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gonna have a read of these-

Preview: Longford Town v Shelbourne

Shelbourne will be hoping at the very least to maintain their nine point lead over Derry City tonight. Shels travel to face Longford Town in the Premier Division of the eircom League and are looking for their fifth win in six league games.

Longford Town vs Shelbourne
(Flancare Park - 7:45 pm - Premier)
Referee : Anthony Buttimer

Longford looked reborn after their FAI Cup humbling against St. Pats and were desperately unlucky not to leave Turner's Cross with all three points on Friday. A late Cork City equaliser actually saw them slip to ninth in the Premier Division table.

The omens are not good for Longford going into the game. Since hammering Shels 4-1 near the end of 2004, Longford have lost four of the five games played between the two clubs. The Town have failed to score in any of those five games.

Danny O'Connor and Davy Byrne return after suspensions to strengthen the Longford squad but Dessie Baker is out after his late red card against Cork on Friday. Manager Alan Matthews is apparently still banned although the football authorities have yet to acknowledge the situation.

Full-backs Owen Heary and Dave Rogers are set to return after injury for Shels. Both missed the win in Waterford at the weekend but both should return. Top scorer Jason Byrne could also be in line for a return, although an injury problem for Glen Crowe may force the issue anyway.

League form for Longford Town : DWLLD
League form for Shelbourne : WDWWW

Previous meeting(s) : Shelbourne 2-0 Longford Town (08/09/2006)
Shelbourne 0-0 Longford Town (17/03/2006)
Longford Town 0-2 Shelbourne (15/10/2005)
Shelbourne 1-0 Longford Town (27/06/2005)
Longford Town 0-2 Shelbourne (21/04/2005)
IrishFootballOnline.com Prediction: Away win.

http://irishfootballonline.com/news_...hp?newsid=5524

Preview: Derry City v Drogheda United

Although it's well into October already, Derry City and Drogheda United meet tonight for the first time in the League this year. A string of postponements due to UEFA Cup commitments means the two sides have to play each other three times in the next month.

Derry City vs Drogheda United
(Brandywell Stadium - 7:45 pm - Premier)
Referee : Pat Whelan

The wheels have come off the Derry City bandwagon a little in recent weeks and while draws against Cork and Shelbourne kept them well in the title race, a home draw with Bohemians did huge damage. Four draws in their last four league outings has seen Derry slip nine points behind Shels. However, it is still far from over for the Candsytripes as they still have three games in hand on the Dublin club with Shels due to visit the Brandywell two weeks from tonight.

Drogheda are fading fast in the Premier Division of the eircom League. Qualification for Europe next season seems unlikely and the chance of defending the Setanta Sports Cup is almost as remote. A 3-0 defeat at the hands of St. Pats on Friday brought their run to four games without a win, leaving them still level on points with fifth placed Sligo Rovers.

Drogheda again plan without Simon Webb, Tony Grant and James Keddy. Glen Fitzpatrick is out after picking up an injury on Friday and Jason Gavin is suspended after being sent off in that game. Brian Shelley could return after injury though.

Derry also have a number of injury worries going into the game with Mark Farren, Killian Brennan and Kevin Deery all rated as doubtful. Derry should have enough cover though to minimize the impact even if all three miss out.

League form for Derry City : DDDDW
League form for Drogheda United : LDDDW

Previous meeting(s) : Derry City 4-0 Drogheda United (04/07/2006)
Drogheda United 1-1 Derry City (02/09/2005)
Derry City 1-1 Drogheda United (05/07/2005)
Derry City 3-0 Drogheda United (03/06/2005)
Drogheda United 0-2 Derry City (18/03/2005)
IrishFootballOnline.com Prediction: Home win

http://irishfootballonline.com/news_...hp?newsid=5523