Promotion Candidate Special Feature: Waterford United
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With the race for promotion to the Premier Division a four horse race for much of the season, we take a look at the four hopefuls looking to reach the promised land. Tonight, Brendan White looks at Waterford United.
Waterford United
Manager:: Stephen Henderson
Current position: (Start of season prediction) 4th (2nd)
Home Ground: RSC
Top Goalscorer: Graham Cummins - 17 League Goals.
Star Man this season: Graham Cummins: Originally signed as a centre back, he’s gone on to lead the goalscoring charts for quite a while. Arrived as Stephen Henderson’s first signing along with John Kearney, he moved up front due to a lack of strikers in Henderson’s squad and has never looked back. 23 goals in all competitions so far, his 17 league goals included four against Monaghan earlier in the season.
Story so far: : The Blues have been having an excellent season so far, considering the size of the squad Stephen Henderson has had at his disposal.
The Blues were second in the table after the first series of matches having lost to Shelbourne, and drawn against Sporting Fingal and UCD. This included a seven match winning streak, while scoring 18 goals and conceding just two.
The Blues best performance against a title rival came against Sporting Fingal as the Blues won 4-1 in the Morton Stadium. United, however, have so far failed to beat UCD in the league, drawing in Dublin and losing 1-0 in the RSC.
Two long term injuries to Paul McCarthy and David Grincell threatened to derail the Blues title ambitions, but Henderson was able to bring in four very talented replacements. Henderson has been very smart in choosing the players he has brought in. Dave Warren was with the Blues last season but failed to re-sign until the summer, Stephen Grant, also a former player, re-signed from local side Tramore. Another ex-blue Vinny Sullivan signed having been playing GAA in Waterford, while Waterford native Paul Walsh signed from Limerick.
The Blues seemed to have begun to stutter recently however. A loss to UCD was followed by scoreless draws against Sporting Fingal and Wexford Youths. Things seemed to be getting worse when they had two men sent off early in their match in Athlone. The Blues battled superbly to amazingly win the game 2-1 to keep them in the promotion race.
The Blues season has been all the more impressive by their excellent run in both cup competitions. Having already captured the Munster Cup, the Blues then lost out to Bohemians in the EA Sports Cup last weekend. They also saw off Shamrock Rovers on the way to the final. Their FAI Cup quest is also still in full flight with a semi-final in Sligo to look forward to, having defeated St Pats in the quarter final replay in Richmond Park.
Five of the eight remaining games are at home, but the blues have fared better away from home. The blues have lost just one away from home, but have lost three at home.
Remaining Fixtures:: Longford(h), Finn Harps(a), Shelboure(h), Monaghan United(h), Limerick(a), Mervue United(h), Kildare County(h), UCD(a).
Extratime.ie verdict: Third, marginally.
Waterford United
Manager:: Stephen Henderson
Current position: (Start of season prediction) 4th (2nd)
Home Ground: RSC
Top Goalscorer: Graham Cummins - 17 League Goals.
Star Man this season: Graham Cummins: Originally signed as a centre back, he’s gone on to lead the goalscoring charts for quite a while. Arrived as Stephen Henderson’s first signing along with John Kearney, he moved up front due to a lack of strikers in Henderson’s squad and has never looked back. 23 goals in all competitions so far, his 17 league goals included four against Monaghan earlier in the season.
Story so far: : The Blues have been having an excellent season so far, considering the size of the squad Stephen Henderson has had at his disposal.
The Blues were second in the table after the first series of matches having lost to Shelbourne, and drawn against Sporting Fingal and UCD. This included a seven match winning streak, while scoring 18 goals and conceding just two.
The Blues best performance against a title rival came against Sporting Fingal as the Blues won 4-1 in the Morton Stadium. United, however, have so far failed to beat UCD in the league, drawing in Dublin and losing 1-0 in the RSC.
Two long term injuries to Paul McCarthy and David Grincell threatened to derail the Blues title ambitions, but Henderson was able to bring in four very talented replacements. Henderson has been very smart in choosing the players he has brought in. Dave Warren was with the Blues last season but failed to re-sign until the summer, Stephen Grant, also a former player, re-signed from local side Tramore. Another ex-blue Vinny Sullivan signed having been playing GAA in Waterford, while Waterford native Paul Walsh signed from Limerick.
The Blues seemed to have begun to stutter recently however. A loss to UCD was followed by scoreless draws against Sporting Fingal and Wexford Youths. Things seemed to be getting worse when they had two men sent off early in their match in Athlone. The Blues battled superbly to amazingly win the game 2-1 to keep them in the promotion race.
The Blues season has been all the more impressive by their excellent run in both cup competitions. Having already captured the Munster Cup, the Blues then lost out to Bohemians in the EA Sports Cup last weekend. They also saw off Shamrock Rovers on the way to the final. Their FAI Cup quest is also still in full flight with a semi-final in Sligo to look forward to, having defeated St Pats in the quarter final replay in Richmond Park.
Five of the eight remaining games are at home, but the blues have fared better away from home. The blues have lost just one away from home, but have lost three at home.
Remaining Fixtures:: Longford(h), Finn Harps(a), Shelboure(h), Monaghan United(h), Limerick(a), Mervue United(h), Kildare County(h), UCD(a).
Extratime.ie verdict: Third, marginally.
About Brendan White
Brendan White is Extratime News Editor and is responsible for the news section of Extratime.ie. Brendan also covers matches in Dublin and Waterford. You can contact Brendan on twitter @whitebrendan. View Full Profile