Kilnamanagh square up to Waterford in FAI Cup

IT’S A case of David versus Goliath in the second round of the FAI Cup this Friday evening with underdogs Kilnamanagh travelling to the RSC Grounds to take on Airtricity League side Waterford FC. While Waterford will be odds on to advance to the next round of the competition, the Kilnamanagh outfit, under manager Keith Foy, will be quietly confident taking on the in-form Waterford side.

The Tallaght lads, who are playing in their first season in the Senior Division of the Leinster Senior League bagged their second win at the weekend when they overcame unbeaten side Bluebell United 1-0 at the Red Cow with a Gary McCabe goal separating the teams.

They will be hoping to carry this morale boosting result into their clash with Waterford who have lost one game in their last eight and recently overcame Longford Town, Bohemians and Drogheda United in the league.

However, with the game fixed for 7.45pm on Friday evening in Waterford, the travelling party will be missing a number of players due to work commitments as the team will be leaving Dublin at 2pm for the game.

“We looked to get the game switched to Saturday as we are an amateur club but this could not happen. We are missing a number of players as they can’t get the time off due to work commitments and we are disappointed with the FAI as we got no assistance from them,” explains Kilnamanagh manager Keith Foy.

The Kilnamanagh lads will be without the services of former Shamrock Rovers player Gary McCabe and ex-St Patrick’s Athletic player Dean Clarke who between them bring loads of experience to the side.

Both these players are key figures for Kilnamanagh with McCabe scoring last weekend and Clarke previously making over 200 appearances in the Airtricity League having joined the Tallaght outfit in pre-season.

Playing in this stage of the competition for the first time, Kilnamanagh still have plenty of experience to call on with captain Gavin Kavanagh, a former Waterford player, leading the way in defence while keeper Karl Coleman, a former Shamrock Rovers player, has experience at the top level.

Conor Kenna who has previously played for St Patrick’s Athletic and Shamrock Rovers will be hoping to make a return from injury while brothers Sean Harding (former UCD) and Liam Harding will pose problems for the Waterford defence.

“Look, we are a confident side, we will give it a good go. We have had a tough start in the league but the result last weekend was great so hopefully we can continue that run. Waterford are a very good side, training full time and hopefully we can cause an upset in the cup,” added Foy.

Waterford under manager Marc Bircham, who was only appointed manager in May, have been in good form of late with Cian Kavanagh and John Martin impressing, and Kilnamanagh will have to be at their best to upset the form book.