Shamrock Rovers -v- Waterford FC
Friday, May 11, 2018
Kick Off: 8pm
Referee: Neil Doyle
Waterford FC return to league action this Friday when they face Shamrock Rovers in Tallaght Stadium in the side’s second meeting this season.
The Blues narrowly lost 1-0 to Sligo Rovers in the EA SPORTS Cup quarter-final on Tuesday night, but will take confidence after a good display from a young, rotated Alan Reynolds’ side.
League form sees the Blues sit second in the Premier Division table, with a valuable three points picked up last Friday in the RSC against Dundalk; Izzy Akinade scoring twice in front of over 3,500 fans to give the Blues a 2-1 win.
The opening meeting of the sides saw the Blues come out 2-1 winners. Courtney Duffus scored either side of a Graham Burke goal to earn all three points in front of the live television cameras.
Speaking ahead of the game, Waterford FC midfielder Dean O’Halloran knows there are some big games ahead in the coming weeks for the Blues, starting this Friday.
“We know that our main goal is the league and doing well in the league. We battled hard throughout the ninety minutes and we kept going until the final whistle [against Sligo Rovers]. We need to move on from this game now and concentrate on the league.
“We have a few big games coming up and it’s important that we remain focused on these games. We have like six games in the space of a couple of weeks so we need to have all of our players available.
“Fair play to the fans as well that made the trip up to Sligo for the game, too. They have travelled all over the country to see us play and that’s brilliant. I’m sure that they’ll be right behind us in both Tallaght and Bray in the next couple of league games.”
TEAM NEWS: Waterford FC will again be without the suspended David Webster who serves the final match of his additional suspension. Kenny Browne was substituted in Sligo on Tuesday and will miss the game, while injury will also see John Kavanagh and Stanley Aborah miss out.
