Blues look to new trio for inspiration

Liam Mackey

Ahead of their game against Bray, Waterford have been boosted by the addition of three players to their squad, reversing the recent trend which has seen an exodus of key players from the RSC. Willie Doyle, Willie Bruton and skipper John Frost all departed in the past seven days, following hot on the heels of Alan Reynolds and Daryl Murphy.

But now the embattled Blues have strengthened their ranks with the acquisition of former Drogheda and Bohemians midfielder John Lester and, on loan from Limerick FC, striker Derek McCarthy. PJ Banville also returns to the club after taking time out to concentrate on gaelic football with Wexford.

However with Wexford’s interest in the Senior Football Championship ended by Monaghan last week, the striker returns to the RSC for the remainder of the year.

Bray Wanderers too have been adding to their squad with Paul Caffrey set to start tonight after leaving Shamrock Rovers. Pat Devlin has also brought in the 22 year-old Romanian midfielder Andrei Georgescu.

At Dalymount Park, bottom placed Shamrock Rovers face third-placed Derry City. Rovers’ Keith Doyle has a thigh strain but manager Roddy Collins is hopeful that he will be fit.

Derry’s Stephen O’Flynn is out with a thigh strain, while Damien Brennan has now joined Eddie McCallion on the long-term injury list. UCD are missing three players for the visit of St. Pat’s, with Paul Whitmarsh (cracked kneecap), Paul Byrne (stomach muscle) and Damien Dupuy (broken toe) all out. Ger Rowe returns for Pats.

Meanwhile, a team of German officials has been confirmed for the Republic of Ireland’s World Cup qualifier against France at Lansdowne Road on September 7. The match will be refereed by Herbert Fandel, assisted by Carsten Kadach and Volker Wezel.

Finally, the Irish Cerebral Palsy 7-a-side team returned home yesterday having retained their fifth place ranking at the World Championships in the USA. The Irish finished fifth, having been beaten by Iran and Ukraine, drawn with the USA and slammed Japan 17-0. But their best performance was reserved for their last game, beating highly rated Argentina 3-0 with two goals from Finbar O’Riordan and one from Alan O’Hara.

The players now turn their attentions to the European Championships, to be held in Ireland in August 2006.