Waterford vs Monaghan post match reaction

The post match scenes at the RSC last night were indicative of the difference is mindset between the naivety of children and the cynicism of adults. As hat-trick hero Vinny Sullivan was tailed studiously by a group of adoring youngsters, David Breen was swamped by cynical media types anxious to get his opinion on Sullivan, who had stolen the centre back’s chance of claiming ownership of the match-ball by taking, and missing, a second-half penalty when both players stood on the cusp of a hat-trick.

To Breen’s credit, he seemed not to harbour any ill-feeling towards Sullivan although he was perplexed as to why the long haired striker insisted on taking the spot-kick. “Everyone is getting onto me about the hat-trick, but hopefully I’ll get another chance during the season. Vinny was never even on the penalties so I don’t know why he took it. I was walking up to eyeball him but he took the ball. He’s missed every penalty in the last three years that he’s taken down here so I don’t know why he took it,” said the centre-back with his tongue lodged firmly against his cheek.

On a more serious note, the United captain was delighted with the improvement from last week’s performance against Shelbourne. “We just did things simple and didn’t complicate it. From the kick-off we turned Monaghan and played the game in their half and that’s where you need to be playing. It’s something we didn’t do last week. We tried to play, thinking Shelbourne would leave us play, and they got in our faces,” Breen told extratime.ie.

“It was very important just to win but to win well is a bonus…It was vital to keep a clean sheet and we did that and the five goals didn’t flatter us. It was great for the fans to score five goals and hopefully that will put a few more bums on seats.”

He believes that Dundalk’s six point advantage is not insurmountable. “Dundalk might wobble a bit. They were fourteen or sixteen points clear last season and they are only six at the moment. There’s plenty of time to go,” he insisted.

Breen also pointed to a clear the air chat between the players and management in the wake of last week’s defeat as a major factor behind the upturn in fortunes. “We had a chat. Sometimes you need it. It was because of the performance up in Shelbourne. You need the reaction. There was a few things thrown out about the preparation for games. Gareth and Seanie [Francis] had a go off of us and told us it wasn’t good enough and we ironed out a few things. In fairness the lads pulled together in training during the week,” revealed Breen.

Manager Gareth Cronin also pointed to that discussion last Sunday morning in explaining the performance. “We didn’t turn up last week. We had a right go off of each other on Sunday morning, me included. I had a pop and they [the players] said a few things about the travelling. But we said it can’t happen again, we can’t go to away games and not turn up. It’s not good enough,” he said.

The Blues’ boss was delighted with the manner of last night’s victory. “It was a lot better than last week but it’s difficult to judge because Monaghan and Shels are two different types of opposition. Monaghan didn’t play well tonight and we capitalised on that but we should have scored maybe one or two more. Our final ball at times tonight was poor but that’s probably being hyper-critical. You can’t really complain with a 5-0 win.”

Joe Mulcahy was the chief culprit on the missed opportunity front but Cronin had words of encouragement for the 19-year-old. “The missed chances were just a little bit of nerves I think. If the first one goes in they all go in. But he kept going to the end. He was brought down for the penalty and he won the corner that led to the fourth goal. Joe is going to be a fine player, he’s just a little bit raw,” insisted Cronin.

The performance of Sullivan, in particular, pleased the 33-year-old manager. “Vinny works very hard, and he got his chances and they were two great finishes. The funny thing is that their ‘keeper, who I know very well, has a weakness down low so I told Vinny to shoot low. What does he do? He goes and chips him which shows how much he listens to me,” said Cronin.

“Vinny on his day is the best in this league and when it’s not his day he gives you everything. Because of his gangly style he looks lazy but he’s the exact opposite, I’m delighted for him getting a hat-trick tonight.”

However, Cronin did fire a warning shot in Sullivan’s direction over the striker’s missed spot-kick. “He is never again going near a penalty either in a shoot-out or in normal play. I’d go as far as to say that if we are looking like we are going to a shoot-out in the FAI Cup, I’ll take him off with two minutes to go. He just can’t take them.”

Despite the criticism from his team-mates, manager and hacks, Sullivan’s young admirers would not be swayed as they continued to track the target-man’s post match movements with the diligence of an FBI agent. With starry-eyefuls of adoration, they seemed a lot happier than us folk cynically looking for a story.