UCD AFC Media Officer Conor McCarthy the club’s preview of SSE Airtricity League premier Division match, Fri 05th April UCD AFC v Waterford FC, The UCD Bowl, ko 19:45
Match Preview: UCD AFC vs Waterford FC
Kick-off: 7.45pm, UCD Bowl, Friday 5 April
After a great result in the EA Sports Cup on Tuesday night, Friday sees us return to SSE Airtricity League action as Waterford FC are the visitors to the UCD Bowl. Speaking ahead of the game, Collie knows it will be tough against an in-form Waterford, however he is pleased with his own side’s performances in recent weeks and is looking to build on that over the coming games.
“Our performances have been good in recent weeks. We were very good in our last home game against Finn Harps where we secured a big 3-0 victory, again in the second half against Shamrock Rovers last week, and then we showed great character to turn it around against Shelbourne on Tuesday.”
The last time the two sides met was in last season’s FAI Cup quarter final, where goals from Conor Davis and Timmy Molloy secured our progression to the semi-final where we faced Dundalk FC. Collie knows that result will be fresh on Waterford’s minds and that they will be looking for revenge on Friday night.
“I’m sure Waterford will be coming here seeking revenge for last year’s FAI Cup Quarter Final. They had a great win last week against Finn Harps and will be looking to push on now over the coming weeks. However we know that if we play the way we have been and can take the chances that come our way then we have every chance of picking up a good result.”
Tuesday night saw us come from behind to beat Shelbourne 2-1 in the EA Sports Cup to see us reach the quarter finals. Shelbourne took an early lead through a header in the opening minutes, however Neil Farrugia calmly slotted home an equaliser after half an hour, before Timmy Molloy’s brilliant strike from 30 yards as the game entered injury time secured our progression. The draw for the quarter final will take place on Monday at 5pm.
Evan Osam will be missing for Friday night’s game, as he continues his recovery after rupturing his achillies on the eve of the season. Conor Davis remains a doubt for the game as he continues his recovery from a knee injury. Meanwhile, Neil Farrugia has been added to our injury concerns ahead of the game after picking up an injury in the process of scoring against Shelbourne and faces a late fitness test ahead of Friday’s game. Collie O’Neill will be boosted by the return of Paul Doyle to the squad after he came through 60 minutes of the EA Sports Cup game against Shelbourne on his return to action.
Injured: Evan Osam (achilles)
Doubtful: Conor Davis (knee), Neil Farrugia (calf)
Suspended: None
Last 5 Results (UCD scorers in brackets):
1 Mar: UCD AFC 1 – 1 St Patrick’s Athletic (Davis)
9 Mar: Sligo Rovers 1 – 0 UCD AFC
15 Mar: UCD AFC 3 – 0 Finn Harps (Molloy, O’Farrell x 2)
29 Mar: Shamrock Rovers 3 – 1 UCD AFC (Mahdy)
2 April: Shelbourne 1 – 2 UCD AFC (Farrugia, Molloy) – EA Sports Cup
Next 5 Fixtures
5 April: UCD AFC vs Waterford FC, UCD Bowl @ 7.45pm
12 April: UCD AFC vs Derry City, UCD Bowl @ 7.45pm
15 April: UCD AFC vs Cork City, UCD Bowl @ 7.45pm
19 April: Bohemian FC vs UCD AFC, Dalymount Park @ 7.45pm
22 April: UCD AFC vs Dundalk FC, UCD Bowl @ 3pm
2019 Appearances:
| League | Cup | Total | ||||
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |
| Dan Tobin | 6 (0) | 0 | 1 (0) | 0 | 7 (0) | 0 |
| Liam Scales | 6 (0) | 0 | 1 (0) | 0 | 7 (0) | 0 |
| Timmy Molloy | 6 (0) | 1 | 1 (0) | 1 | 7 (0) | 2 |
| Mark Dignam | 6 (0) | 0 | 1 (0) | 0 | 7 (0) | 0 |
| Gary O’Neill | 6 (0) | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 6 (1) | 0 |
| Jason McClelland | 6 (0) | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 6 (1) | 0 |
| Conor Kearns | 6 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 6 (0) | 0 |
| Josh Collins | 6 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 6 (0) | 0 |
| Neil Farrugia | 4 (1) | 1 | 1 (0) | 1 | 5 (1) | 2 |
| Richie O’Farrell | 3 (2) | 2 | 1 (0) | 0 | 4 (2) | 2 |
| Kevin Coffey | 3 (1) | 0 | 1 (0) | 0 | 4 (1) | 0 |
| Conor Davis | 4 (0) | 1 | 0 (0) | 0 | 4 (0) | 1 |
| Yoyo Mahdy | 2 (4) | 0 | 1 (0) | 0 | 3 (4) | 0 |
| Paul Doyle | 2 (1) | 0 | 1 (0) | 0 | 3 (1) | 0 |
| Gavin Sheridan | 0 (0) | 0 | 1 (0) | 0 | 1 (0) | 0 |
| Evan Farrell | 0 (0) | 0 | 1 (0) | 0 | 1 (0) | 0 |
| Sean McDonald | 0 (3) | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 (4) | 0 |
*brackets donates substitute appearances
**cup includes EA Sports Cup, IDM FAI Cup, and Leinster Senior Cup
ENDS
For more information contact:
Conor McCarthy
Media Officer
UCD AFC
