- Paul Mehigan
- Sat, Mar 15 2008
With the scent of victory tickling the nostrils of Waterford United, they were sucker punched by an inexplicable David Breen handball in the 88th minute of this First Division clash. Substitute Keith Kelch dispatched the resultant penalty to hand Longford a slightly fortuitous share of the spoils.
A scrappy first-half yielded no goals and little in the way of chances. The best of them fell to the away side in the 27th minute when Davoren sprang the Blues’ offside trap and squared for an oncoming Damien Rushe who shot straight at Holden. However, the ‘keeper couldn’t hold it and succeeded only in deflecting the ball into the path of an unmarked McKenna but the big target-man hesitated and spurned a golden opportunity to hand the Midlanders the lead.
If someone was to break the deadlock for a disappointing Longford then McKenna would have been the most deserving candidate. With only scraps to feed off of, the number nine ensured that Breen and Browne earned their corn in the first period by terrorising them at every opportunity. For the home side, winter signing Luke Fitzpatrick was the outstanding player and so deep was the carbon footprint from his energetic performance that Greenpeace activists threatened to invade the pitch and remove him.
Fitzpatrick was at the centre of Waterford’s best moment in the 15th minute when a clever necklace of passes between Warren, Bermingham and Fitzgerald resulted in the former Pat’s man finding himself in possession and playing a deft, defence-splitting pass to Sullivan whose cross shot-beat Kelly only for O’Donnell to clear wildly into the grateful arms of his goalkeeper.
The rest of the first half was sub-standard fare. Bandaged up Waterford star Paul McCarthy epitomised the game better than anyone else. He may have resembled a certain former England defender but his performance was more Pat Butcher than Terry Butcher. McCarthy wasn’t the only one and the crowd responded accordingly. An outsider could be forgiven for mistaking the RSC for the moon. A crater filled playing surface combined with a lack of atmosphere lent a lunar feel to the proceedings.
However, the crowd was awakened from their slumber just five minutes into the second period when Foley’s through ball was chased by Sullivan. Kelly sprinted from his line and picked up the ball outside his area. The United support bayed for referee Sean Grant to dismiss the ‘keeper but they had to be contented with a free-kick and a booking. Foley drove the free-kick straight at O’Donnell. However, within three minutes the crowd were brought to their feet by Dave Warren.
Foley’s cross was hooked over his own head by McCarthy and into the path of Warren. The former Cobh man brought the ball under control and danced past the derisory challenge of O’Donnell before smashing his shot beyond the left-arm of Kelly.
Waterford could have doubled their advantage just after the hour mark. Foley’s corner found Fitzpatrick but the midfielder’s goal-bound header was cleared off the line by Rushe. A minute later, substitute David Grincell met Warren’s deep cross but could only steer it wide. Longford responded in kind and four minutes later Frawley met Casey’s corner but the ball deflected off of David Breen and went over Holden’s goal.
That chance aside, Longford struggled to make headway with Browne and Breen nullifying the McKenna threat that had looked so potent in the first half. Rushe tried manfully to orchestrate a Longford comeback but his endeavour succeeded only in hitting bum notes due to the anaemic nature of his team-mates’ performances.
In fact, Waterford should have doubled their advantage when Foley’s neat pass found the much improved McCarthy. The midfielder played a delectable ball to release Sullivan but the target man had failed to time his run and strayed criminally offside.
Thereafter the game looked to be petering out until Casey launched a ball over the top in the 88th minute. A ball-watching Breen was outfoxed by Barrett but Holden came to the centre back’s rescue by clawing the ball around his post. However, Holden was left helpless by Breen’s moment of madness from the corner kick that followed.
Waterford United: Packie Holden; Kieran Fitzgerald, David Breen, Kenny Browne, Robbie Clarke; Paul McCarthy, Dave Warren, Luke Fitzpatrick, Kevin Waters (Michael Foley, 46); Vinny Sullivan (Willie John Kiely, 78), Karl Bermingham (David Grincell, 62).
Subs not used: Stephen Quigley, Gary Dunphy.
Booked: Sullivan (5), Breen (88).
Longford Town: Seamus Kelly; Ryan O’Donnell, Ryan Casey, Ronan Frawley, Colin Murray (Dean Barrett, 78); Luke Hardy, Alan Lynch (Brian Kelly, 78), Daire Doyle (Keith Kelch, 65), Iarfhlaith Davoren; Darren McKenna, Damien Rushe.
Booked: S Kelly (50).
Referee: Sean Grant.
