General
- Thursday April 7th, 2016 @ 15:41
TEAM NEWS: Saints Vs Sligo Rovers (Friday, Richmond Park 7.45pm)
St Patrick's Athletic host Sligo Rovers in the SSE Airtricity League on Friday night as the Saints look to secure the three points in Richmond Park (Kick-Off 7.45pm, LIVE on RTE2).
Liam Buckley's side will be eager to face the Bit O'Red following the postponement of last week's game against Finn Harps, while Sligo will be looking to build on last week's 1-1 home draw against Cork City.
The unscheduled two week break for the Saints has meant that a number of players have recovered from knocks with Jack Bayly now back in training with the first team squad and only Conor O'Malley still in on the sidelines as he recovers from an ankle injury.
Speaking to stpatsfc.com ahead of Friday's game, Saints' manager Liam Buckley admitted that the players were keen to get back out on the field following last week's cancellation. "Not playing last week was a bit disappointing as we were all good to go for Harps, but these things happen and the players could have a weekend free and were focused for Sligo at the start of the week."
"I saw Sligo play Cork and I thought they played well. Sligo have a good group of players this season so they are going to be tough opposition for everyone this year and they're unlucky not to have more points in the table.
"We've had some time to work on a few things following the defeat to Dundalk so the lads are just keen to get back out there and get playing. We're looking to bounce back so hopefully we can put on a performance and get the three points."
Pat's defender Ian Bermingham echoed the thoughts of his manager in his pre-match interview with stpatsfc.com admitting that the Supersaints were focused on getting the points and improving on their last display against Dundalk.
Despite losing 4-0 that night to the league champions, the defender outlined that the squad remain in buoyant mood ahead of tomorrow's game against Sligo.
"That result against Dundalk didn't really reflect how the game went I felt. We got hit by a suckerpunch at the start, and then between a few mistakes from ourselves and some good finishing by them, I felt we performed much better than the scoreline suggested," Bermingham stated.
"After last week's game being called, we're all just looking forward to facing Sligo. They've made changes to their team for this year, but all the reports we've had on them have suggested they're a good team so we know they'll put it up to us.
"Following the last game against Dundalk, we know we've got to focus on ourselves as if we do the basics right and play well, we can go out and get a win. That's our aim for Friday night."
