Waterford United -v- Longford Town
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Waterford United entertain Longford Town at the RSC Tuesday night (kick-off 7:45 pm) looking to bounce back from their EA Sports Cup final loss and make up some ground in the race for promotion.
The Blues were beaten 3-1 in Saturday’s final to Premier Division leaders Bohemians but will now be returning their attention to their number one priority for the season. The visit of Longford will see former Blues boss Gareth Cronin return to the RSC and he will be hoping his new side can pull off a shock result against the promotion hopefuls.
Waterford manager Stephen Henderson is confident that the weekend’s showpiece defeat won’t affect his side’s confidence and that promotion has always been the number one aim.
“We told the lads before the match [against Bohs] that whatever happens here stays in here tonight. If we win, we’ll enjoy it; if we lose, we’ll be disappointed but it finishes here tonight. Our priority is to try and get out of this division. With the loss of Fingal against Wexford during the week that promotion place is back in our hands, which it wasn’t previously.”
The Suirsiders’ last game in the league was a remarkable 2-1 win away to Athlone after being reduced to nine men before the half-hour mark and with the game still at 0-0. Henderson’s men showed tremendous heart to go on and record their first league victory since the start of August, thus ending a very disappointing run of form. The hangover from that game however will be evident against Longford, the Blues must do without talismanic defender Kenny Browne and leading scorer Graham Cummins, the men who were sent-off in that game.
Longford Town will take encouragement from two of Waterford’s key men being absent and any points taken from this game will provide a welcome boost to Longford’s survival hopes. The Midlanders lost last time out to Kildare at Flancare Park and will likely spend the next few weeks looking nervously over their shoulders. Cronin’s side could provide a stern challenge for their hosts in this one if they are able to dig in their heels and stifle Waterford’s creativity in midfield, it would be a big ask however to expect them to take any points away from this encounter.
The Blues have had the better of the previous two meeting between the sides this season. Longford narrowly lost out 1-0 on their last visit to the RSC in April before going down 3-1 at home in July.
Aside from the two suspensions and both long-term absentees, David Grincell and Paul McCarthy, Waterford can choose from a full panel.
Extratime.ie Prediction: I expect Longford to hold out for much of the game before losing out 2-0 in the end.
The Blues were beaten 3-1 in Saturday’s final to Premier Division leaders Bohemians but will now be returning their attention to their number one priority for the season. The visit of Longford will see former Blues boss Gareth Cronin return to the RSC and he will be hoping his new side can pull off a shock result against the promotion hopefuls.
Waterford manager Stephen Henderson is confident that the weekend’s showpiece defeat won’t affect his side’s confidence and that promotion has always been the number one aim.
“We told the lads before the match [against Bohs] that whatever happens here stays in here tonight. If we win, we’ll enjoy it; if we lose, we’ll be disappointed but it finishes here tonight. Our priority is to try and get out of this division. With the loss of Fingal against Wexford during the week that promotion place is back in our hands, which it wasn’t previously.”
The Suirsiders’ last game in the league was a remarkable 2-1 win away to Athlone after being reduced to nine men before the half-hour mark and with the game still at 0-0. Henderson’s men showed tremendous heart to go on and record their first league victory since the start of August, thus ending a very disappointing run of form. The hangover from that game however will be evident against Longford, the Blues must do without talismanic defender Kenny Browne and leading scorer Graham Cummins, the men who were sent-off in that game.
Longford Town will take encouragement from two of Waterford’s key men being absent and any points taken from this game will provide a welcome boost to Longford’s survival hopes. The Midlanders lost last time out to Kildare at Flancare Park and will likely spend the next few weeks looking nervously over their shoulders. Cronin’s side could provide a stern challenge for their hosts in this one if they are able to dig in their heels and stifle Waterford’s creativity in midfield, it would be a big ask however to expect them to take any points away from this encounter.
The Blues have had the better of the previous two meeting between the sides this season. Longford narrowly lost out 1-0 on their last visit to the RSC in April before going down 3-1 at home in July.
Aside from the two suspensions and both long-term absentees, David Grincell and Paul McCarthy, Waterford can choose from a full panel.
Extratime.ie Prediction: I expect Longford to hold out for much of the game before losing out 2-0 in the end.
About Dean Hayes
Dean covers Waterford United and, due to a challenge from Gareth, writes in an increasingly Gonzo style. Having found himself with a considerable surplus of a culinary herb, Dean founded sister 'site extrathyme.ie some years … View Full Profile