Jamie Moore looks ahead to tonight's game in Tallaght
The game at The Tallaght Stadium has a 8pm kick off.
Last time out UCD beat Drogheda United 1-0 on Saturday at The UCD Bowl thanks to a late Dave McMillan penalty.
UCD and Shamrock Rovers have met twice this season, the first game in Tallaght finished in a 2-2 draw. Rovers were 2-0 up at half time but a Graham Rusk penalty and a last minute equalizer from Paul O’Conor in May helped UCD grab a point, while Rovers won 2-0 at The Bowl in Aug.
Injuries
Goalkeeper John Kelly is out for the season with a groin injury while striker Graham Rusk is still struggling after a set back from his long term shin injury.
Striker Cillian Morrison is back training after an ankle injury but the game on Friday may come too soon for him to make his return.
Centre back David O’Connor is suspended after being sent off against Drogheda last week.
Manager Martin Russell has an otherwise fully fit squad to select from.
Last 5 results:
Sep 7th Dundalk 1-2 UCD (McMillan 2)
Sep 21st Derry City 1-2 UCD (McCabe, McMillan)
Sep 28th UCD 2-2 Bohemians (Ledwith, McMillan)
Oct 1st St. Pats 5-0 UCD
Oct 13th UCD 1-0 Drogheda United (McMillan)
Some thoughts from Manager Martin Russell:
On UCD: “As always we are hoping that the lads can reach the best standards they can and finish the season as well as we can and there is no place to go better than Tallaght Stadium to try and test ourselves in regards to our development.”
On Rovers: “We know to expect a difficult game from a talented group of Rovers players and they will be hurt from last week’s defeat against Derry so we are expecting a backlash.”
While Captain Mick Leahy is also looking forward to the game in Tallaght;
"It's one of the best stadiums in the country to play at, and the atmosphere is usually one of the best. They've had some bad results lately but they've got a squad of quality players so we know it'll be a tough game. There's no external pressure on us to gain points for survival so we'll go there full of confidence given our recent performances and look to express ourselves. We got a point there earlier in the season due to a great second half performance so hopefully we'll get off to a good start tomorrow night and achieve another positive result."
