St Patrick's Athletic -v- Dundalk

• Simon O'Gorman
• Sun, Jul 10 2011


Fresh from their European heroics in midweek, St Patrick’s Athletic resume their pursuit of top spot in the league on Sunday afternoon as they welcome Ian Foster’s Dundalk to Richmond Park. (Kick off 3pm)

A win against Dundalk will see Pete Mahon’s men reclaim the leadership of the Airtricity Premier Division following Shamrock Rovers’ defeat in Derry on Friday night. But Sunday’s game also offers another test of St Pats’ stamina.

This game comes sandwiched between Thursday’s win over IBV at Richmond Park and an energy sapping trip to Kazakhstan next Thursday and Mahon will no doubt be aware of the potential for domestic slip ups while the European carousel continues.

Last weekend’s defeat at Shamrock Rovers represented St Pat’s first league reverse in 15 games, a run that had seen them rise to the top of the league. In one of the most open league campaigns for years, Mahon and his players will be keenly aware of the opportunity that lies ahead of them on this front, and the importance of the three points on offer against Dundalk.

However, the St Pats boss will have to plan without midfield playmaker Stephen Bradley who will serve a one match suspension. He is also without long term injury victim Conor Kenna and Dave Mulcahy, who was withdrawn from the subs bench at the last minute prior to the game against IBV, must also be rated as doubtful.

Dundalk have no such glamourous distractions to their league programme and should be fresh as daisies followng the eight day break they have had since their last outing, a 3-1 defeat to Bohemians at Oriel Park last Friday week.

The County Louth club are also slowly retrieving their playing staff from a treatment room that once threatened to become more crowded than their training ground. Greg Bolger has been back in the engine room for some time but Stephen Maher has also returned, making substitute appearances in the club’s last three games.

Foster may yet have to work without Jason Byrne who is still rated as doubtful but with the remarkable form of young Mark Griffin, the veteran striker’s absence is no longer as great a loss as it once was. Griffin has scored seven goals in what is his first consistent run in the first team.

However Foster will definitely be without Eoghan Osborne and Stephen McDonnell who are both out with long term injuries. Colin Hawkins will also be missing as he serves a suspension and with Shane Guthrie having returned to St Patrick’s Athletic after his loan spell, Foster will find himself short of bodies in central defence.

The combination of a small squad and a long list of injuries has understandably led to erratic league form but a 6-1 defeat of Galway United, followed by a 5-1 win over Bray Wanderers in recent weeks show what this Dundalk side are capable of when circumstance allows.

The league table shows a gap of nine points between these two sides but this may be one occasion when such a statistic becomes irrelevant.

St Patrick’s Athletic
Injured: Conor Kenna.
Doubtful: Dave Mulcahy.
Suspended: Stephen Bradley.

Dundalk
Injured: Eoghan Osborne, Stephen McDonnell, .
Doubtful: Jason Byrne.
Suspended: Colin Hawkins.

Referee: Richie Winter.
Paddy Power Odds: St Pats 4/6; Draw 5/2; Dundalk 4/1.
Extratime prediction: Despite the odds, a narrow away win - 2-1 to Dundalk.