Head To Head

Name: Pat Fenlon. Age: 29. Club: Shelbourne. Position: Midfield. Previous Clubs: Chelsea, St Patrick's Athletic, Bohemians, Linfield, Shamrock Rovers. National League Debut: Shelbourne v St Patrick's Athletic (13/9/'87). Career Honours: League Championship (1990) with St Patrick's; FAI Cup ('92) with Bohemians; League Championship, League Cup and IFA Cup ('94), IFA Cup ('95) with Linfield. Strengths: A pivotal player in the Shelbourne midfield over the last few months, Fenlon can win ball on the ground or in the air, is a good distributor and is dangerous around the area particularly if he gets the opportunity to shoot with his left foot. Has a good engine, as they say. Weaknesses: Showed tendency to drift out of games earlier in the season (one manager, perhaps overstating things somewhat, remarked after visiting Tolka Park that if Fenlon hadn't been taking corners and free kicks "you wouldn't have known he was on the pitch") while his penchant for biting tackles can land him in trouble with referees and opponents.

Recent form: Had excelled in the games leading up to his suspension. Ideally suited to the game which Damien Richardson's side had finally appeared to master, working hard to win the ball back when the opposition have the ball and sending the team's runners forward into space when it was won. The manager's view: "In many ways he's the perfect example of the modern footballer. He's a playmaker, a good defender and he can score goals. He's the ideal man to have in there between the defence and the attack because he sparks things off and makes his presence felt both physically and verbally. You only have to look at how much he was missed in last week's game to see how important he is to the team," - Damien Richardson.

Name: Patsy Freyne. Age: 34. Club: Cork City. Position: Midfield. Previous Clubs: Newcastlewest, Cork City, Cobh Ramblers. National League Debut: Drogheda United v Newcastle-west (20/10/'85). Career Honours: One League Cup winner's medal with Cork (1988). Strengths: A great reader of the game who can bring order to the most disorganised of games with his ability to settle on the ball and push it around. Very comfortable moving with the ball at his feet, Freyne can tear defences apart with his through balls or hold things up masterfully until support arrives. Equally comfortable using either foot. Weaknesses: Has never been the strongest physically but has always had enough talent to compensate for that. These days, however, he is short a little bit of pace and does not always have the legs to last the 90 minutes, a particular problem at times like this when he is just coming back from a two-week lay off. Recent form: Has been considering retirement from senior football for the last while after receiving an offer to become player manager with Castleview. If his form during the second half of the season is anything to go by, though, City will be anxious to persuade him to stay on for another year. Was outstanding in the Sligo Rovers Cup game when he ran the show in midfield and, somewhat more surprisingly, scored a cracker of a goal with a powerful drive from just inside the area. The manager's view: "Sometimes you just need somebody in there for you who can put their foot on the ball and take the ball down, hit the five-yard pass and get the whole team moving forward. Patsy gives us that. He's had a few problems with injuries through the season, but since coming back into the team a few months ago, he's gone from strength to strength," - Dave Barry.