Bray without captain for FAI Cup semi-final
Sporting Fingal and Bray Wanderers meet at Morton Stadium to see who will face Sligo Rovers in this season’s FAI Ford Cup final, kick-off 4.05pm.
Bray must plan without captain Derek Pender as he serves a one-match ban having received four yellow cards.
Manager Eddie Gormley will be unable to finalise his starting eleven until the last minute as he will be giving late fitness tests to three of his players.
Central defender Derek Foran (groin), Gary McCabe (ankle) and Gary Cronin (calf) all missed Bray’s defeat on Tuesday night and Gormley is prepared to wait until the last minute to give each of them a chance to prove their fitness.
Manager Eddie Gormley said: “We are all looking forward to Sunday. It is a massive game for all the players.
“They will all work exceedingly hard for the club to try and get to the final. We will leave no stone unturned to give ourselves the best opportunity of getting to the final.”
Liam Buckley’s side go into Sunday’s tie against the Premier Division side in good form, having won back-to-back fixtures in the league campaign to keep their promotion bid on track.
By knocking Shamrock Rovers out of the cup in the quarter-final, Fingal have shown they’re capable of turning over teams from the top-flight. However, Buckley is conscious of Bray’s strengths.
He said: “Facing another Premier Division side will be a challenge. I don’t think Bray’s league position down the bottom reflects their real performance in the campaign.
“Any side that has beaten Bohemians and Shamrock Rovers away from home has to taken seriously.
“Their manager Eddie Gormley is a person I’ve known and respected for many years. We were team-mates in the St Patrick’s Athletic league-winning side of 1996 and, when I took over the management duties, Eddie was my captain when we won the title again a few years later.”
He added: “For us, this is an opportunity we must make the most of. To be 90 minutes away from a Cup final is a fantastic feat for the club, considering our short history, and would really give us a great platform upon which to build the club further locally and nationally.”
In team news, injured duo Philip Byrne (calf) and Lorcan Fitzgerald (ankle) are out, while goalkeeper Darren Quigley and Gary O’Neill, who scored the first goal in Tuesday’s 2-1 victory over Limerick, are both suspended.
Midfielder Robert Bayly has served his suspension and returns to the squad.
