O'Brien thrilled with derby success

Waterford United tightened their grip on third place in the First Division table with a 2-1 victory over Limerick FC at the RSC on Friday evening – a win which also cut Limerick’s lead over the Suirside club to just four points. Blues boss Paul O’Brien has now masterminded three league victories over the Shannonsiders this season and has his side building momentum as they strive to end their extended absence from the country’s top footballing table. 

This latest Munster derby was played in torrential rain and bore witness to a first-half which will live in infamy. Speaking to Extratime.ie after the game, O’Brien shone a little light on what was the catalyst behind Waterford’s second-half turnaround and come-from-behind victory. 

“You pick up on their mistakes, alright, at half-time and you just paint little pictures for them and show them different areas that you can exploit,” said O’Brien. “You’ve got experience, with a blend of youth, there and the experienced players – they didn’t play around the country for nothing.

I think they make their own belief. You look at the confidence that they showed near the end, I mean, they believe in their own ability.”

On whether the difficult weather conditions were a factor in his tactical approach to the game, the former youth team boss gave an insight into his pre-match thinking. “No, I just looked at our formation. We have strength in different areas of the field and I just put [out] the best XI that I felt would do the job for us tonight. The conditions play their part for both teams so you just have to deal with them and get on with it.” 

O’Brien was also asked whether Waterford’s successful counter-attacking play, both in this game and in the last home encounter with Limerick, had been his strategy from the outset. “I think the one thing about it is that if you’re going to push people forward, you leave other areas open and I felt, I’d say about 20 minutes into the game, that they were pushing forward a lot. So counter-attacking was the best way to exploit it.”

Waterford’s relatively youthful defence, ably assisted by the veteran presence of goalkeeper Packie Holden as well as the occasional addition of injury-plagued centre-half David Breen, has performed excellently for much of this season. After a humiliating 6-0 loss to local rivals Wexford Youths on the opening day of the season, the Blues’ back-line has bounced-backed with a steely resolve, keeping six clean sheets along the way. This game was perhaps one of their finest moments as a group to date, and their manager was effusive in his praise.

I thought Dylan Mernagh was absolutely excellent,” gushed O’Brien. PC [Paul Carey], David Breen, but I think collectively, even Packie; they’re decent. They [Limerick] had quality out there, the likes of Denis Behan and that, you know what I mean? For our back four to deal with that, you have to give them credit.

I know David had a difficult start to the league, he picked up different injuries, and you’re trying to get yourself back and then you’re coming back too early and then you’re breaking down again so we gave David plenty of rest and now he’s starting to come back. He’s a quality player and you’d always look to David to give you a good shift.” 
Both of Waterford’s goals on Friday evening came via a set-piece. The dead-ball delivery of Gary Dempsey has been a decisive factor for this team all too infrequently this season and O’Brien was happy to see a couple of crosses finally made to count. 

“I kind of emphasised before about set-pieces; we should be getting a lot more from them. If you can get 20% of your goals a season from set-pieces [then you’re doing well]. You’re looking for the quality of the ball and then you’re looking for the timing of the run, so I think everything came to fruition [tonight].”

The Blues manager was also thrilled to give the local supporters something to shout about. The atmosphere inside the ground throughout the second-half was intoxicating, with the home fans as loud and supportive as they’ve been for some time. 

Yeah, I’d love to see a lot more people out here; it’s great for a neutral to watch a game like that,” said O’Brien with a beaming smile. “It’s great to see the fans going off and being delighted with the result, delighted with the performance and that’s what we’re trying to do. My philosophy on football is always to get the ball down and play but in other areas you have to do different things. I think we have the nucleus now of something that’s going to take us forward.”

With regards to the transfer window, O’Brien was dismissive of further activity having already added an extra defender to his squad. He replied in the negative when quizzed on whether further additions were to be expected. 

“We brought in Stephen Mulcahy as cover – he’s on loan from Cork City – and he’s a very, very good player, he played with Ireland under-23. So that’s going to put pressure on other people; competition is healthy and [hopefully] we can keep it like that. Nobody’s place is guaranteed.”

Waterford entertain SD Galway in front of their home fans in their next game before a potential date with their promotion destiny beckons in the form of a trip to league-leaders Longford Town. A win in Flancare Park would firmly re-establish the Blues as league contenders and draw them ever-closer to their Premier Division dream. For now however, their fans can bask in the glory of another Munster derby triumph.