Waterford Face Cavan In Must Win Game

After a number of weeks without a game due to the staging of the third level Education Ladies Football Finals, the weather calling off one round of games, and the All-Star teams of 2016 and 2017 playing an exhibition game in Bangkok, the teams in the second division of this year’s Ladies Football National League are back in action this weekend, and for Waterford Pat Sullivan’s side have a must win game against Cavan with Waterford having home advantage.

Waterford are currently two points better off than Cavan on the league table having won three of their four games played to date, while the visitors to the Déise County have recorded wins over Laois and Clare but dropped two points against Armagh when they met in round two and last time out were beaten by table toppers Tipperary.

Since coming up to this division after winning the third division final in 2015, Waterford while playing well have found it hard to get into the top half of the table come the business end of the competition, but this year the side are going extremely well with three games to play stand a great chance to win a semi final place, which if achieved anything is possible.

But Waterford will not get complacent with these three games to play as they know they are playing the three strongest sides in the last three games and to take the foot off the gas at this stage and to drop points in this game, their last home game before they play Armagh and Tipperary away could well cost the side dearly.

The sides met in the Senior Championship last year and on that occasion it was Waterford that emerged as victors on a 1-15 to 1-13 score line in dramatic fashion.

Cavan were leading with time ticking down, and looked as if they would extend their lead when Aisling Doonan stood over a free, but Caoimhe McGrath leapt high in the Waterford goal mouth to pull the ball down and the side quickly worked it down field and when Lauren McGregor won a 50/50 ball and laid it off to Aileen Wall the Ballymacarbry Club player almost in slow motion style stuck the ball into the Cavan net to win the game for Waterford.

Aisling Sheridan and Aisling Doonan will be Cavan’s best known players but they are by no means a two person team as in the likes of Sinead McKenna, Sinead Greene, Neasa Byrd, Donna English, Caithriona Smith, Bronagh Sheridan and Beth Farrelly-Magee they have players of some quality.

But Waterford too have players of some ability in the likes of the Wall, Murray, McGrath and Ryan sisters, Grainne Kenneally, Maria Delahunty, Megan Dunford, Rebecca Casey, Róisín Tobin, Lauren McGregor and Eimear Fennell to name but a few Waterford have plenty of talent available to them, and even of those named not all would be expected to start this game but maybe come on as legs begin to tire.

Playing on home soil should count for something in this game for Waterford and if they were to pick up all three points on offer it should go a long way towards securing that semi final spot that the side are looking for.