Hi °C | Lo °C Derry City are out to halt a run of three defeats on the trot when they go to Galway United this evening.
That poor run of form has left them chasing shadows in the race for next season’s Europa League place.
Cork City have gained the upper hand and now lead Derry by two points in third place in the League of Ireland premier division table with just five matches each remaining.
Derry have been a little unlucky in the past few weeks.
They lost only narrowly to title-chasing Shamrock Rovers and Bohemians by a single goal and their efforts have been severely hampered by a series of injuries to key players.
Manager Stephen Kenny has far from given up on Europe.
“We’ve five games remaining starting with Galway and we have to believe we can win all of them,” he said.
“Things haven’t quite gone our way recently but at the same time we’ve been a little unfortunate at times and with a bit of luck we might have got something from those games.
“We need to get back to scoring goals and winning matches and it’s down to the players.”
Cork still have to play both Rovers and Bohs who themselves are separated by just two points at the top of the table.
Kenny is hoping to have Peter Hutton, Tommy Stewart and Mark Farren, who all missed last weekend’s defeat, back in action this evening.
But Clive Delaney, Stephen Gray, and Ger O'Brien all remain extremely doubtful.
Failure to qualify for Europe would be a major blow to Derry when they need the money most, especially after the last-minute postponement of last weekend’s Brandywell friendly with Celtic.
They hope to reschedule that game as soon as possible.
