WNL Shield Preview: Kilkenny United WFC -v- UCD Waves

KILKENNY UNITED WFC

Kilkenny welcome UCD Waves to Buckley Park on Sunday afternoon (kick off 2pm) on the back of a three week break, due the recent International fixtures, along with not being involved in last weekend’s FAI Cup quarter-finals.

In the build up to this Shield clash, the south-east club were handed a huge boost with the news that Noel Kealy has agreed to take up the position of first team manager, while Ireland under 19 starlet Jenny Clifford may also make her debut for the club.

Despite suffering defeats in their opening two games, against Cork City Women and Wexford Youths, Kilkenny have shown great fighting spirit and they will be aiming to to use their recent performances as a springboard against Waves.

UCD WAVES

UCD Waves make the journey to Kilkenny on the back of a disappointing FAI Cup exit at the hands of Wexford Youths at Jackson Park last Sunday. Eileen Gleeson’s side will be hoping for an immediate response when they take to the pitch at Buckley Park and midfielder Chloe Mustaki will be hoping her side can rectify their errors from the previous game.

“It certainly is disappointing to exit the cup at this stage,” she told Extratime.ie.

“To be fair to Wexford, they put up a good fight. Unfortunately we conceded from four set pieces which is a credit to Wexford but a lack of discipline on our part. It's something we've already started working on in training to prevent this from happening in future games.”

With last weekend’s defeat being a crushing blow to Waves’ cup ambitions, the Ireland under 19 international feels, while the squad was disappointed with the result, they have trained hard and are prepared to return to winning ways this weekend.

“We're all angry and upset over the result, so without a doubt everyone is eager to make things right. We worked hard in training on Wednesday night to try and fix the problems from the weekend's game and better ourselves in areas which we lack. We will continue to do so too.”

As this weekend is a first trip to Kilkenny for Waves, Mustaki is looking forward to Sunday’s game against the league's newest opposition.

“I am definitely looking forward to Sunday's game vs Kilkenny. It's important that we get the win to get the spirits back up. It's hard to know exactly what Kilkenny will be like since they are a new addition into the WNL this year, but we'll give them the respect that they deserve.

"I'm sure that they will be looking to prove themselves while we'll also be eager to put the game to bed as early on as possible.”

MATCH STATS

Kilkenny are yet to score in the Shield campaign having lost their opening two fixtures by two goals to nil. UCD have scored seven goals in their three games this season, however, they have also conceded seven goals in the same period.