League Preview: Shamrock Rovers B -v- Wexford Youths

• Macdara Ferris
• Thu, Sep 25 2014




SHAMROCK ROVERS B

Shamrock Rovers have two games in Dublin this Friday. While Pat Fenlon’s Premier Division team take on St. Pat’s in Inchicore, back in Tallaght Colin Hawkins’ First Division Rovers team welcome Wexford Youths to town (kick-off 8pm).

 

The Hoops B team have taken at least a point of every team in the league in 2014 with the exception of Wexford Youths. The Warriors are looking to make it a clean sweep of four wins out of four in the First Division against Rovers this season.

 

Rovers showed great battling qualities last week having gone 3-0 down to come back and only lose by one goal in five against Shelbourne in Tolka Park. Substitute Mark Sandford got the two late goals for the Hoops after Rovers were reduced to 10 men on 77 minutes.

 

Sandford has been a prolific scorer with Rovers’ under 19 team in season’s past but these were his first goals in the second tier of the League of Ireland. He has mostly been used as a substitute by Hawkins, with 12 of his 16 appearances coming off the bench.

 

No other player has double digit substitute appearances with Rovers’ First Division team this season.

 

Having won three games in a row in August, Hawkins hopes his Hoops B team won’t make it three loses in a row this month, with the game against Youths their penultimate home game of the season.

 

Rovers will have to do without the services of Swiss defender Maxime Vuille who is suspended following his red card against Shels.

 

WEXFORD YOUTHS

The Warriors travel to Tallaght buoyed by their 4-0 home win in last week’s south-east derby against Waterford United. They are looking to make it four wins out of four in their league games against Rovers this season.

 

Shane Keegan’s men are unbeaten in seven league matches and still have ambitions of over hauling Galway FC to finish third in the First Division.

 

That third spot in the table, currently occupied by Galway five points ahead of Youths, gets a play-off and the final game of the regular season will see Youths play Galway in Eamonn Deacy Park.

 

Galway don’t play till Saturday night, so a win in Tallaght by the Warriors would put some pressure on the Tribesmen ahead of their game in Cobh over the weekend.

 

Wexford have an even record on their league travels this season with four wins, four draws and four league, having both scored and conceeded 17 goals. Their last away league win was back in mid-July.

 

They won 2-0 on their only other visit to Tallaght Stadium earlier this season and would gladly take that scoreline again on Friday.

 

Referee: Rhona Daly.

 

 

MATCH STATS
 

This will be Rhona Daly’s 15^th game as referee in the First Division but the first one she will have officiated in Tallaght Stadium. She was assistant referee in August’s Premier Division game between Shamrock Rovers and Derry City.

 

24-year-old Danny Furlong is Wexford’s top goalscorer with 16 goals. He got a hat-trick in the first encounter between the teams, in a game Youths won 3-2.

 

The sides have played each other three times this season. Daniel Purdy and Chris Lyons scored in Ferrycarraig Park for the Hoops in the early season 3-2 loss to Wexford. In Tallaght back in May, Youths won 2-0 thanks to a brace of goals by Ben Ryan while it was another 2-0 win for Shane Keegan’s men when the teams last met in July. Aidan Keenan and Shane Dunne scored the goals that night.

 

BETTING
Shamrock Rovers B 4/1; Draw 5/2; Wexford Youths 8/13.

 

PREDICTION
1-1.

 

Shamrock Rovers B

Injured: Unavailable.

Suspended: Maxime Vuille.

 

Wexford Youths

Injured: Unavailable.

Suspended: None.