the plate with Gareth McGlynn and James McLean also grabbing the headlines for some stand-out performances.

Two players that manager Stephen Kenny will have to do without are Kevin Deery and Barry Molloy who miss out with calf and ankle strains respectively. Otherwise Derry have a full squad for this one and are likely to have too much firepower up front for the Drogs.

Drogheda United:
Injuries: Jack Flynn.
Doubtful: None.
Suspended: None.

Derry City:
Injuries: Kevin Deery (calf) and Barry Molloy (ankle).
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None.

Referee: Derek Tomney.
Paddpower odds: Drogheda 15/2; Draw 3/1; Derry 2/5.
ExtraTime prediction: A 2-0 win for Derry.