SSE Airtricity First Division
Waterford FC -v- Athlone Town
Friday, 21st April 2023
Kick-Off: 7.45pm
Referee: Alan Patchell
Waterford FC look to make it three successive home wins on Friday night as the Blues welcome Athlone Town to the RSC.
Another big crowd is expected at the RSC. Beat the queues and buy your tickets online now.
The Blues secured three points on Friday night through a Ronan Coughlan header after 70 minutes, as the Blues maintained their 100% win rate under new Head Coach Keith Long.
That win was the Blues’ third in a row after victories over Cobh Ramblers and Finn Harps.
The visitors come into the game on the back of a 2-0 win over Cobh Ramblers last Friday night in the Athlone Town Stadium. The home side took the lead early in the second half through a Valerii Dolia strike before a goal on 89 minutes from Adam Lennon secured the points.
The sides’ last meeting came just last month when the Blues ran out 1-0 winners in the Midlanders. A superb Shane Griffin free-kick proved the difference between the two sides as the Blues recorded their 8th straight win over the Town.
Athlone’s last win against the Blues came on the opening day of the 2017 league campaign when the Blues, under current Assistant Head Coach Alan Reynolds, slipped to a 1-0 defeat.
The Blues currently sit in second place in the league on 17 points, while Athlone Town occupy 5th spot; four points behind.
From The Dugout: Speaking ahead of Friday’s match against Athlone Town, Head Coach Keith Long said:
“Last week [v Kerry] was all about getting more points on the board and continuing a good run. We knew we needed to be patient and the players were and we deservedly got the goal.
“Athlone Town will prove a very tough task for us, they had a good win against Cobh last weekend and they’ll be full of confidence.
“They’ve got some really good attacking players, so we need to be on guard and really look after every aspect of our game.”
Team News: Matthew Connor continues his recovery, while Harvey Warren and Wassim Aouachria are expected to miss out through injury.
