Sporting Fingal vs. Waterford United

Sporting Fingal enter Last Chance Saloon this Friday night when they entertain title rivals Waterford United in a crucial League of Ireland First Division clash at the Morton Stadium (kick-off 7.45pm). Defeat for Fingal will knock them out of the promotion race, but such a scenario would move Waterford into pole position if Dundalk falter in Wexford.

Sporting’s fortunes have hit a wall in recent weeks, as they have taken just two points from the last nine on offer. A shock home defeat to Wexford Youths was followed by two draws, at home to Longford Town and away to Limerick 37. In total, they are without a win in five, as they also drew with Saint Patrick’s Athletic in the FAI Cup and then lost the replay at Richmond Park over the past month. They are winless since defeating Monaghan United away at the beginning of September.

In the past week, they have had their plans further unsettled by last Tuesday’s postponement of their rearranged meeting with Athlone Town. “It was a disappointment for the match to be called off in Athlone because a win there would have moved us closer to our opponents, Waterford United,” Buckley said. “In saying that, this was a match we knew would be crucial for us to remain in the hunt. Waterford are in good form but we’re always confident when we’re at home, as only one team have beaten us in the league there.”

Sporting are scheduled to meet current league leaders Dundalk at Oriel Park next Thursday, so they are entering a pivotal period in the title race. “We’re not the team in the driving seat but, at this stage, it’s about standing up to be counted,” Buckley remarked. “Seven matches remain for us and they are all as important as the next. Dundalk have set the pace but Waterford, Shelbourne and ourselves are making sure we keep in contention during the run-in.”

Waterford boss Gareth Cronin, meanwhile, has thrown a dig at last week’s opponents Athlone ahead of this crunch encounter. “At least we're playing a football team in Sporting Fingal,” Cronin said. “We did not play at all in the first-half last week. All we did was hump the ball forward and hope for the best. We improved in the second-half and we ripped them apart but we missed a few sitters which we should have taken.

“Maybe if we scored early we could have pushed on from there, but, in truth, it’s hard to play when a team comes determined not to play. We are without David (Grincell) and have a couple of players out injured but the important thing is that we would like to play a lot better than we did last week. I know we have the ability to do that. We will go there positive, and if we win, it will put an end to their promotion chances.”

Waterford bottled it big time last weekend when they could only draw with Athlone at the RSC. If they had won that game, they would have moved a point clear of Dundalk at the top - a position they have yet to hold this term at the close of a weekend’s business. They have also failed to string two wins together in over two months, and face two tough assignments over the next seven days, as they follow this game with a trip to Limerick next Friday.

These sides have already met three times this season. In the first of those, at the RSC back in March, Waterford won 2-0 thanks to goals from Willie John Kiely and Vinny Sullivan. The other encounter in Waterford, at the beginning of August, again ended in a maximum haul for the hosts, as a David Grincell double gave them a 2-1 win. However, in between, in late May, Sporting netted a comfortable 3-1 win at the Morton Stadium. Paul Caffrey, Peter Hynes and Robbie Doyle all got on the score-sheet, with Waterford’s sole reply coming from Kiely.

Team News: Sporting Fingal have to plan without 17-goal striker Robbie Doyle, who must serve an additional one-match suspension as a result of his red card against Saint Patrick’s Athletic in the FAI Cup last month. Liam Buckley will also be without defender Aidan Collins because of a knee injury. Waterford too have their problems, as striking sensation David Grincell is banned after being sent-off in last week’s draw with Athlone. Defender Stephen Quigley is also ruled out as, like Doyle, he has been handed an additional one-game ban for his straight red card at home to Monaghan United four weeks ago. The Blues could also be without defender David Breen who is rated as a ‘slight doubt’, while winger Michael Foley is out for the rest of the season with an ankle injury.

Extratime.ie Prediction: Even without Robbie Doyle, Fingal could still inflict a very damaging defeat on Waterford here. 2-1 home win.