Webster wary of Waterford
By Stephen Leonard
ST PATRICK’S Athletic defender David Webster insists the Inchicore side will have to be fully focused and firing on all fours when they welcome Waterford to Richmond Park tomorrow night.
Stephen O’Donnell’s side are still well in the mix for a top-four finish along with Bohemians and Derry City, but can ill-afford to lose anymore ground if they are to overtake those very teams.
St Patrick’s Athletic defender David Webster is not taking the Waterford test lightly.
While they do sit 14 points adrift of Pat’s in seventh place, this Waterford team has already beaten the Inchicore side well in Richmond Park earlier this season.
Pat’s did exact revenge for that at the Showgrounds in July, but former Waterford player Webster is under no illusions as to the difficulty of bagging a much needed three points tomorrow.
“This Waterford team has changed a lot since I was there last year. Alan Reynolds has done a great job with them. They’re a very tricky team to beat.
“It’s important that we finish the season strong and really try to get that fourth place spot. We have to play Bohs and Derry so it’s all there for the taking.
“Everything has been going well in training. We’ve had some good sessions there and all the players are in good spirits.
“We’ve got to approach this game in the right way. Stephen [O’Donnell] sets himself high standards and he’s brought in those high standards” he added.
Goals are something Pat’s have been lacking this season and after drawing blanks in their last two outings against Shamrock Rovers and UCD, they will need to really take their chances tomorrow.
“Scoring has been a big problem for us this season, but you can’t just blame the strikers. Everyone has to try and chip in and create those chances.
“I know people say you create your own luck, but we have been very unlucky at times with the bounce of a ball or the keeper making a great save.
“We’ve been good defensively all season. We want to make the opposition earn their goals and not just hand them easy scores.
“We did well to come back against Finn Harps and win [2-1]. Stephen said at halftime, and so did Paudge Cregg, that we needed to show character and that’s what we did.
“It was disappointing not to score against UCD, but the flip side to that was that we gave up chances and they could have scored. That’s something we talked about afterwards and said we needed to work on.
“Against Rovers, our performance in the first half was great, probably our best all season. We had a couple of great chances and Alan Mannus pull off two great saves.
“That probably took a bit out of us and we were a bit under siege in the second half but we got the point” he added.
Yet more than a share of the spoils will be required tomorrow for this St Pat’s team who have a tough homerun that also includes games against Derry, Bohs and newly-crowned champions Dundalk.
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