We caught up with Donna Whittaker, one of the fans who joined the club out in Waterford this week, and she explained how the trip has gone for her and the rest of the group.
The travelling Cod Army have had a great time over in Ireland over the past week as they managed to take in Waterford FC two games at the RSC, the first on Friday night which ended in a 6-1 win over Finn Harps, before watching Town beat them 5-1 on their home turf on Tuesday.
When asked about the group that made it out to Ireland, Donna couldn’t say a bad word about anyone and can’t wait to come back to what she describes as a ‘wonderful town’.
“It’s been a good week here in Ireland with a really positive group! Wayne Bibby (the club’s SLO) adds to that as he’s managed to keep us all motivated throughout the trip – he’s been brilliant,” said Donna.
“The people of Waterford have been fantastic; you could see a connection between the two towns at the game on Friday night as everyone was so friendly. They talked to us about Fleetwood as we do about Waterford, it’s been really nice to be around this week.
“You can tell there’s a proper connection as the fans over here are talking about heading to Fleetwood during the season, and we’d make them welcome as I’d come back to Waterford – it’s been lovely.”
Not only did they attend games, but they managed to attend training sessions at the SETU Arena all week – and take in some of the Irish sun earlier in the week – alongside a meet and greet at the club hotel where they all got together and shared stories with the players and staff.
“Everyone just mixed together straight away at the game on Friday night, I got to see Barry Baggley, who I thought was man of the match against Finn Harps, but the main thing I took from the game was the feeling of togetherness.
“My favourite part of the trip was going to meet the team and the staff, which was really good, but also going to watch the training has been a highlight – I don’t think people realise how much the players are being tested in those sessions!
“It was just nice to spend a bit of time with them and I do have to say, they were great with all of us throughout the meetup.”
Donna and the rest of the group stayed in the South East of Ireland until Wednesday afternoon before heading back home on the ferry, but it was brilliant to catch up with her and the travelling Cods abroad – see you all back at Highbury later this month!