General
- Thursday April 14th, 2016 @ 17:30
TEAM NEWS: Saints Vs Wexford Youths (Friday, Richmond Park 7.45pm)
St Patrick's Athletic host Wexford Youths on Friday night in Richmond Park as the Saints look for a second win in a week in the SSE Airtricity League (kick-off 7.45pm).
Liam Buckley's side will be looking to build on their 2-1 away win against Finn Harps last Monday, the Saints third away win of the season to date.
The meeting between St Pat's and Wexford is the first since the sides met in a pre-season friendly in 2015, the Saints claiming a victory in Ferrycarrig thanks to a penalty from former Saint Killian Brennan.
Friday's game will be the first meeting in Inchicore between the sides, with the only competitive game having taken place in 2008 in the FAI Cup as the Saints ran out 3-1 winners in Wexford thanks to goals from Mark Quigley and John Murphy (2).
Ahead of Friday's match, Saints' boss Liam Buckley confirmed to stpatsfc.com that Conor O'Malley remains out injured with an ankle problem, while skipper Ger O'Brien faces a late fitness test as he recovers from an ankle injury which forced him off injured in the Saints' 1-1 draw at home to Sligo Rovers.
"We're expecting a tough game on Friday," Buckley admitted. "Wexford got a tremendous result in Cork last week so we know they'll be coming to Richmond Park with some confidence and they've acquitted themselves well so far this season. They really impressed when winning the First Division last season so we know we'll be really tested on Friday.
"However I thought the lads really fought hard on Monday to get the win against Harps, and that was really pleasing to see. We've tried to recover as best we can since Monday, and prepare as best as we can for Wexford in order to hopefully get another three points."
After winning the SSE Airtricity League Player of the Month award for March, Christy Fagan is hoping his good start to the season can continue. The Saints' striker scored in each of the Saints' fixtures in the month of March and has five goals to date in the league. The former Manchester United youth is hoping he can continue his good form for the whole of the season ahead.
"I'm very happy with my own start to the season personally, getting a couple of goals and also picking up an award on top of that is a good thing about my performances on a personal level."
Reflecting back on the challenge ahead on Friday, Fagan was quick to highlight the potential that Wexford Youths have shown in their opening league fixtures, with the striker saying that he and his teammates were preparing themselves for a difficult test.
"Like most games, once we get it right, we fancy ourselves to have a chance of winning. We wouldn't look too much into Wexford's results. By all accounts they've been doing well and been unlucky in a few games. We know they'll come to Richmond Park and try to take the three points so we'll be prepared for another tough game."
SSE Airtricity SWAI Player of the Month Award for March 2016 from Sportsfile on Vimeo.
