FAI CUP SEMI-FINALTHE STREETS of Dublin's will be thronged this bank holiday Monday with amateur athletes in need of a little more staying power.
Stephen Henderson reckons his young Waterford United side’s stamina has been tested as much as any marathon runner’s this season and having appeared to hit the wall in recent weeks, he’s hoping they do enough tonight to earn a place in next month’s Ford- sponsored FAI Cup final.
Henderson brings the First Division outfit to Sligo for what will be their 42nd game of the season and the Dubliner paid tribute to the doggedness that has taken his players this far.
“We’ve about 10 players who have played in all of the matches and because we’re down in the south east we probably do twice the travelling anybody else does. We’re probably up around 70,000 or 80,000 kilometres at this stage with a squad of 18 players.”
The challenge is compounded by the fact many of the group, including Henderson himself, have to travel considerable distances even for training and home games and yet the team has managed three cup runs as well as a crack at promotion that is not quite dead yet.
The manager is unwilling to describe the campaign as a success just yet, however.
“No,” he says, “you judge that on what you achieve at the end of the season. So far we have a runners-up medal in the EA Sports Cup, you know, that’s not success. We have a Munster Senior Cup. That’s minimal success.
“Obviously it’s a semi-final and we’ll see how we go here. Promotion was always the goal but if that’s not achievable then clearly that won’t be success either.”
With their hopes of a play-off spot looking a little more remote over the past couple of weeks after disappointing results against Finn Harps, Monaghan and Limerick, tonight’s trip to the Showgrounds presents a particular challenge, not least because three of the club’s most experienced players – Michael Devine, Willie John Kiely and Alan Carey – are all suspended.
“It’ll be difficult, there’s no doubt about it but we’ll head on down and see what happens,” he says. “They are in great form. It was a great win for them up in Derry the other night. But they always play with pace and knock the ball around really well.
“Then with (Rafael) Cretaro firing the way he is firing and (Matthew) Blinkhorn, who is probably one of the finds of the season so far . . . I think those two players are two of the few players who could step into the Bohemians or Shamrock Rovers set-ups and improve the squad.”
The visitors won’t be helped by the fact their hosts, unbeaten in five games, are close to full strength for tonight’s game, with Owen Morrison back and only Richard Brush still out injured.
