A hattrick from Wassim Aouachria ensured Waterford FC opened their 2023 SSE Airtricity League campaign with all three points from their visit to Wexford last night.
Waterford started the game with six new faces and put the home side under pressure from the kick off.
They were rewarded after just four minutes when some great interplay from Tunmise Sobowale and Roland Idowu sent Aouachria away down the right flank. He got inside the area before unleashing a left footed effort that Colm Cox could only parry and watch as it ended up in the net.
The Blues were dominant in that opening period and Aouachria doubled the advantage on twelve minutes when Idowu again became the provider with a great cross that was met by the French born striker at the back post.
There was little on offer from the home side and they had Cox to thank on thirty six minutes when he made an excellent double save from Conor Parsons and Sobowale.
The visitors kept up the pressure in the second half and the third came just before the hour mark when some hesitancy in the Wexford defence allowed Aouachria pounce on a long ball and he calmly fired into the bottom corner from twenty yards.
There were further chances from Chris Conn Clarke and Dean McMenamy but again Cox denied the visitors to keep the score three nil.
WEXFORD FC: Colm Cox, Hugh Douglas (James Crawford ’78), Ethan Boyle, Aaron Robinson, Brandon McCann (Karl Chambers ’58), Aaron Dobbs (Danny Furlong ’70), Mark Hanratty, Matthew Dunne, Conor Levingston (Darragh Levingston ’78), Jordan Adeyemo (Sean Fitzpatrick ’78).
WATERFORD FC: Paul Martin, Tunmise Sobowale, Giles Phillips, Eddie Nolan, Ryan Burke, Barry Baggley (Niall O’Keeffe ’68), Dean McMenamy (Shane Griffin ’78), Connor Parsons, Roland Idowu, Chris Conn-Clarke (Ronan Coughlan ’68), Wassim Aouachria (Thomas Oluwa ’72).
Referee: Paul Norton (Dublin).
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