Soccer
Saints looking to keep pressure on the champs
By Daire Walsh
ST PATRICK’S Athletic will have a chance to move level on points with Shamrock Rovers at the summit of the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division table when they play host to Waterford at Richmond Park tomorrow evening (kick-off 7.45pm).
With the Hoops not in action until Sunday – an away clash with Drogheda United – due to their European commitments, the Saints can add extra spice to the top-flight race by getting the better of the Blues in Inchicore.
While Pat’s will have two games more played than their Dublin rivals by the final whistle tomorrow, another win for Stephen O’Donnell’s charges would nonetheless keep the pressure up on the champions.
A 3-1 reversal to the Hoops in Tallaght last Friday week certainly dented their title ambitions, but they responded in the best possible way nine days later.
Facing Dundalk at Oriel Park, a brace of Matty Smith goals – as well as one each from Nahum Melvin-Lambert and Chris Forrester – saw the Saints coming away with a convincing 4-1 victory.
There was a brace of former Dundalk players contained within the Pat’s starting line-up, with John Mountney and Paddy Barrett both named in the visitors’ defence.
A native of the county, Barrett has also had no fewer than three spells with Waterford in the past. Having struggled to break into the first-team at Dundee United, he played 11 games on loan at the RSC in 2013 before making a permanent switch to his hometown club the following year.
After enjoying stints at Galway United and Dundalk, he lined out a further four times for Waterford as a loanee in their 2017 First Division campaign.
Whereas a lot has changed since he last appeared in the blue jersey, Pat’s defender Sam Bone was at the Munster club as recently as the truncated 2020 season.
He will be able to offer plenty of insight into his side’s forthcoming opponents, but there are also encounters in the current term to draw upon.
A second-minute Darragh Burns goal was enough to give the Saints all three points at Inchicore on April 20, before Shane Griffin cancelled out a Matty Smith opener to give Waterford a share of the spoils at the RSC two months later. On this occasion, Pat’s will once again look to rely on home comforts in order to wipe out their three-point deficit at the top of the Premier Division.