Waterford FC will be hoping to pick up their biggest three points of the season against Wexford FC on Friday with an 8pm kick-off.
The Blues are currently five points clear at the summit of the table with three games to go in the season and victory in this game would put them within touching distance of not only the First Division title but promotion to the Premier division for the 2018 season.
In their previous league meetings to date, Waterford have won twice at the RSC, 2-0 and 2-1, while a Derek Daly strike was good enough to give his side a 1-0 win in the previous league meeting at Ferrycarrig with the Blues also recording a 5-0 win in the EA Sports Cup.
Speaking ahead of Friday’s game, Waterford FC goalkeeper Matthew Connor said, “It’s a massive game for us and this game really is the biggest game for us to put down a mark to just get the job done which hopefully we can do.
“To be fair there is a bigger prize on offer for us than ever before against Wexford but obviously they’ll be trying to stop us from winning the league. We need to be focussed on the job in the hand and the main objective is to get three points from the game.
“I think that every team in the division is putting up their game another 50-60% when they play us and this will be no different with Wexford in a derby game. Some games our backs have been to the wall because teams are doing their best to stop us to where we want to go.
“We need to be strong enough to go and get what we want. We know that it’s really there for us if we win the game on Friday and that’s what we’ll be looking to do. We go into the game with great confidence and hopefully we can get the job done not just for ourselves but the fans as well.
“They have been excellent everywhere we’ve gone this season and I’m sure that they’ll bring a massive following to Wexford. It promises to be a special night with a special atmosphere so hopefully we can leave Ferrycarrig Park with all three points.”
Also speaking ahead of this vital clash, Blues defender Conor Whittle said, “It was a good run out for us Friday in Bray and we scored five goals as well so we’re confident ahead of the trip to Wexford and we’re all looking forward to the game.
“We have been finding it hard in recent games to score goals and it was good to get the goals in Bray because it’s a great boost for the team. We’ve shown what we can do but we need to bring that to the table in Wexford.
“I think that we all know that it’s not going to be easy especially a derby game and they’ll be hoping to spoil the party. It’s dragging out for us now and we just want to get the job done but we won’t do that unless we are focussed on our performance. Winning this game would be a major boost for us.”
Team News: Shane O’Connor and Derek Daly are rated as 50/50 for the visit to Ferrycarrig Park with both players set to undergo fitness tests prior to kick-off.
