Sligo Rovers -v- Bray Wanderers

• Jessica Farry
• Sun, Sep 11 2011


Sligo Rovers continue their pursuit of the 2011 Premier Division title when they face Bray Wanderers at The Showgrounds on Monday night. (Kick-Off 7.45pm)

Paul Cook’s side clinched a vital victory on Friday when they defeated Shamrock Rovers 2-1 at Tallaght Stadium. Sligo could have been ahead at half-time if it wasn’t for the heroics of the Hoops’ goalkeeper Ryan Thompson. Gary Twigg then opened the scoring in the second half just after Pat Sullivan had been sent off. Sligo equalised through John Dillon and John Russell grabbed the winner late on, just after Pat Flynn had been given his marching orders.

Bray come in to this game on the back of three defeats in a row. They were well beaten by St. Patrick’s Athletic on Friday evening by a score line of 3-0. Goals from Stephen Bradley, Dave Mulcahy and Anto Murphy meant that Pete Mahon’s team went home with a point for each goal scored.

Sligo have earned seven points against The Seagulls this season. They played out a 0-0 draw in their first meeting of the season at The Carlisle Grounds. But Sligo scored three goals in each of their next meetings. At The Showgrounds, a hat-trick from Eoin Doyle stole all the headlines but Bray did equalise at one point through Conor Murphy before Doyle grabbed a further two goals.

In their last meeting, Eoin Doyle was on the score sheet once again along with Matthew Blinkhorn who scored a brace to give Sligo a 3-0 victory.

The Bit o’ Red will be without Aaron Greene after he picked up an injury during the Shamrock Rovers game. Paul Cook applauded the fans and asked them to be patient Monday night: “We have been playing well enough to win matches and we got what we deserved in Tallaght. It is important for our supporters to remain patient on Monday night. You have to work very hard to get any result in this league and we need our fans to remember that. I thought our fans were magnificent last Friday, they really drove the players on and I’m sure it will be the same against Bray. This is an opportunity for Sligo Rovers that hasn’t come along too often. There are four or five teams vying for the title and there will be a lot of twists before the end.”

Pat Devlin is boosted by the return of central defenders Adam Mitchell, who is back from suspension, and Derek Prendergast, who has recovered from injury. Midfielder Danny O’Connor is still missing through suspension after his sending off against Limerick in the FAI Cup.

Pat Devlin was happy with his side’s first half performance against St. Pats: "We did well in the first half but we had no luck after the break and in the end the better team on the night won.” Speaking about the game against Sligo, Devlin said: “It will be a tough encounter, we know what to expect and we need to roll up our sleeves and get on with it".

Sligo Rovers
Injured: Aaron Greene.
Doubtful: None.
Suspended: None.

Bray Wanderers
Injured: None.
Doubtful: None.
Suspended: Danny O’Connor.

Referee: Graham Kelly.
Paddy Power Odds: Sligo Rovers 1/6; Draw 11/2; Bray Wanderers 14/1.
Extratime prediction: A 3-1 win for Sligo Rovers.