SOCCER:CONOR POWELL could make his debut for the league's new leaders tonight in Galway where Sligo Rovers will be aiming to extend United's losing streak to 17 games.
The home side’s form, insists Rovers manager Paul Cook, “doesn’t mean we just turn up to win”, but with the financial problems at Terryland Park continuing to take its toll, Seán Connor is unlikely to see this encounter as his side’s best hope of breaking out of their downward spiral.
Cook has a full squad to choose from while Shamrock Rovers manager Michael O’Neill is without Chris Turner who starts his three-match ban and injured striker Karl Sheppard for the trip to Drogheda. The northerner acknowledges with the second leg of the club’s European tie to come on Tuesday he may have to make other changes to the team that performed impressively against Flora Tallinn this week and so the likes of Gary O’Neill, Dan Murray and Gary McCabe will be hoping to come back into the starting line-up.
Drogheda have new signings Jordan White and Lee Lynch available while Dave Rogers is likely to start again and Tiernan Mulvenna returns, but Jack Flynn and Colm O’Brien are both out injured.
Derry can move above St Patrick’s Athletic if they can take even a point in Bray but Wanderers boss Pat Devlin is hoping his side can improve on the one point from two games they’ve taken from two previous games against Stephen Kenny’s side this season. Garry Dempsey is suspended for the hosts while Gareth McGlynn and Eddie McCallion are back in contention for the visitors.
Dundalk’s Carl McHugh should add to Ian Foster’s defensive options for the visit of UCD who will be aiming to build on a decent second-half performance last week against Bray although they will be without top scorer Graham Rusk and Darren Meenan, both of whom are suspended.
