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Waterford United -v- Shelbourne
- Brendan White
- Thu, Aug 05 2010
Waterford United welcome Shelbourne to the RSC this Friday evening for a vital First Division clash that could seriously dent the title ambition of either club. (Kick Off 7.45pm.)
Neither team comes into the game on the back of a win in the league with Waterford having drawn 1-1 in Athlone while Shelbourne were beaten 4-0 by fellow promotion chasers Limerick. Shelbourne did however capture the Leinster Senior Cup on Monday with a 4-0 win against Premier Division Bray Wanderers.
Stephen Henderson’s side went a goal up through Willie John Kiely but a man of the match performance from keeper Michael Schlingermann kept the lead at a minimum and defender Paddy Collins grabbed the equaliser to damage Waterford’s promotion ambitions.
Having been well beaten by Limerick last Friday, Shels put that behind them and disposed of Bray Wanderers on Monday and come into this game in a confident mood.
Five points now separate the teams in the table and a defeat for Shelbourne would all but end their chances of promotion. A win for Shels would take the fight between themselves, Waterford, Monaghan United and Limerick further into the business end of the season.
Blues boss Stephen Henderson knows it was a missed opportunity to gather the three points. " We could have been three up at half time, but we came up against a goalkeeper who had one of those nights when he saved everything we threw at him. When we did go in front we didn't make sure of the win, and I'm very disappointed in the way we finished the match, without putting their defence under any real pressure at the end. There are still a lot of twists and turns to come along before the end of the season."
Midfield options for the game have been severely dented ahead of the game. Despite both players playing in a friendly last Saturday, Shane Barrett could be out for six weeks after an appendix operation. Paul McCarthy has a quad problem but may still feature. John Kearney is suspended after collecting four yellow cards while the fall-out from Gary Dunphy’s red card from the substitutes bench continues after he was handed an additional one game ban. On the plus side Daryl Kavanagh has signed for the club but problems with his registration mean that his availability is still unknown.
Shels go into this game with no major injuries or suspensions. Stephen Quigley, David McGill, David Cassidy and Philip Gorman are carrying slight knocks but are expected to be available for selection.
Venue: RSC, Waterford
Referee: Graham Kelly
paddypower.com odds: Waterford United 1/1, Draw 9/4, Shelbourne 23/10
Waterford United
Doubtful: None
Injured: Shane Barrett, Paul McCarthy
Suspended: John Kearney, Gary Dunphy
Shelbourne
Doubtful: Stephen Quigley, David McGill, David Cassidy and Philip Gorman
Injured: None
Suspended: None
Extratime.ie Prediction: A very tight game with a similiar score to the previous game. 1-0 to Waterford.
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.