General
- Thursday April 16th, 2015 @ 14:04
Team News: Bohemian FC (A)
St Parick's Athletic travel to Dalymount Park on Friday evening as they face Dublin rivals Bohemian FC in the weekend's SSE Airtricity League Dublin derby (Kick-Off 7.45pm).
The Saints travel to Phibsboro off the back of last week's 0-0 draw against Cork City to face the SSE Airtricity League's second placed side who had a 2-0 win against Longford Town last weekend.
After claiming seven out of a possible nine points against the Gypsies last season in the league, Liam Buckley's Saints will be hoping for three points on Friday as they look to climb the table.
Speaking to stpatsfc.com, Saints' boss Buckley admitted that his side are expecting a tough challenge from Keith Long's side who have only lost once in their 10 competitive games in 2015.
"Following last week's draw against Cork, we're looking forward to get back out there on the field. We played well in patches against Cork so on Friday, we'll be hoping to improve our performance and put in a good 90 minutes," Buckley commented.
"Bohs are in great form so far and have started fantastically as their second place position shows. Keith has had a great start there so we know that we'll have a very tough game on Friday in Dalymount. We've a few bodies back in training and available for selection this week so the group are focused on the game and we'll be looking to claim all three points."
Buckley welcomes Greg Bolger, Jason McGuinness and Brendan Clarke back into the fold, Bolger back in training following a throat infection and McGuinness and Clarke returning from hamstring and ankle injuries respectively.
Defender Ian Bermingham also returns from suspension, though Buckley is without Lee Desmond who misses out following his sending off last week against Cork City. Togo international Cyril Guedje is also a doubt with a hamstring strain.
For Saints' full-back Bermingham, Friday's Dublin derby against Bohs' is an important game as he stressed that the Saints need the three points.
"Personally after missing last week through suspension, I'm raring to go for Friday. We're looking to go out and show what we can do as we've dropped a few points lately, so we know Friday is a big game as we need to win and it would bring us closer to some of the teams ahead of us like Bohs," Bermingham told stpatsfc.com.
With several former Saints in the Gypsies' ranks, Bermingham admitted that he and the current Pat's team know the strengths of the opposition, but that they'll need to play well on the night to take anything from the game.
"Bohs have several good players in their team and we'd know the likes of Anto Murphy, Derek Pender and Lorcan Fitzgerald from their time at the club, so we know it'll be a tough game. But if we can go out and play well, we can hopefully get the win."
