MATCH PREVIEW: Wexford FC -v- Waterford FC (02/09/2022)
SSE Airtricity First Division
Wexford FC -v- Waterford FC
Friday, 2nd September 2022
Kick-Off: 7:45 pm
Referee: Kevin O’Sullivan
Waterford FC make the short trip to Ferrycarrig Park on Friday night to take on Wexford FC in the final Southeast clash of the season.
The Blues come into the game on the back of a comprehensive 6-0 win over Malahide United last Saturday in the Extra.ie FAI Cup last 16.
Goals from Shane Griffin, Roland Idowu, Phoenix Patterson, Darragh Power and a brace from Wassim Aouachria saw the Blues book their place in the quarter-final stages of this year’s competition.
This will be the Blue’s first league outing since mid-August when ten-man Waterford held league leaders Cork City to a 0-0 draw in Turners Cross, following wins over Treaty United and Galway United.
The sides last met back in July when a lacklustre Blues performance saw them slip to a 3-1 defeat against their southeast neighbours; a first defeat for the Blues against Wexford since August 2015.
The sides last played in Ferrycarrig in April, when a pair of goals from Phoenix Patterson ensured the Blues returned to Waterford with all three points.
The Blues currently sit in third place, 16 points ahead of Wexford in sixth place.
From The Dugout: Speaking ahead of Friday’s match against Wexford FC, head coach Danny Searle said:
“We had a good result last week in the Cup but we’re fully focussed on the league again this Friday. The Cup is parked this week and we’re looking towards Wexford.
“They’ve proved a tough opponent this season and we expect nothing less from Ian and his team this Friday. They have quality players and they’ve shown that with their narrow cup defeat to Dundalk in the Cup.
“We’re in good form ourselves so we’ll focus on that. We have quality in our squad and the players are really expressing themselves on the pitch and we’ll need that again in Wexford.”
Team News: Eddie Nolan and Brian Murphy continue to miss out. Richard Taylor and Niall O’Keeffe will miss out through suspension.