'Exceptional' Blues delight Henderson
Credit:
Waterford United produced a superb display on Friday night to see off the challenge of league leaders Derry City 2-0 with the win leaving Waterford United just six points behind Derry. Striker Willie John Kiely grabbed both goals in the game, one in each half. Speaking to Extratime after the game, Manager Stephen Henderson admitted he was ‘delighted’ with the performance of his side.
“It was a great football match I think, two football teams who tried to play football”, Henderson said. “Derry are excellent but we were excellent tonight. We know what we’re good at and we know we’re organised. We know we’ll work hard and we have players in the team with that quality that can change a game and Willie [John Kiely] came up with that tonight.”
“To a man, we were exceptional, in terms of work rate and our closing down. We were still scarred from what happened up in Derry [a 2-0 defeat], they murdered us up there. We got the two boys back into the middle of the park tonight, that’s where I think we lost it up in Derry but tonight John [Kearney] and Gary [Dunphy] were tremendous.”
The two goals from Willie John Kiely pleased Henderson who also praised the great build-up play for both of the goals. ”They were magnificent”, he said. “The first goal was brilliant; starting from our own half, moving the ball well, moving the ball accurately and the choice of the pass was right. For the second goal, what a pass from PC [Paul Carey]. I think he’s the only one who saw it because I didn't see where it was coming from but the turn and spin from Willie [John Kiely] was top class.”
A month ago following their 3-0 defeat to Shelbourne, Waterford’s promotion challenge seemed to be fading as fans began to question the performances of the side, but Stephen Henderson was at odds to find a reason.
“I don’t know why though. People forget that we’ve only lost two of our last 11 games. If people want to start shooting their mouth off, they should get their facts straight”, an annoyed Henderson said. “We’ve won six, drawn three and lost two matches, that’s our last 11 matches yet people still want to shout at us.”
“The performance against Shels was very poor; we should have beaten Finn Harps but didn’t, we should have beaten Athlone but we didn’t, it was nothing to do with the performance, it was to do with not taking our chances.”
With The Blues faithful in full voice for the ninety minutes, the manager was quick to sing their praises. “They were unbelievable from the start of the match right through it. They are a noisy bunch and tonight they were magnificent.”
“It was a great football match I think, two football teams who tried to play football”, Henderson said. “Derry are excellent but we were excellent tonight. We know what we’re good at and we know we’re organised. We know we’ll work hard and we have players in the team with that quality that can change a game and Willie [John Kiely] came up with that tonight.”
“To a man, we were exceptional, in terms of work rate and our closing down. We were still scarred from what happened up in Derry [a 2-0 defeat], they murdered us up there. We got the two boys back into the middle of the park tonight, that’s where I think we lost it up in Derry but tonight John [Kearney] and Gary [Dunphy] were tremendous.”
The two goals from Willie John Kiely pleased Henderson who also praised the great build-up play for both of the goals. ”They were magnificent”, he said. “The first goal was brilliant; starting from our own half, moving the ball well, moving the ball accurately and the choice of the pass was right. For the second goal, what a pass from PC [Paul Carey]. I think he’s the only one who saw it because I didn't see where it was coming from but the turn and spin from Willie [John Kiely] was top class.”
A month ago following their 3-0 defeat to Shelbourne, Waterford’s promotion challenge seemed to be fading as fans began to question the performances of the side, but Stephen Henderson was at odds to find a reason.
“I don’t know why though. People forget that we’ve only lost two of our last 11 games. If people want to start shooting their mouth off, they should get their facts straight”, an annoyed Henderson said. “We’ve won six, drawn three and lost two matches, that’s our last 11 matches yet people still want to shout at us.”
“The performance against Shels was very poor; we should have beaten Finn Harps but didn’t, we should have beaten Athlone but we didn’t, it was nothing to do with the performance, it was to do with not taking our chances.”
With The Blues faithful in full voice for the ninety minutes, the manager was quick to sing their praises. “They were unbelievable from the start of the match right through it. They are a noisy bunch and tonight they were magnificent.”
About Brendan White
Brendan White is Extratime News Editor and is responsible for the news section of Extratime.ie. Brendan also covers matches in Dublin and Waterford. You can contact Brendan on twitter @whitebrendan. View Full Profile