eleven-a-side.com
Candystripes hope for double whammy
With last Friday night’s Cup semi-final still vividly fresh in the memory, Derry City will hope to deal a second defeat in nine days on hapless Cork City when the sides meet at the Brandywell on Sunday (kick-off: 12noon).
Cork went into that match on the back of eight successive victories at Turners Cross, but came up against a resolute Derry, who won through a late Sean Friars goal.
Kevin Mahon’s side are riding the crest of a wave at the moment, having won seven of their last eight games, the only blemish coming when a late fightback by Bray Wanderers denied Derry held Derry to a draw at the Carlisle Grounds.
And with the twin benefits of home advantage and sky-high confidence backing them early on Sunday afternoon, Derry will expect another three points in their continued Premier Division revival.
Victory for Derry would put them into third place, just a point behind Shelbourne with a game in hand, and offer further confirmation of their status as the league’s undisputed in-form side.
Peter Hutton and Gareth McGlynn are likely to miss out for the second week running, so Mahon is expected to name the same starting XI that achieved the result in Cork, with veteran Liam Coyle hoping to continue his supremely creative form in attack.
Cork, on the other hand, have been under a very black cloud for the past month, having lost four games on the trot, and manager Liam Murphy has moved to bolster his defence by adding centre half Daniel Murray, on loan from Peterborough, to his squad.
Winger Billy Woods, unavailable after suffering an injury last week, will be a sore loss for Liam Murphy’s side.
The league’s top scorer, John O’Flynn, will play before linking up with Don Givens’s under-21 international squad ahead of Tuesday’s meeting with Switzerland in Kilkenny, but the striker’s current form must be a worry to some on Leeside: he has scored just twice in his seven games, a poor return in relation to his eleven in the previous nine games. He will hope that an international call will bring a return to top form as Cork try to resurrect their ailing season.
