DERRY BOSS EXPECTING A HARD NIGHT
LEAGUE OF IRELAND
v St Pat’s Tonight, 7.45pm
Derry City
BY PAUL LENNON
RUAIDHRI HIGGINS is not reading much into Derry City’s recent hammering of St Pats ahead of tonight’s swift return clash at The Mcbride Brandywell.
The Candystripes produced a stunning 90 minutes at Richmond Park 10 days ago to leave The Saints reeling from a 4-0 defeat.
That City performance - rated by many as the side’s best this season coincided with Shamrock Rovers’ draw in Sligo that sent Derry four points clear at the top of the Premier Division.
However, last Friday’s action in a cluttered early season schedule saw Bohemians claim a 2-2 draw at Derry with The Hoops cruising to victory over Finn Harps.
More importantly, according to Higgins, he is not surprised by St Pats’ 4-0 recovery at Drogheda United.
“We didn’t get carried away with our win at Richmond Park because we know the quality they have in their team,” insisted Higgins (above) ahead of this evening’s game that has been brought forward to aid the teams’ European campaigns in July.
“St Pats have some seriously good attacking options and we have to be ready for whatever they throw at us.
“They bounced back from that with an equally emphatic win of their own in Drogheda and that will give them great confidence coming here on Monday.
“Of course we possess a real goal threat too and it’s important for us to keep the momentum going.
“We have players who can hurt any team and we will definitely go into the game looking to be positive and trying to win it.”
Saints’ boss Tim Clancy was thrilled with his side’s response at Drogheda where 16 year old Sam Curtis became the club’s youngest ever starter.
“Our performance was far better and we were very happy with our night’s work,” outlined Clancy.
“Drogheda is not an easy place to go this season and it’s a great response from last week.
“I think after last week’s performance against Derry, it’s probably a good thing that we are facing them again so quickly.
“The whole lot of us were disappointed after last week and we know that it fell well below the standards we expect at this club.”