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Waterford United -v- Wexford Youths
- Brendan White
- Thu, Aug 12 2010
Waterford United and Wexford Youths face-off in the RSC on Friday evening in the final south-east derby of the 2010 First Division season. The Blues need a win to get their ailing promotion bid back on track while The Youths look to steer clear of the bottom teams. Kick Off 7.45pm.
Both sides come into the game in less than impressive form. The last six games for Waterford United have given just one victory with a promotion spot looking unlikely without a sudden upturn in results. Wexford Youths have fared slightly better with two victories from their last six games, including a 5-3 win over promotion chasing Limerick.
Last weekend saw the Blues booed off the pitch as they were steamrolled in the second half against a rampant Shelbourne side who ran out 3-0 winners. The manner of the performance is what has manager Stephen Henderson worried and he held no punches in his analysis.
““It was terrible”, Henderson said. “I don’t mind getting beaten, well I do, but I can’t accept being beaten like that. I can’t accept people going a goal down and then just putting their heads down. That’s two of the contenders after coming down here and making fools of us. Hard decisions need to be made over the next few days. I know we were missing a lot of midfielders but that’s still not acceptable.”
“I think the performances have been decent. Tonight that wasn’t, Monaghan before that wasn’t, Derry that wasn’t, but the rest of the performances have been decent. Yes it is [a battle for third place], a battle for mid-table if this kind of nonsense keeps going on.”
Gary Dunphy and John Kearney return from suspension with Shane Barrett (appendix operation) being the only player definitely out. Centre back Seamus Long (hamstring) and striker Paul Murphy (toe) are both expected to shake off knocks ahead of the game.
Wexford Youths went down to a single goal last weekend in Turners Cross against a Cork City side with an in-form Graham Cummins proving the difference to leave the Youths without a win in three games.
Wexford Youths manager Noel O’ Connor is in confident mood that the Youths can bounce back from the disappointment of recent results. “We thrive under pressure and we usually do well against the big teams. We’ll be hoping to bounce back after the disappointment of recent games” said O’Connor.
Anto Russell returns from suspension after serving his ban for the Cork City game. While Aidan McCann is set for a few weeks on the sidelines as he suffering from a medial ligament strain in his knee.
Waterford United won 3-0 in the opening game of the season in the RSC but The Youths pulled off a 1-0 win in Ferrycarrig Park to make for an intriguing south-east derby.
Venue: RSC, Waterford
Referee: S. Templeman
paddypower.com odds: Waterford United 4/7 Draw 12/5 Wexford Youths 9/2
Waterford United
Doubtful: Seamus Long, Paul Murphy
Injured: Shane Barrett
Suspended: None
Wexford Youths
Doubtful: None
Injured: Aidan McCann
Suspended: None
Extratime.ie Prediction: Neither side is in good form, a draw could be on the cards.
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.