Derry City v UCD (Premier Division)

It was a disastrous Easter period for league leaders Derry City as the Candystripes twice threw away leads to come away with just one point from a possible six in fixtures against two of the division’s strugglers in Shelbourne and Drogheda.

A 2-1 home defeat against Shelbourne was particularly surprising but the lack of a proper response away to Drogheda on Monday night is perhaps of greater concern with this now becoming a first test of Derry’s mental steel this season.

With Shamrock Rovers winning both of their bank holiday fixtures, Derry’s advantage at the top is now just one point, meaning there can be no room for error when bottom outfit UCD visit the Brandywell on Friday.

Still winless after eleven games, UCD are still only three points behind second bottom Finn Harps but anything other than avoiding a relegation play-off already looks beyond the Students who are eight points behind eighth placed Shelbourne.

With four defeats in their last five matches, including a comfortable 2-0 win for Derry just a few weeks ago in Dublin, this looks a task far too great for this youthful side who really do look out of their depth at this level.

Already there are similarities being drawn between this UCD team and the Longford Town side who went down without as much as a whimper last season so expect Derry City to work out their recent issues and give UCD a right punishment here.

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Dundalk v Shelbourne (Premier Division)

A 2-1 win away to the previously unbeaten Derry City on Good Friday appeared as the kind of result that may finally kickstart what has been a thoroughly flat start to life at Shelbourne for former Irish international star Damien Duff.

The Reds boss could only look on in sheer horror as his side followed up that sensational victory with a mistake laden display at home to Bohemians, a game the Gypsies ran out comfortable 4-1 winners in. That result sees Shelbourne still seeking a first home win but on the road they’ve been a totally different proposition with eleven points from five away matches, that’s the third best away record in the league.

However, Dundalk certainly won’t fear those statistics given the Lilywhites have the second best home record in the division with an overall home tally of P5, W3, D2. Stephen O’Donnell opted to rest a number of key attacking players such as Pat Hoban and Stephen Bradley for Easter Monday’s trip to Tallaght, a game that resulted in a 1-0 defeat to Shamrock Rovers who ironically have the best home record in the top-flight.

It was clear from O’Donnell’s team selection that the former Rovers player tried to stifle the Hoops by packing the midfield with bodies but without a recognised striker on the pitch Dundalk carried zero attacking threat. Sadly, you’d have to say the manager got it wrong on the night but with the likes of Hoban and Bradley certs to start this home game, expect Dundalk to have too much firepower for a goalshy Shels (9 goals scored in just 11 games).

St.Patrick’s Athletic v Finn Harps (Premier Division)

While he hasn’t been in the job too long, Pats boss Tim Clancy may have found himself answering serious questions only for a late come-from-behind win against UCD on Monday. Having come into the game off the back of a derby defeat against Shamrock Rovers, Pats fans would not have been in the mood for anything other than a decisive response and while they certainly didn’t get that they did get the three points to leave themselves within reach of the top two.

Finn Harps, meanwhile, were unable to build on a miraculous recovery away to Bohemians on Good Friday as the Donegal men came from behind with nine men to snatch a famous point in a 2-2 draw but defeat to local rivals Sligo would follow on Easter Monday. While it perhaps came as no great surprise given the draining nature of their game in Dublin and the fact they were down key players through injury and suspension, it would still have come as a major disappointment to the Harps fans given how poor Sligo have been in recent weeks.

Scoring goals and creating chances has been a major problem for Harps all season with Ollie Horgan’s side averaging less than a goal a game while conceding almost double that amount. St.Patrick’s Athletic haven’t been overly prolific themselves with just 13 goals in 11 matches but they currently hold the joint second best defensive record and as a result they should have enough class to grind out a home win here.

Galway United v Bray Wanderers (Division 1)

If you have listened to any of the many League of Ireland podcasts that are currently on the go, the one comment you will have heard time and time again regarding Galway is “they are second in the table but I’m not sure how.” The Tribesmen have been thoroughly unexciting to watch but John Caulfield’s side are grinding out results and may need to do similar here against an equally unexciting Bray side.

The Seagulls six match unbeaten run came to an end courtesy of a 94th minute winner for Longford Town on Monday but it was a game in which they were second best for large parts of and could have no real complaints about.

Three of Bray’s last five games have ended 0-0, they make no secret of their desire to turn games into a proper slugfest but a tally of just six goals scored in eleven matches says it all about their approach. It’s extremely negative and they probably got what they deserved against Longford and it will come as no great shock if they are on the end of another narrow defeat here.

Galway have conceded just eight goals in nine matches, as already mentioned their approach to the game is also fairly conservative so this may not be a classic to say the least.

Wexford v Waterford (Division 1)

It’s far from the greatest of derby matches but Wexford FC will be hoping to capatilise on some of the potential uncertainty at Waterford after the Blues sacked manager Ian Morris on Wednesday.

Billed as the pre-season title favourites, Waterford have lost four of their opening ten matches and with a nine point gap already opening up from themselves and the top of the table, the club’s board took the decision to relieve Morris of his duties.

Consecutive defeats against promotion rivals Galway and Cork was enough to seal Morris’s fate with Waterford failing to beat a side above them in the table this season.

Meanwhile, Wexford continue to blow hot and cold this season with Ian Ryan’s team drawing, winning and losing in their last three matches. The truth is, this Wexford side simply don’t have the quality to mix it with the bigger teams in the division and despite Waterford’s troubles they have more than enough quality in their squad to win this game.

A huge factor in the sacking of Morris was his perceived safety first approach, this despite the fact he has a squad full of highly technically gifted players. With a stand-in management team taking charge of this game on Friday, the hope is Waterford’s players will be allowed to play with more freedom than we’ve seen so far this season.

If that does prove to be the case, we could be set up for a goal fest with both teams scoring in Wexford’s last three and Waterford still managing to call themselves the division’s second highest goal scorers, despite their steady approach under the former boss.

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