- Patrick O'Connor
- Sat, May 18 2024
Patrick O'Connor reports from Tolka Park
Shelbourne got back to winning ways again on Friday night with a narrow but deserved 1-0 win over Waterford.
And once again it was ace marksman Sean Boyd whose goal separated the two sides at the end of the 96 minutes of action.
The Reds certainly deserved their three points as they had the bulk of the possession, 68% to 32% for Waterford.
They also played some intelligent football at times and could have had a greater margin of victory except for the man of the match performance by Waterford’s goalkeeper Sam Sargeant.
They started very brightly and Will Jarvis, John Martin and Matty Smith all had good chances inside the opening 20 minutes.
But they found Sargeant in superb form and time and again he pulled off great saves to keep the visitors in the game.
Jarvis and Smith had other half chances later on but were unable to find the net, while Waterford found it hard to get any momentum in the final third of the pitch and never tested Conor Kearns.
The Blues dangerous wingers Maleace Asamoah and Conor Parsons were forced to defend deeply and never got much opportunity to show their attacking flair.
It finished scoreless at the break and the inevitable second half substitutions were to influence the game and ultimately the final scoreline.
Sean Boyd was introduced for John Martin in the 61st minute and within 11 minutes he was to score the only goal that separated the sides.
The tireless Evan Caffrey and Matty Smith were involved in the build-up, and while the ball bobbled away from Smith at the edge of the box, it fell kindly for Boyd who was coolness personified when he took it under control.
From a standing position, he stroked the ball with the inside of the right foot and curled it low into the net, a great goal and for once Sargeant was unable to get a hand to it.
Waterford did go three at the back and brought on additional attacking players but could not do enough to force an equaliser, although they had one great opportunity in the 87th minute.
Former Shelbourne Gbemi Arubi was all alone at the penalty spot when a cross came in but he directed his header into the ground and it bounced agonisingly over the bar, probably their best chance in the whole game but it was not to be for the Blues.
The three points enables Shelbourne to remain top of the table, albeit still only one point ahead of Derry City, and they have a quick turnaround before they tackle the Stephen Kenny managed St Patricks Athletic on Monday.
Waterford now drop out of the top four and down to sixth in the table and will have to regroup again for a home game against Drogheda Utd next weekend
Shelbourne: Conor Kearns; Patrick Barrett (Lewis Temple 89), Sean Gannon, Kameron Ledwidge (Tyreke Wilson 89), Gavin Molloy; Evan Caffrey, Mark Coyle, Jonathan Lunney (Liam Burt 61); William Jarvis, John Martin (Sean Boyd 61), Matthew Smith (John O'Sullivan 77).
Subs not used: Lorcan Healy, Jad Hakiki, Shane Farrell, Dean Williams.
Booked: Jonathan Lunney (33), John Martin (41), Liam Burt (89).
Waterford: Sam Sargeant; Grant Horton, Darragh Leahy, Robert McCourt, Darragh Power (Gbemi Arubi 86), Kacper Radkowski (Harvey Macadam 46); Maleace Asamoah, Rowan McDonald, Connor Parsons (Christie Pattisson 62); Padraig Amond, Dean McMenamy (Ben McCormack 73).
Subs not used: Matthew Connor, Joseph Forde, Ryan Burke, Romeo Akachukwu, Niall O'Keeffe.
Booked: Robert McCourt (14), Keith Long (28).
Referee: Rob Harvey
Attendance: 3586.
extratime.com Player of the Match: Sam Sargeant (Waterford).
