O’Neill wary of Galway threat to his table-toppers
The champions will be looking to at least maintain their one-point lead at the top, even though they will be without Gary Twigg, Stephen O’Donnell and Craig Sives, all of whom are out with hamstring injuries. Chris Turner (calf) and Ronan Finn (knee) will face fitness tests before the game but Gary McCabe returns to the squad after his recent suspension.
Hoops boss Michael O’Neill said: “It’s an opportunity for us to finish the first round of games on 20 points, which would be a very good return. But we’ll be expecting a tough game from Galway.
“While they didn’t have much time or funding to put a squad together, Sean Connor is always good at getting players in, and getting them to play for him. So we are not expecting it to be easy.
“It will be another game where we will have to set the tempo, which is something we expect to have to do a lot this season. But the more we do that, the better we will get at it.”
For his part, Galway boss Connor is hoping his struggling side rises to the sense of occasion at Terryland Park.
“I’m really looking forward to the game and seeing how my players react to this challenge,” he said. “With the game being on television, it gives us a chance to show people what we’re capable of. We are on a poor run of form at the moment but that can be turned around with a big performance.”
One point off the pace, surprise contenders Bray Wanderers will look to equal their record of four consecutive Premier Division wins when they visit Dundalk’s Oriel Park (7.45).
Bray’s director of football Pat Devlin said: “We dug out a win and three points against Galway last week and we now move on. Oriel Park is going to be tough. Dundalk are in the Setanta Sports Cup final and they have some very experienced players. It will be a real test for us and we are looking forward to it.”
Sixth-placed Dundalk go into the game with the only remaining unbeaten home record in the top flight — and a healthy respect for tonight’s opponents.
“Obviously, they have had a fantastic start to the season,” says Lilywhites boss Ian Foster. “But we always fancy ourselves at home. If we play in the manner that we can then the opposing teams might find it difficult to play against us too.”
Dalymount Park (7.45) is the venue for the meeting of the two teams in joint third, Bohemians and Derry City.
For the home side, Ollie Cahill, who came back from a hamstring injury for the match against Sligo but was replaced for the last 15 minutes, is likely to be available for selection tonight but Mark Rossiter is not expected to be fit. Killian Brennan will be playing his 99th league match for Bohs if he turns out against his former club Derry, where he made 85 appearances.
The visitors are without Barry Molloy (ankle) and Ruairi Harkin (knee).
In tonight’s other Premier Division games St Patrick’s Athletic are at home to Drogheda United and UCD host Sligo Rovers, both at 7.45pm.
With First Division leaders Cork City not in action, the chasing pack will be looking to overtake them in this evening’s round of games, which sees second-placed Monaghan United visit Mervue United (7.45) and third-placed Shelbourne at home to Finn Harps (8pm).
Elsewhere, Limerick welcome Athlone Town (7.45) and Wexford Youths host Waterford United (8pm).
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
