Promotion play-off: O'Brien hoping to seize second chance
“I think it will be a real injustice if we don’t get up,” Waterford United manager Paul O’Brien says ahead of tonight’s promotion play-off first leg v Longford Town.
WATERFORD UNITED MANAGER Paul O’Brien says it will be “a real injustice” if the club don’t finish the season by clinching a return to the Premier Division.
The Blues, who have been stuck in the Airtricity League’s second-tier since 2007, begin a critical fortnight when they travel to Longford Town in the first leg of the promotion play-off this evening (kick-off 7.30pm).
Waterford’s challenge for the sole automatic promotion spot was cut short by defeat in their last home game against Mervue United, and they finished four points adrift of First Division champions Limerick FC despite winning all four league meetings between the sides.
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After missing out on a title he knows they should have won, O’Brien is anxious to avoid a double blow and make sure it is his side who face Dundalk in the promotion/relegation decider.
“If somebody had said to me at the start of the season that you’d be second place and in the play-offs, I would have taken it to be honest with you,” he told TheScore.ie.
“If you look at other results, we probably should have won the league because we had the opportunity and the chance. For a team like us that finished second, to beat the top team four times, you can’t do any more than that.
I think it will be a real injustice if we don’t get up to be honest with you. It’s in our hands, we’ve got to perform and I think if we get a performance, we’ll get the result.
The final league table shows an eight-point gap between Waterford and Longford back in third place, but there’s been little to choose between the promotion hopefuls this season as they shared two wins apiece in their four matches.
A Sean Maguire hat-trick was the difference when the sides met in the RSC last month, giving Waterford a 4-2 win and finally ending Longford’s season-long run of unbeaten away games.
Tony Cousins’s side went on to lose their final three matches but O’Brien says that he takes no comfort in the opposition’s loss of form.
“Longford are a good side and especially playing at home in the first leg, I think it’s very important that we don’t be chasing the game. That’s the biggest thing, to give ourselves a chance.
“I don’t there’s anybody favourites really. It’s back to square one and whoever puts in the performance on the night will get the result.”
Promotion play-off: O'Brien hoping to seize second chance
WATERFORD UNITED MANAGER Paul O’Brien says it will be “a real injustice” if the club don’t finish the season by clinching a return to the Premier Division.
The Blues, who have been stuck in the Airtricity League’s second-tier since 2007, begin a critical fortnight when they travel to Longford Town in the first leg of the promotion play-off this evening (kick-off 7.30pm).
Waterford’s challenge for the sole automatic promotion spot was cut short by defeat in their last home game against Mervue United, and they finished four points adrift of First Division champions Limerick FC despite winning all four league meetings between the sides.
After missing out on a title he knows they should have won, O’Brien is anxious to avoid a double blow and make sure it is his side who face Dundalk in the promotion/relegation decider.
“If somebody had said to me at the start of the season that you’d be second place and in the play-offs, I would have taken it to be honest with you,” he told TheScore.ie.
“If you look at other results, we probably should have won the league because we had the opportunity and the chance. For a team like us that finished second, to beat the top team four times, you can’t do any more than that.
The final league table shows an eight-point gap between Waterford and Longford back in third place, but there’s been little to choose between the promotion hopefuls this season as they shared two wins apiece in their four matches.
A Sean Maguire hat-trick was the difference when the sides met in the RSC last month, giving Waterford a 4-2 win and finally ending Longford’s season-long run of unbeaten away games.
Tony Cousins’s side went on to lose their final three matches but O’Brien says that he takes no comfort in the opposition’s loss of form.
“Longford are a good side and especially playing at home in the first leg, I think it’s very important that we don’t be chasing the game. That’s the biggest thing, to give ourselves a chance.
“I don’t there’s anybody favourites really. It’s back to square one and whoever puts in the performance on the night will get the result.”
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Airtricity League Flancare Park League of Ireland Paul O'Brien Longford Town Waterford United