City without Gamble for clash with league leaders

CORK City will be without Joe Gamble for tomorrow’s trip to Dublin to face St Patrick’s Athletic (7pm).

Sat, 03 May, 2008 - 01:00

The influential midfielder is suspended after being red-carded in the 2-0 defeat by Drogheda at Turner’s Cross which brought the Leesiders’ unbeaten league run to an end.

Better news for manager Alan Mathews is that strikers John O’Flynn and Dave Mooney have recovered from the knocks which kept them out of the 3-0 League Cup win over Limerick 37.

Mathews knows that City could hardly have a more difficult task than a game against high-flying Pat’s at Richmond Park.

“They are currently the best team in the league and we know it will be a tough battle,” he says. “But we are ready for the task in hand and will look to continue where we left off on Tuesday against Limerick.”

Pat’s have concerns about three defenders going into the match, with David Harris, Jamie Harris and Joe Ó Cearúil all rated doubtful. Joseph N’do, still recovering from long-term injury, is unlikely to be involved.

The match will be screened live on Setanta Sports tomorrow evening, coverage beginning at 6.30.

Tonight, the focus in the Premier Division will be on the battle of the Rovers at the Showgrounds (8pm).

Sligo will be without the injured Sean Doherty and Steve Feeney while Conor O’Grady is suspended. However, Gary Curran returns, having missed the north-west derby against Finn Harps.

Shamrock Rovers will be missing Chris Mulhall, Darren Stapleton, John Martin and the suspended Danny O’Connor, while Barry Murphy, Ger O’Brien and Tadhg Purcell are all slight doubts.

Hoops boss Pat Scully was especially disappointed by last week’s loss to St Pat’s, since he felt his side deserved something from the game.

“It sums up how things have been going for us lately,” he says. “It was probably our best performance since we came up to the Premier Division last year. We really dominated and yet we lost. But it’s all about results. We’ll just have to work that bit harder and ensure we turn things around while keeping our performances up to that level.”