PREVIEW Fenn set for Blues debut

PREVIEW Fenn set for Blues debut

Former Irish under-21 international striker Neale Fenn should make his Waterford United debut at some stage this evening, when the Blues welcome Derry City to the Regional Sports Centre. Kick-off: 7.30pm.

Fenn hit the sporting headlines, collectively at least, during the summer of 1997 when he was part of the Irish under-20 side that finished in third place at the World Youth Cup in Malaysia.

But while the careers of some of that party, most notably Damien Duff, have rocketed since that tournament, Fenn’s has entered in a downward slide for the past few years after being released by Spurs.

He made four substitute appearances in the Premiership while at White Hart Lane in the season following his Far Eastern escapade, while he also gained valuable experience in the First Division with Norwich City during the 1997/98 campaign. However, his career has hit a wall in the past few seasons, and he was released by Second Division Peterborough United at the end of last season.

And while it is a lot to expect a former underage star to make an immediate impact in the Premier Division – Liam George struggled to bed in at St Patrick’s Athletic before eventually joining York City last month – Blues manager Jimmy McGeough will hope he has unearthed a gem in the 26-year-old Fenn.

Whether McGeough opts to start him this evening is another story, however. For one of the first occasions all season, the Waterford boss has a clean bill of health for a Premier Division game, and could opt to keep the strike pairing of Daryl Murphy and Vinny Sullivan intact for the visit of second-from-bottom Derry.

The pair returned to action after various complaints for last week’s Cup defeat of Bray Wanderers, and the manager might consider it folly to break up the axis, with both players fit and well.

McGeough reserves massive praise for his squad, who are in the last eight of the Cup and in a healthy third place in their first season in the top flight, but the fact remains that they have, by a distance, the worst defensive record in the division.

The manager will have been encouraged by their displays in recent weeks, however: since the 5-1 defeat to Bray last month, no-one has put more than a goal past Waterford in five matches, and they have kept two clean sheets during that spell.

And there is no denying that Derry would love to swap both points tally and goals against column with this evening’s opponents,

The Candystripes are reeling following their exit from the FAI Cup at the hands of First Division Waterford United last weekend, a result which undid some of the positive vibes following their excellent Uefa Cup performance against APOEL Nicosia in Cyprus last week.

Alan Gough will continue in goal for Derry – he will be staying with the Foylesiders after a possible move to Linfield collapsed.

Candystripes supremo Dermot Keely could hand debuts to two new signings: he snapped up Lee Molyneaux and Gordon Simms this week.

The fact that both are central defenders points to Keely’s priority for the remainder of the season. At 20 and 22 respectively, they possess the right age profile for the future, but they may form a big part of the present as Derry seek to address their defensive problems.


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