League Preview: Drogheda United -v- Derry City
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DROGHEDA UNITED
The Boynesiders rescued a point late on against Bohemians last week courtesy of a Gary O’Neill double to maintain their undefeated start of the season.
Drogheda manager Robbie Horgan will be without the suspended pair of Gavin Brennan and Phillip Hughes while Micheal Schlingermann is still sidelined with a quad injury.
Speaking on Thursday, Horgan acknowledged that he is unsure over which Derry City side will show up on Friday but is confident that his Drogheda team has enough quality to pick up a win.
“Luckily enough Derry have been on TV for the last two weeks so I’ve had an opportunity to analyse their games, They were two different matches in the fact that Roddy set out his side to frustrate Shamrock Rovers while they were more open against Cork on Sunday. It is hard to know how they will approach the game against us but either way I’m sure Roddy will be looking for his side to pick up the win.
“It’s been a couple of years since United Park was a fortress and that’s the aim for us this season. We picked up a lot of draws here last year so it’s important to win your home games and after beating Dundalk we hope to follow it up against Derry. With that being said, you have to earn the right to play and if we start strong on Friday, I’m confident we can pick up a positive result.”
DERRY CITY
It has been a disappointing start to Roddy Collins’ tenure as Derry city manager with results leaving the Candystripes in 9th place in the league.
A promising 1-1 draw at Shamrock Rovers in the first game of the season was followed up by a 1-0 home reversal to Cork City last Sunday.
Ger Doherty is a doubt for Friday’s game with a hamstring injury while Barry McNamee may miss out again as a result of a calf strain.
Despite the disappointing start, Collins remains confident that his newly assembled side will soon gel and progress up the table.
"In the last two weeks we have seen an injury time goal cost us three points and then one lapse in concentration cost us at least one last week. The lads know what went wrong and have been working hard all week in training to make sure that this doesn't happen again.
“As with any new squad it takes a couple of weeks for everybody to bed down and understand what to expect from each other, and with that in mind we will travel to Drogheda with the full belief that we will secure our first three points of the campaign. We know that it's going to be another tough test but that's the good thing about this league, you know that every game is going to be a tough one and that teams are more than capable of beating each other."
Referee: Robert Rogers
MATCH STATS
Drogheda eliminated Derry from both the EA Sports and Setanta Cup competitions last season.
The Candystripes won the corresponding fixture last season courtesy of a double from Rory Patterson in a 3-2 win.
Derry’s victory at United Park last season was their first since they defeated Drogheda 3-0 in July 2011.
BETTING
Drogheda 11/5, Draw 11/5, Derry 6/5
PREDICTION
Drogheda to make home advantage count in a tight contest: 1-0.
Drogheda United
Injured: Michéal Schlingermann
Suspended: Gavin Brennan, Phillip Hughes
Doubtful: Paul Crowley
Derry City
Injured: None
Suspended: None
Doubtful: Barry McNamee, Ger Doherty
