Dundalk -v- Sporting Fingal

• Emmet Maloney
• Mon, Jun 07 2010


Dundalk will be desperate to get a positive result from this last game before the mid season break to keep them at the top of the league as they host Sporting Fingal on Tuesday evening. (Kick off 7.45pm.)

Liam Buckley’s boys will know though that they sit just three points behind their Louth hosts and will fancy their chances of closing the gap.

Break Not a Moment Too Soon For Lilywhites
Ian Foster will be delighted to finally see the mid season break arrive as their scintillating early season results have begun to wane as injuries and suspensions have taken their toll on his thinly stretched squad.

Straight red cards to Ciaran McGuigan, JJ Milligan and Garry Breen picked up during their heart breaking defeat by St Pats in the FAI Cup as well as injuries to Liam Burns and Michael Synott will diminish Fosters selection options. This will mean that the first choice centre back pairing will be absent, Wayne Hatswell will have to leave his left back role and Tom Miller will probably have to break up his highly effective midfield pairing with Stephen Maher to take the central defensive slot.

This will possibly mean starts for Nathan Murphy in defence and Alan Cawley or Michael McGowan in midfield. Much will depend on how their players react to their late defeat to Pats and how the lads who come in to the team perform. On the bright side Fahrudin Kudozovic and Peter Cherrie are both in a rich vein of form and the changes may well bring a more slightly more attack minded look to the team.

The Break Draws on for Fingal
Sporting Fingal are enjoying life in the Premier Division following their promotion last season, if they have one grumble it would probably be that they have drawn too many games when just an extra victory or two would have been enough to have taken them to the summit.

They have suffered just a single league defeat on their travels and that was at Bohs in the opening round of games, but Dundalk fans will happily remember that they despatched Fingal 2-0 at Oriel in the EA Sports Cup last month. Fingal have managed only two victories on the road with one of these being at lowly Bray. Averaging just a goal a game on the road the form book appears to be pointing to a tight affair. Sporting have never recorded a victory at Oriel but may feel that a disrupted home back line will give them a great chance to manage this.

“This is a game that has grown increasingly important over the last few weeks. Dundalk are deservedly up top at present but we’ve beaten them in the league already this season and go there confident of getting a result. We’ve been solid in the league campaign to date and given all teams we’ve faced on our travels a decent challenge. Keeping close to the front-runners is the priority for us at this stage of the season and this game is vital in that context”, Manager Liam Buckley said.

Drawn to an Even Result?
Sporting have experienced nothing but defeat at Oriel in their short life, however they are facing a much changed Dundalk team and will feel that they have a great chance of getting something from the game. Dundalk will gain confidence from their victory over Sporting in the EA Cup and a narrow defeat at Morton Stadium this season. Given the Dublin sides tendency to draw on the road and Dundalks recent fall away in form you would feel that a draw may be the most likely outcome.

Venue: Oriel Park, Dundalk

Paddypower.com Odds: Dundalk 5/4, Draw 11/5, Sporting Fingal 9/5

Dundalk:
Suspended: Ciaran McGuigan, JJ Melligan, Garry Breen
Injured: Liam Burns (abdominal tear), Michael Synott (knee)
Doubtful: None

Sporting Fingal:
Suspended: none
Injured: Gary O’Neill (groin)
Doubtful: Stephen Paisley (chest) and John Frost (hamstring)

Extratime.ie Prediction: 0-0.