Double whammy
LORCAN BREAK ADDS INJURY TO DALYMOUNT INSULT
Lorcan Fitzgerald gives chase to Bohs' Paddy Madden last Friday.
Wednesday March 10 2010
STILL smarting from last Friday's controversial defeat by Bohemians, Sporting Fingal have suffered another blow – with the news that Lorcan Fitzgerald will miss at least the next six games.
The Swords native lasted the full 90 minutes at Dalymount Park but subsequently learned that he had played virtually the entire match with a broken cheekbone after a clash of heads with teammate Kenny Browne.
Fitzgerald faces a month or more on the sidelines, starting with his team's top-flight home debut against Sligo Rovers at Morton Stadium this Friday (7.45pm), while the back-to-back early April derbies against Shamrock Rovers and St Pat's will also come too soon.
'Lorcan will have to go and see a specialist, but he will be out for a month at least,' Buckley confirmed on Monday.
'He didn't realise the cheekbone was broken at the time. I wouldn't say he was concussed, but he had a little cut on his face. He would be a brave lad, though, and played particularly well, I thought.
'We have to make a call now. John Frost is only back a few weeks and he will play in a friendly against Shelbourne at Tolka Park tonight (Monday), but we'll have to rejig things a little bit.'
This is the first meeting of Sporting and Sligo since they clashed in last year's FAI Cup Final, when Buckley's men scored two late goals to snatch victory. Rovers will be eyeing revenge.
'The Cup final was a great memory, but it's now only a memory and we've moved on,' Buckley pointed out.
'Sligo drew with Shamrock Rovers last week and they took the lead and hit the bar when they were 1-0 up.
'They have the bulk of last year's Cup final team and we will have to be ready for a fight and play the game from there.'
The bitter taste of last Friday's 1-0 defeat by Bohemians – the goal coming from a hotly-disputed penalty which led to accusations that Bohs' Anto Murphy had dived – still hadn't abated yesterday.
'I thought the referee had a decent game before that decision, which I think he got completely wrong,' said Buckley.
'I was very annoyed and disappointed that we got such a bad call, because we had the better chances than they had. A draw would have been the least we deserved, but it's done with now.'
- Marcus CAVAROLI
