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Waterford United -v- Mervue United
- Brendan White
- Fri, Jun 25 2010
Waterford United welcome Mervue United to the RSC this Friday evening as they begin the difficult task of reeling in league leaders Derry City. (Kick-off 7.45pm)
Waterford United have come through a shaky spell recently but positive performances against Dundalk and Salthill Devon have put the Blues back into good form but trail Derry by seven points. Their last league game against Salthill Devon yielded eight goals without reply with striker Vinny Sullivan grabbing four.
A 3-1 Munster Cup Final victory against Midleton gave Waterford their first silverware of the season in their last outing before the break. Having lost to Longford Town in the FAI Cup along with their EA Sports Cup defeat to Dundalk, Stephen Henderson’s men will have their mind solely focussed on Derry City and promotion back to the Premier Division.
Having had to deal with knocks and injuries over the last two months, the mid-season break came at the perfect time for the Blues as players have allowed niggling injuries to clear up and have a full squad available bar one. An ankle injury in training this week will rule out full back Paul Carey, possibly for two weeks. Alan Carey is back in full training however, ready to regain his right full back slot. Goalkeeper Chris Konopka returns to contention following a one match ban following his red card in the FAI Cup.
Henderson has recently added Shane Barrett from non-league Blarney United, having played under the coach at Cobh Ramblers previously. Paul Murphy has joined having been released by Ipswich after suffering home-sickness and scored on his Blues debut against Salthill before the break. Also added to the squad is left full back Michael Coady from Carrick United, whom he joined from Clonmel Town previously. Coady was the star left full back in last season Waterford Premier League where he helped Carrick win the Waterford Premier League and the Munster Junior Cup. He is also a current Junior International.
Striker David Grincell is adamant that his side have their mindset on Derry and promotion. “We have got to catch Derry”, he told Extratime. “We’re not thinking about coming second, we want to win the league. We have the players here to do it so we’ll just kick on into that now after the break. It keeps competition going, keeps us working hard in training and it’ll be good for the whole team really.”
Mervue United have struggled in the First Division this season so far. They currently lie second from bottom with just nine points from 14 games far. More ominous for the Galway side is that away from home they have conceded 22 goals in just eight games, while Waterford have scored 17 from seven games at home. On the plus, they managed to halt high flying Premier Division Sporting Fingal in the FAI Ford Cup, earning a replay following a 1-1 draw in the Morton Stadium.
Venue: RSC, Waterford
Referee: K Callanan
paddypower.com odds: Waterford United 2/9 Draw 4/1 Mervue United 10/1
Waterford United
Doubtful: None
Injured: Paul Carey
Suspended: None
Mervue United
Doubtful: Unavailable
Injured: Unavailable
Suspended: Eric Browne, Michael Tierney.
Extratime.ie Prediction: Waterford to win 3-0
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.