Henderson to keep attacking approach
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The RSC is the setting for the vital First Division play-off tie between Waterford United and Monaghan United on Tuesday night. This one-off match will decide who goes through to face either Galway United or Bray Wanderers in the promotion/relegation play-off. Before the game, extratime caught up with Waterford United manager Stephen Henderson.
With the game being a once off game, game plans may chance for some sides, but Henderson is setting his usual stall before the game. “We’ll approach it the same. We have the best home record on the league, maybe even the best home form in the country. We only know one way to play and that’s to get at teams and we’re now starting to understand how each other play and that’s helping us.”
Almost 300 Blues supporters made the trip to Tolka Park on Saturday night for the 2-1 win against Shelbourne and the Blues boss was delighted with the turnout and hopes for a similar atmosphere on Tuesday night. “To see them in Tolka Park was brilliant. We knew we were going to need it and the supporters need to realise how important they are to us. We need them when things aren’t going well and to keep the noise up. Even when we went a goal behind they were terrific and never stopped making noise. We need the same tomorrow against Monaghan, they keep the players going when we need them.”
Despite a slow start and being under pressure, Henderson was happy with his sides start to the game after preparations were seriously curtailed. “I was pretty happy with both halves to be honest. I was happy with the first half because our preparation was ruined. We were caught in traffic and only arrived at the ground half an hour before the kick off so we knew Shels were going to have a whack from the start but I was happy that we hung on for the opening twenty minutes.”
Paul Murphy was the name on most people’s lips as they departed Tolka Park at the weekend, with the Wexford youngster having shown his undoubted ability with a superb showing. He was instrumental in both goals providing the crucial crosses and Henderson was equally impressed with the striker who is now regularly in the starting eleven.
“We all knew what the kid was about but it was all about us trying to get him fit at the start. But thank god he’s after finding his zest and now we’re seeing his tremendous natural ability. He’s learning to keep his head and keep his attitude. His two passes for the two goals were brilliant and he’s created so many goals. He’s a joy to watch in matches and even in training.”
Saturdays win was the second time in succession the Blues have come from behind to claim the win, a far cry from blowing a 2-0 halftime lead in Monaghan to ultimately lose 4-2. Henderson believes a team chat was the solution to the problems.
“At time we’ve panicked when we’ve gone a goal behind and we reacted poorly to the penalty in Monaghan. But we sat down and had a chat after that game and said ‘you have to remain focused’ and ‘you can’t blame others’. We told them we needed them to keep their heads up and that’s what they did against Shelbourne.”
“We’ve scored a lot of goals this season, we’re a very good side. We’ve finished just three points behind a very, very good Derry side. We’ve one of the best defences in the league and one of the best attacking wise. Kevin Burns is one of the best keepers in this league, if not the best. That’s how highly Kevin is thought of here, he’s been brilliant. In Paul Murphy we’ve also got a player who can unlock any defence in any division on his day. We stick to our jobs and our tasks and need to remember that there’s no need to panic.”
With the game being a once off game, game plans may chance for some sides, but Henderson is setting his usual stall before the game. “We’ll approach it the same. We have the best home record on the league, maybe even the best home form in the country. We only know one way to play and that’s to get at teams and we’re now starting to understand how each other play and that’s helping us.”
Almost 300 Blues supporters made the trip to Tolka Park on Saturday night for the 2-1 win against Shelbourne and the Blues boss was delighted with the turnout and hopes for a similar atmosphere on Tuesday night. “To see them in Tolka Park was brilliant. We knew we were going to need it and the supporters need to realise how important they are to us. We need them when things aren’t going well and to keep the noise up. Even when we went a goal behind they were terrific and never stopped making noise. We need the same tomorrow against Monaghan, they keep the players going when we need them.”
Despite a slow start and being under pressure, Henderson was happy with his sides start to the game after preparations were seriously curtailed. “I was pretty happy with both halves to be honest. I was happy with the first half because our preparation was ruined. We were caught in traffic and only arrived at the ground half an hour before the kick off so we knew Shels were going to have a whack from the start but I was happy that we hung on for the opening twenty minutes.”
Paul Murphy was the name on most people’s lips as they departed Tolka Park at the weekend, with the Wexford youngster having shown his undoubted ability with a superb showing. He was instrumental in both goals providing the crucial crosses and Henderson was equally impressed with the striker who is now regularly in the starting eleven.
“We all knew what the kid was about but it was all about us trying to get him fit at the start. But thank god he’s after finding his zest and now we’re seeing his tremendous natural ability. He’s learning to keep his head and keep his attitude. His two passes for the two goals were brilliant and he’s created so many goals. He’s a joy to watch in matches and even in training.”
Saturdays win was the second time in succession the Blues have come from behind to claim the win, a far cry from blowing a 2-0 halftime lead in Monaghan to ultimately lose 4-2. Henderson believes a team chat was the solution to the problems.
“At time we’ve panicked when we’ve gone a goal behind and we reacted poorly to the penalty in Monaghan. But we sat down and had a chat after that game and said ‘you have to remain focused’ and ‘you can’t blame others’. We told them we needed them to keep their heads up and that’s what they did against Shelbourne.”
“We’ve scored a lot of goals this season, we’re a very good side. We’ve finished just three points behind a very, very good Derry side. We’ve one of the best defences in the league and one of the best attacking wise. Kevin Burns is one of the best keepers in this league, if not the best. That’s how highly Kevin is thought of here, he’s been brilliant. In Paul Murphy we’ve also got a player who can unlock any defence in any division on his day. We stick to our jobs and our tasks and need to remember that there’s no need to panic.”
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