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MATCH PREVIEW: SSE Airtricity Premier Division – Waterford FC v Bray Wanderers

Friday, April 20, 2018
Kick Off: 7.45pm
Referee: Anthony Buttimer

Waterford FC will take on Bray Wanderers for the first time this season in the SSE Airtricity Premier Division when the two sides go head to head at the RSC on Friday night with a 7.45pm kick-off.

After the meeting between the two teams was called twice already this season at the Carlisle Grounds due to snow, Friday’s game is a big game for the Blues as they try to bounce back after consecutive losses away from home.

Blues manager Alan Reynolds will return to the dugout for the meeting with Graham Kelly’s men after missing last Monday’s game against St. Patrick’s Athletic, but he will still have to plan without the services of keys players and will have to reshuffle his pack once again. 

The Blues lost Sander Puri and Gavan Holohan to red cards in the game against Pat’s and they are set to serve their automatic suspension in this fixture while he’ll also be without Héry, Aborah, Browne and Feely with the latter two missing out through injury.

Speaking ahead of the game, Waterford FC Coach Fran Rockett said, “We were very disappointed and deflated after the game against St. Pat’s on Monday but we came back in on Tuesday morning and are now looking forward to the game against Bray.

“There’s no excuses for the defeat on Monday and we need to bounce back in front of our own fans on Friday night but we know that it’s going to be a difficult game for us. We know that Bray will be on a high after their win over Shamrock Rovers and they’ll come down here full of confidence.  

“That said, our home form has been excellent and we have played well in front of our own crowd so it’s great to be back playing at home after two away games.  We are looking to repay ourselves, the fans and the club will a good performance on Friday night.”

Commenting ahead of the game, Waterford FC midfielder Dean O’Halloran said, “It’s a big game for us after the last two results not going our way.  It’s a great opportunity to bounce back and it gives us no time to rest after those two defeats.  

“Bray will be on a bit of high coming here after the win against Shamrock Rovers. It was a great result for them and they have obviously got a reaction to the appointment of a new manager so it’s going to be a good game.

“I thought that we played well in the first half up in the Derry and it was probably our best performance in terms of passing.  We didn’t show that intensity in the second half and we failed to bring that to the table against St. Pat’s on Monday night.

“We need to get over these two results now.  Our home form has been excellent and we’ve got a great crowd behind us. I’m sure that they’ll be behind us again on Friday night and hopefully we’ll be able to produce a good performance and three points.”

 

TEAM NEWS: Bastien Héry, Stanley Aborah, Gavan Holohan and Sander Puri will all miss the game through suspension. The Blues will also be without Kenny Browne as he continues to recover from a rib injury while Rory Feely misses out after picking up a recurrence of an ankle injury suffered in Monday’s defeat against St. Patrick’s Athletic.  Dean O’Halloran will undergo a fitness test before the game but is expected to be available for selection.

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