Longford Town bid to bounce back against UCD at Bishopsgate

Longford Town FC will be hoping to bounce back after defeats in their last two away games with UCD the opposition at Bishopsgate on Saturday, kick-off 7.30pm.

After the bad defeat in the Carlisle Grounds the Town were on the road again last Friday when they travelled to Tralee to play Kerry FC who are on a good run.

The game against Bray was a fixture that we all want to forget as the red card dismissal for Town keeper Kian Moore basically gave the home side three vital points.

Bray are at the top end of the table and are a very useful side with the Wanderers one of the big spending clubs in the First Division.

Last weekend the Town travelled to Kerry and were much understrength with at least four players missing that would be in the starting eleven.

Having to play without the injured Dean George, Aaron Doran, Alex O’Brien and Aaron Walsh, along with the suspended Kian Moore plus other players being not fully fit is a big problem for the manager Wayne Groves and his backroom staff.

The July transfer window for signing players is on us at the moment and perhaps we may be able to bring in some new players to strengthen the squad. The Town, as everyone knows, have one of the smallest budgets if not the smallest in the First Division and with that in mind we have to look for bargains and loan players to keep up the chase for a play-off spot.

Despite the two defeats in the last couple of weeks the Town are just outside the play-offs and we hope that a run of wins and draws will return when the squad is back to or close to full strength.

Kian Moore is a big loss as he is one of the top keepers in the league and the other four players who are out would get into most teams in the league.

Getting back to the red card that Kian Moore received in Bray many people present in the Carlisle Grounds including Bray people were of the opinion the red card was very harsh.

One wonders what will happen when the new division commences soon and more new referees come on board.

We need to get some of our missing players back on the pitch and playing for the club and pushing for a move up the table.

There is no doubt that UCD are one of the best footballing teams in the league. The college club have over the years played some very good football and they are so hard to beat.

The automatic promotion situation in the division is basically over because Cork City are runaway leaders and odds on favourites to win the First Division title.

But William O’Connor has moulded UCD into a very good footballing side who can grind out results and there is no doubt that they will be one of the favourites for the second promotion spot. The fact that UCD are a full-time side is a big advantage for the college side when they are up against part-time teams.

The students have a very good keeper in Dara Kavanagh who is undoubtedly one of the best netminders in the league.

Eanna Clancy is a very commanding defender who hails from County Leitrim and he is one of the best players in the league.

If UCD were to get promoted this young lad would have no problem adapting to Premier Division football.

Adam Wells is another exciting prospect while Michael McCullagh is a player who is capable of changing a game.

Ciaran Behan and Killian Cailloce were on the bench at the weekend but both are top class players.

The Town played UCD back in early March and the game ended 0-0 with both defences doing very well.

The teams clashed at Belfield on May 1st and the home side ran out winners on a 2-0 scoreline. Raggett and Lennox were the scorers for UCD.

Last season the teams met on four occasions in the league and the college team were too strong in most of the games.

The first meeting between the clubs was in April and UCD won 1-0 with the only goal of the game coming from Raggett who had come off the bench to secure all three points.

The next meeting ended 1-1. Raggett scored for UCD and Emmanuel James scored for the Town. It’s a pity that he is not playing for us at the moment as his late goals are sorely missed.

The teams met again at Bishopsgate at the end of June and the students won 2-0. Jake Doyle opened the scoring and Mikey McCullagh got the second goal.

The final meeting between the clubs last season was in Belfield and the home team won 2-1.

Jake Doyle again scored against the Town and Ciaran Behan scored goal no 2. Daragh Murtagh scored a consolation goal close to full-time.

There is no doubt that this UCD side will be very hard to beat but the Town are capable of causing an upset.

The game on Saturday night will be a tough test for this very young Town squad who are trying to pick up valuable points despite being short so many regulars.

After this weekend’s game against UCD it’s away to table toppers Cork City. The following weekend it is a home against Baldoyle United in the FAI Cup.

Support

We are asking our supporters to make a big effort to have a big crowd for the visit of UCD for this vital game.

SSE Airtricity League

First Division

Longford Town v UCD

At Bishopsgate

Saturday 4th July

Kick-off 7.30pm