General
- Thursday March 30th, 2017 @ 18:05
Preview: Bohemians Vs St Pat's
St Patrick's Athletic face their second Dublin derby in six days when they make the short trip to Dalymount Park on Friday night to face Bohemian FC (kick-off 7.45pm).
Both sides enter the game in good spirits following last week's results as the Gypsies recorded a 1-0 away win over Drogheda United, while the Saints were 2-1 winners at home to rivals Shamrock Rovers.
Ahead of Friday's game, Saints' boss Liam Buckley revealed that he will assess the fitness of both Darren Dennehy and Barry Murphy before the game after both missed last week's game.
Reflecting on the win over the Hoops last weekend, Buckley told stpatsfc.com that he hopes Pat's can carry their good form from last weekend into the game against Bohemians.
"We were all delighted to get the win last week against Shamrock Rovers. We've been working hard over the last few weeks and I felt we deserved the win for the effort we put in. The lads have trained well this week and are looking forward to another Dublin derby as we now try to put a few results together."
Buckley admits however that the Saints are expecting another tough challenge from Keith Long's side after the Gypsies recorded their third win of the season last week.
"I've seen Bohs play a few times this season and they've been impressive. They work very hard off the ball and will make things difficult for the opposition, while they have good quality on the ball as well.
We'll need to start a bit better from the off as last week we were slow out of the blocks so there's of work to be done there. However if we can get that right and finish as strong as we did in the second half against Shamrock Rovers, hopefully we can get another result."
For winger Conan Byrne, the win over the Hoops last week was most welcome, and with the chance available to the Saints to record to Dublin derby wins in a row, it is one he admits the group are aiming to grasp.
"Last week was a great result for us as players, but also for the fans," Byrne admitted to stpatsfc.com.
"When we do things right on the pitch, we give the supporters a greater opportunity to be vocal and get involved in the game so we've got to keep it up in terms of putting in good performances on the pitch. They've been behind us the last few weeks when we suffered a few defeats so it was great to get a result for them."
"We know we've still a bit to go in terms of hitting our top form, but there's no reason why we can't go and pick up another result on Friday.
Bohs will be difficult opponents, but we'll travel to Dalymount in good spirits and know that if we perform well again, we can get a result."
