Waterford FC – Match Preview Home v Cabinteely – Friday, March 3rd, 2017

After a disappointing opening weekend defeat in the SSE Airtricity League First Division last Friday, Waterford FC look forward to home comforts this Friday evening with the visit of Cabinteely to the RSC.

An 88th minute Colm Coss goal downed the Blues on a night where the team had started the game well. Both sides created numerous chances throughout, but it was Coss who ensured the home side started with the three points.

It was a match that almost didn’t go ahead. As both side began their warm-up on the Athlone Town Stadium pitch, the floodlights failed. With the lights back on sometime later, players returned for their warm-up, before another floodlight failure, resulting in a half-hour delay in the scheduled kick-off time.

That defeat means the Blues will be looking to get their first points on the board this Friday. Visitors Cabinteely were also on the wrong end of a 1-0 scoreline, losing at home to UCD thanks to a first-half strike.

Last season, the Blues picked up seven points from 12 on offer against Cabinteely. With the experienced Pat Devlin now on the coaching staff, and with the signings of players like Daire Doyle, Jason Byrne and Kieran Marty Waters, the Dublin side’s expectations have risen on last season. The visiting squad also includes two former Blues: Evan and Cory Galvin.

After a good week of preparation on the training ground, the Blues are ready for Friday match. Blues defender Dave Mulcahy, a fans’ favourite from previous spells at the club, completed his second full week of training after a knock early in pre-season cut short his pre-season involvement. He says the reaction of the squad has been positive.

“The Athlone game was a big wake-up call to a lot of us,” Mulcahy said, ahead of the visit of Cabinteely this Friday. “Not many of the players had experienced the First Division before with the contrast of football compared to the Premier Division.”

“Last week was a big disappointment and the players were hurt but the reaction has been good at training. To be fair to the squad, it is completely new and it will naturally take a while to settle and gel. Training has been sharp and positive, though, with everyone involved so on that front we feel ready for the game.

“We all hope for a positive reaction from the supporters tomorrow night and hopefully in turn we can deliver the right result on the pitch. They were fantastic in Athlone and we’re hoping for more of the same from them.”

The Blues have no injury concerns ahead of the game, with a full squad to choose from.