Allen to miss trip to take on bottom side as Bann want their own back

They suffered defeat in the Maiden City at the start of September, when two tries in two second-half minutes led to a 23-18 victory for the hosts in the Ulser League.

Bann went into that one on the back of a 66-0 victory at Ards and they also go into this one after a good display against Blackrock last weekend.

Daniel Soper will welcome Jonny Pollock back into the squad after sickness, although there’s no guarantee he’ll displace Shandon Scott, who impressed in his place on Saturday. Soper will be without Chris Allen, who is off to New Zealand for a family wedding.

“Chris will miss the next few games and will be a big loss for us,” said the boss. “He was very good on Saturday. He’s one of our biggest guys and is good from line-outs but we’ll just have to get on with things without him.”

Bann go into the game ninth in Division 2A, five points and seven places above their opponents in bottom spot.

“They’ve been struggling a wee bit in the All Ireland League but when it’s an Ulster derby, league position doesn’t come into it,” he said. It tends to be very even regardless of form.

“It’s always a tough place to go but we go with more confidence now and hopefully we can put in another good performance.

“If we can do that and perform as we did against Blackrock, I’m sure we’ll be very close to getting a result.”