Waterford United travel to Galway on Saturday to take on league new boys Mervue United at Terryland Park, at the rearranged time of 7.00pm.

The Blues come off the back of two confidence-boosting home wins in three days, as they saw off Limerick and Finn Harps last Saturday and Tuesday respectively. Indeed the last twenty minutes of Tuesday’s match, which was played in appalling conditions, were close to the best seen from United all season, as they scored four goals of real quality, bookended by two outstanding strikes – the first a stunning solo effort from David Grincell, the last a superb free-kick from Alan Carey, both men’s first league goals of the campaign. Blues boss Stephen Henderson was delighted with the performance shown by his side, as they overcame the driving wind and rain, as well as their dogged opponents, to produce some exciting, impressive football.

Waterford hosted Mervue for the first ever meeting of the two sides at the start of May, running out comfortable winners in the end thanks to two strikes in five second half minutes. To that point though, the Galwaymen proved a tough outfit to break down, and indeed the new boys have held their own fairly well against most comers all season. In the last couple of months though, Mervue have struggled to maintain their form, suffering seven defeats out of seven in June and July, including a 4-1 thumping at home to bottom club Kildare County. A single goal defeat to UCD at the Belfield Bowl last time out may be a sign of change though, and the Blues will be taking nothing for granted on Saturday night, and know that a fully focused and professional performance will be required to take maximum points.

The Blues boss has a couple of injuries to concern himself with – striker Willie John Kiely and midfielder Joe Mulcahy are both rated doubtful with dead legs, with the forward the less likely of the pair to feature, and midfielder Paul McCarthy is struggling with an on-going groin injury. There are no suspensions to worry about.

Suspensions:
none

Injury Update:
Willie John Kiely – doubtful, dead leg
Joe Mulcahy – slight doubt, dead leg
Paul McCarthy – slight doubt, groin

League Top Scorers:
14 -   Graham Cummins
11 -   Willie John Kiely
2 -     Gary Dunphy
         Kenny Browne
1 -     David Grincell
         Paul McCarthy
         Joe Mulcahy
         Kevin Waters
         Kevin Murray
         Alan Carey
         Own goal

Top Scorers (All Competitive):
17 -   Graham Cummins (14 League, 2 FAI Ford Cup, 1 EA Sports Cup)
15 -   Willie John Kiely (11 League, 2 FAI Ford Cup, 2 EA Sports Cup)
5 -     David Grincell (1 League, 1 FAI Ford Cup, 3 MSC)
3 -     Gary Dunphy (2 League, 1 MSC)
         Joe Mulcahy (1 League, 1 FAI Ford Cup, 1 MSC)
2 -     Kenny Browne (2 League)
         Kevin Waters (1 League, 1 EA Sports Cup)
         John Kearney (1 MSC, 1 EA Sports Cup)
1 -     Paul McCarthy (1 League)
         Kevin Murray (1 League)
         Alan Carey (1 League)
         Own goal (1 League)

Form:
League: DWLWW WWWWW DWLLW WDWW
All: WDWLW WWWWW WWWDW WLWLW WWLDW W

Last Match:    Waterford United 4 (Grincell 70, Cummins 72, 80 pen, Carey 90)  -  Finn Harps 0

Previous Meetings:
02 May 09      L         Waterford United   v   Mervue United           2 – 0 

Results This Season:
28 Jul 09            h            Finn Harps (LOIFD)               4-0       W
25 Jul 09            h            Limerick FC (LOIFD)              2-1       W
19 Jul 09            a            Monaghan United (LOIFD)      0-0       D
17 Jul 09            h            Ipswich Town (Friendly)        0-3       L
11 Jul 09            h            Finn Harps (LOIFD)               p-p       postponed
05 Jul 09            a            Longford Town (LOIFD)         3-1       W
19 Jun 09           h            Athlone Town (LOIFD)           2-1       W
13 Jun 09           h            Carrigaline United (FAIFC)      6-0       W  
05 Jun 09           a            Shelbourne (LOIFD)               0-1       L
02 Jun 09           n            Rockmount (MSC)                 2-1      W
30 May 09          h            Wexford Youths (LOIFD)        1-2       L
22 May 09          a            Sporting Fingal (LOIFD)         4-1       W
19 May 09          h            Shamrock Rovers (EASC)       2-1       W
15 May 09          a            UCD (LOIFD)                       0-0       D
09 May 09          h            Kildare County (LOIFD)         2-0       W
04 May 09          a            FC Carlow (EASC)                3-1       W
02 May 09          h            Mervue United (LOIFD)         2-0       W
24 Apr 09           a            Limerick FC (LOIFD)             2-0       W
22 Apr 09           a            Clonmel Town (MSC)            2-1       W
18 Apr 09           h            Monaghan United (LOIFD)     6-0       W
11 Apr 09           a            Finn Harps (LOIFD)              3-1       W
04 Apr 09           h            Longford Town (LOIFD)        1-0        W
29 Mar 09           a            Athlone Town (LOIFD)          2-1       W
20 Mar 09           h            Shelbourne (LOIFD)             0-1        L
13 Mar 09           a            Wexford Youths (LOIFD)       1-0       W
07 Mar 09           h            Sporting Fingal (LOIFD)        1-1        D
28 Feb 09           h            Douglas Hall (MSC)              2-0       W
20 Feb 09           a            Mayfield United (Fr)             4-1       W
13 Feb 09           h            Junior League XI (Fr)           3-0       W
07 Feb 09           a            Cork City (Fr)                     1-0       W

Next 5 Matches:
04 Aug 09           a           UCD (EASC)
08 Aug 09           a           Kildare County (LOIFD)
14 Aug 09           a           Crumlin United (FAIFC)
22 Aug 09           h           UCD (LOIFD)
29 Aug 09           h           Sporting Fingal (LOIFD)

Betting:
Mervue: 15/2
Waterford: 1/3
Draw: 3/1