Match Preview: Sligo Rovers vs UCD AFC
Kick-off: 7.45pm, The Showgrounds, Saturday 9 March
Saturday night sees us return to SSE Airtricity League Premier Division action with a trip to the Showgrounds to face Sligo Rovers. Last week saw Conor Davis’ second half strike secure a point. A brilliant mazy run by Liam Scales took him through the St Patrick’s Athletic defence, and he squared it to hand Conor Davis a simple finish after Davis’ movement in the box had created some space for himself.
Speaking ahead of the game, Collie O’Neill was pleased to see his side get off the mark after last week’s point at home to St Patrick’s Athletic, however he knows there will be plenty of tests ahead for his side as they look to start moving up the table.
“It was great to finally get points on the board on Friday night. Our performances have been improving with each game and it was a reward for that. However it is important now that we look to push on over the coming weeks and start looking at moving up the table.”
“We know Sligo will be up for it, in front of what will be a big home crowd. They’ll be looking for build on last week’s win against Finn Harps, and I’m sure they’ll be thinking that this game is a great chance to do just that.”
Collie O’Neill will be missing Evan Osam and Paul Doyle for Saturday night’s trip to Sligo Rovers. Evan Osam is still in the early stages of his recovery after surgery on this ruptured achillies and is likely to miss the majority of the season. Paul Doyle will miss out with an ankle injury which forced him off against St Patrick’s Athletic last week. Meanwhile, Timmy Molloy, and Neil Farrugia are both doubts for the game after picking up back and knee injuries respectively.
The busy schedule continues on Tuesday as we host University of Limerick in the Colleges and Universities League semi final at 2pm in Belfield, before we return to Premier Division action next Friday night as we host Finn Harps in the UCD Bowl at 7.45pm.
Injured: Evan Osam (achilles), Paul Doyle (ankle)
Suspended: None
Doubtful: Timmy Molloy (back), Neil Farrugia (knee)
2019 Results (UCD scorers in brackets):
15 Feb: Derry City 3 – 0 UCD AFC
22 Feb: UCD AFC 0 – 2 Bohemian FC
25 Feb: Dundalk FC 2 – 1 UCD AFC (Farrugia)
1 Mar: UCD AFC 1 – 1 St Patrick’s Athletic (Davis)
2019 Appearances:
| League | Cup | Total | ||||
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |
| Conor Kearns | 4 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 4 (0) | 0 |
| Dan Tobin | 4 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 4 (0) | 0 |
| Liam Scales | 4 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 4 (0) | 0 |
| Josh Collins | 4 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 4 (0) | 0 |
| Neil Farrugia | 4 (0) | 1 | 0 (0) | 0 | 4 (0) | 1 |
| Gary O’Neill | 4 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 4 (0) | 0 |
| Timmy Molloy | 4 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 4 (0) | 0 |
| Jason McClelland | 4 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 4 (0) | 0 |
| Conor Davis | 4 (0) | 1 | 0 (0) | 0 | 4 (0) | 1 |
| Mark Dignam | 4 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 4 (0) | 0 |
| Paul Doyle | 2 (1) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 2 (1) | 0 |
| Richie O’Farrell | 1 (2) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 1 (2) | 0 |
| Kevin Coffey | 1 (1) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 1 (1) | 0 |
| Yoyo Mahdy | 0 (4) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 (4) | 0 |
| Sean McDonald | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 |
*brackets donates substitute appearances
**cup includes EA Sports Cup, IDM FAI Cup, and Leinster Senior Cup
ENDS
For more information contact:
Conor McCarthy
Media Officer
UCD AFC
