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Waterford FC midfielder Niall O’keeffe has spoken to the media ahead of the SSE Airtricty First Division play-off semi-final match against Treaty United. The match is to kick-off at 7:45pm at the RSC on Saturday 29 October 2022.

The 22-year-old sat down with us to discuss the match and the impact from the Blues supporters.

Here’s what he had to say:

On Wednesday night’s victory…

“I thought that it was a real professional performance from us on Wednesday. We went there, and we knew that we had a job to do. Thankfully we don’t have many injuries, and we would have liked a cleansheet, but at least we got the result.

“Looking back at the two penalties, I don’t think that either of them were penalties to be honest. The referee gave them, and as a players we have to deal with that.

“They obviously got their goal from the penalty, and the crowd got behind them for a period of about five minutes. I know that they were on top, but I don’t think that they had a shot in that period. It was a professional performance from us.

“We are now looking forward to the second-leg on Saturday. It’s important that we recover right over the next couple of days, but we’re looking forward to it.”

On the quick start and looking ahead to Saturday…

“Look, we all know and you know the quality that Phoenix [Patterson] has so anytime we can get him on the ball, we’re going to do it.

“I thought that Yassine did fantastic for the goal as well so credit to him too. We had a game plan in midweek and it worked. The key was to get an early goal, and build from there so yeah, happy days for us.

“As a group, it’s important to remember that this is only the first-leg, and we have to show that same level of professionalism for the second-leg on Saturday.

“As a group we’re taking it game by game, and we play in front of our own home fans for the final time this season on Saturday.

“It’s a big one for us, and I know that we’re a couple of goals ahead, but that can’t take away from how we prepare and focus on the game. We’ll be looking to try to beat them by a couple more goals again.”

On the supporters…

“I have to pay tribute to our fans. I’ve been one myself, and it was fantastic to see them all behind the goal on a Wednesday. We’re thankful of the support that we’ve gotten from them this season. It has been incredible both home and away. You can see how much it means to them.

“It would be great to have another massive crowd at the RSC on Saturday to cheer us on. We thrive on the atmosphere and they have been brilliant for us, especially at home.

“I think that they’ve seen that, and we’ve been giving them performances for the last few months now. We’re delighted for them as well!”

Supporters can buy their tickets for the match ONLINE or via the Club Shop which will be open. Full details can be found HERE!

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