SSE Airtricity First Division Play Off
Waterford FC -v- Athlone Town
Saturday, 28th October 2023
Kick-Off: 3pm
Referee: Gavin Colfer
Waterford FC return to the RSC this Saturday with a place in the First Division Play Off final at stake with Athlone Town the visitors.
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The teams played out a closely-fought 1-1 draw in the Athlone Town Stadium on Tuesday night in the 1st leg.
Ronan Coughlan opened the scoring for the Blues seven minutes after the break, before Frantz Pierrot levelled with 12 minutes left on the clock.
Four times the sides have met this season in the league, with the Blues picking up seven points with two wins and a draw. Both sides have picked up wins at the RSC in the meetings so far.
The winner will face the winner of the other semi final between Wexford FC and Cobh Ramblers, with the latter leading 1-0 from the first leg, ahead of next week’s First Division Play Off final.
From The Dugout: Speaking ahead of Saturday’s match, head coach Keith Long said:
“We were disappointed to draw the game [on Tuesday], I think we deserved to come away with the win. We dominated lots of the ball, Ronan [Coughlan] almost got a good second goal and some decisions didn’t go our way in the end too with a couple of penalty shouts.
“Elements of the game were really good, I was really pleased with some of the performances and hopefully we can show that spirit again on Saturday.
“We had brilliant support in Athlone on Tuesday night, fans travelling up in their numbers to get behind the team and hopefully we’ll get a big crowd on Saturday too.
“We know Athlone are a very dangerous side with lots of talented individuals and are a good hard-working team, so we know we need to earn the right to progress into the final of the play off. We’ve been working hard and we’ll be ready for Saturday.”
Team News: The Blues have no further injury concerns ahead of Saturday’s match.
(IMAGE CREDIT: Noel Browne)
