National LeagueIt may not, on the face of it, look the ideal opportunity to kick-start a difficult season but as Felix Healy brings his Finn Harps side to league leaders Shelbourne this evening he insists the absence of injury or suspension problems will finally allow last year's first division champions to produce something near their best.
Harps have just two points to show for their efforts in seven games to date but the source of their difficulties seem obvious enough with two goals scored and 10 conceded, many of them against teams that lack the sort of attacking quality Shelbourne have been demonstrating.
Healy, though, insists the statistics paint a misleading picture and that his young side can cope at the higher level as long as the club's most talented players are available to play. "With respect to the rest of the lads we have three or four key players in the team and the problems we have had so far have almost all involved three of them," he says. "Kevin McHugh is one obvious one to mention but then there is Chris Breen, the young fella is a top player but he's had all sorts of problems which we're only finally getting sorted out now.
"He'll probably only be 90 or 95 per cent tomorrow but he'll be out there and the fact that more or less everybody is available to play will provide an important psychological boost when we go there."
The Harps boss insists his team's performances should have yielded much more than the two points they have taken from games with Shamrock Rovers and Longford Town but accepts Shelbourne is a difficult place to start turning things around. "Of course, it will be hard, we accept that but we're not going there with any preconceived notions," he says. "If we go there, they have a bad night and we miss a few chances then we'll be disappointed not to win it. It they batter us and we end up getting a nil-nil then we'll be happy. We'll see how it goes but we certainly don't see the outcome as being a foregone conclusion."
Shelbourne are likely to be missing one player, Glen Crowe, as they look to maintain their unbeaten start in the league.
Their closest rivals, Cork will again be without Danny Murphy following the defender's sending off against Rovers last Friday while George O'Callaghan, Kevin Doyle and Michael Devine are all doubts ahead of the visit of St Patrick's to Turner's Cross where the southerners could do with showing a bit of home form.
The Dubliners have Robbie Doyle back for the game giving John McDonnell a full panel to choose from this evening.
Derry City are without Kevin Deery for the game against Waterford while Killian Brennan and Stephen O'Flynn are doubts but Alan Reynolds travels north without either Kevin Doherty or Paul Crowley who are suffering from head and groin injuries respectively.
Rovers are without Lee Feeney, Willo McDonagh, Jason McGuinness and Paddy McCourt but Keith Doyle is available after recovering from a groin strain. Bray have Jody Lynch back from suspension and Graham O'Hanlon fit again but Stephen Gifford is expected to miss out.
UCD look to maintain their improvement in this evening's home game with Bohemians. Gary Dicker is back while Terry Palmer and James Keddy are expected to start for the visitors in place of the suspended Ken Oman and Dessie Byrne .
