FAI Cup Preview: Drogheda United -v- Waterford

DROGHEDA UNITED

Drogheda will be hoping to continue their good run against Premier Division opposition in the Irish Daily Mail FAI Cup as Tim Clancy’s squad welcome Waterford to United Park in Friday’s second round (kick-off 7.45 p.m.).

Drogheda arguably produced the best result of the first round when Chris Lyons’ penalty conversion, after Lee Grace was dismissed, set up a 1-0 win over the mighty Shamrock Rovers.

Whether or not it was a reaction to their heroics against the Hoops, in their last game Drogheda found themselves 2-0 behind after a quarter of their next game - at Stradbrook against Cabinteely in the SSE Airtricity League First Division.

Sean Brennan gave the County Louth men some hope with a precision spot kick on the stroke of half-time.

Down to ten men after Colm Deasy’s 86th minute red card, Drogheda plundered a battling point when Ciaran Kelly netted an injury time equaliser.

“We have to stop giving teams the lead so early on,” Drogheda manager Tim Clancy bemoanedwhen speaking to droghedaunited.ie. “That’s two (league) games in a row where we’ve had to come from two goals down to get a result.

“On the other hand, you have to give credit to the lads for their fighting spirit. They don’t know when they’re beaten and it was a really big moment for us to get that equaliser deep into stoppage time.”

Looking ahead to another clash with one of the Premier Division’s top sides, Clancy is under no illusions about the difficulty presented by Waterford but expects his men to rise to the challenge.

“I don’t think anyone is going to underestimate us after the last round. Waterford would have to be one of the favourites for the Cup after Cork and Dundalk, so it’s another really difficult game for us.



“There might be some pressure on us in the league but I think Friday night gives us the opportunity to put that to one side and challenge ourselves against a top Premier Division team.

“If we match our performance level from the Rovers game, we’ll be in with a shout of making it through.”

Drogheda have lost just once in the league all season at United Park – that was to fellow promotion hopefuls Finn Harps after John O’Flynn scored a late, late winner in a 1-0 win.

2005 FAI Cup winners Drogheda United’s best recent performance in the cup was to reach the 2013 final, in which the Drogs lost a seesaw battle 3-2 to Sligo Rovers, after leading well into the second half. 

WATERFORD
Waterford play their second successive away Irish Daily Mail FAI Cup tie, having travelled to north county Dublin earlier this month to despatch the local Skerries Town side 4-1 in the opening round.

Noel Hunt scored a hat-trick and Gavan Holohan was also on target as Waterford overcame the plucky Leinster Senior League side. 



That cup win was followed by an impressive 2-1 league victory at the Brandywell over Derry City.

First half goals from Dessie Hutchinson and captain Gavan Holohan secured that win, which was Waterford’s first in the league since June and ended a run of three successive defeats for the Blues.

Manager Alan Reynolds is understandably chuffed with his charges’ return to form. He told the club’s media team. “Our league form has been good. We’ve scored thirteen goals in the last three games at home, so hopefully we can continue that going forward.

“I thought we were really good up in Derry and we deserved the three points. We started well and could have been a few goals up. We looked good on the attack and the overall performance was excellent. When you looked at the stand to see the number of Blues fans that travelled too, we knew what the win meant.

“Friday against Drogheda United will be a different kind of game. We’ve two wins on the bounce but we won’t be taking them lightly, that’s for sure.

“They’re pushing to get back into the Premier Division and they’ve beaten Shamrock Rovers in the last round so we know they’re a good side. We’ve prepared properly and we’re looking forward to getting back on the pitch.”

Waterford have won the FAI Cup twice – their last success came way back in 1980. Prior to the Skerries win on 11thAugust, the Blues hadn’t won an FAI Cup tie since a 1-0 away win over non-league Everton in 2012.

Referee: Robert Harvey

MATCH STATS
The last meeting between the sides at United Park was an SSE Airtricity league First Division match on July 1st2016.

Late goals from Luke Gallagher and Aaron Ashe gave Drogs victory on that occasion before an attendance of just 382. One suspects the Cup clash two years on will attract substantially more paying customers to United Park.

The most recent encounter was at the RSC in August 2016 and again Drogheda claimed with the points after a 3-1 victory, in which Sean Brennan, Gareth McCaffrey and Kevin Farragher were on target for the away side, with Cory Galvin netting for the Blues. 

Waterford have twice beaten Drogheda in the FAI Cup.

LAST FIVE MATCHES (ALL COMPETITIONS)

Drogheda: WDDWD

Waterford: LLLWW

BETTING

Drogheda 7/2; Draw 13/5; Waterford 8/13.

PREDICTION

Drogheda 1 – 2 Waterford

Drogheda

Injured: None.

Doubtful: None.

Suspended: None.

 

Waterford

Injured: Cory Galvin (knee), Derek Daly (groin), John Martin (ankle).

Doubtful: Sandor Puri (groin), Stanley Aborah (knee).

Suspended: None.

 

    About John Manning

    John Manning began writing for Extratime.ie this year after retiring from the insurance industry. He has been a regular attendee at League of Ireland football matches since the 1970s. He has particularly supported Cork Hibs, … View Full Profile