In a triumph over Shamrock Rovers at Dublin 24’s Tallaght Stadium, Waterford marks their first victorious return since their promotion play-off triumph at the same ground last November. Dean McMenamy and Connor Parsons, capitalising on an early own goal by Leon Pohls, scored impressively to put Keith Long’s team ahead, leading to a sobering evaluation period for the defending champions.
Placing Waterford in sixth position, their first back-to-back victories this season came as a hard blow to the Rovers, who missed an opportunity to potentially ascend to the top spot on the league table. Operating a five-man defence, Waterford exhibited a promising start, scoring a lead goal within three minutes by capitalising on an early corner.
Padraig Amond and Parsons took advantage of a slipshod Rovers play to force the fouled corner. Rovers’ goalie Pohls couldn’t grip McMenamy’s corner, inadvertently driving it into his net, despite Markus Poom’s best efforts to keep it out.
In the early stage of the match, following a misdirected effort by Trevor Clarke from a Sean Kavanagh’s cross, Rovers equalised in the eighth minute. Waterford’s goalie Sam Sargeant could only deflect Johnny Kenny’s header, which allowed Kenny to boot home his fourth consecutive game’s goal after Dan Cleary’s follow-up attempt was parried by Sargeant.
A further four minutes saw the Blues nearly retake the lead, with Amond teaming yet again with wingman Parsons, whose near miss curled shot surpassed Roberto Lopes. However, Amond successfully shotgunned a drive only seventeen minutes in, turning back off Josh Honohan, allowing McMenamy to control the ball and shoot a stunning 25 yard first seasonal goal.
With the Rovers still struggling to find their footing, they didn’t manage to mount any real threat to the Waterford goal until the 33rd minute. Working a one-two throw-in from the left, Kavanagh crossed only for the Blues’ captain, Darragh Leahy, to deflect Clarke’s shot, resulting in the Rover’s first corner of the match.
A brief while later, Greene capitalised on a stray clearance by shooting just wide of the mark with Clarke a close contender before half-time. The goal of Waterford continued facing onslaught as soon as the match restarted, with Poom’s freely-awarded kick getting tipped over, enforcing consecutive corners. However, Blues emerged victorious, enhancing their lead with a superb goal at 54 minutes. Rovers couldn’t manage to disperse Maleace Asamoah’s attempt which Pohls had deflected.
The unattended ball was seized by Parsons, he skilfully engaged his left foot to swing it into the goal off the bottom edge of the crossbar. Rovers maintained their intense gameplay for the better part of the remaining match. Kenny hit the crossbar, whereas Dan Cleary also banged the frame twice, but Waterford clung on for a notable victory.
Meanwhile, at Weavers Park in the Louth derby, a thrilling last-minute goal from Hayden Cann sealed a 2-1 win for Drogheda United, notwithstanding losing goalkeeper Jethren Barr to a red card. This result puts Dundalk five points behind at the bottom of the table.
A goal from Maurice Nugent in the first half handed Galway United a slim 1-0 victory over Bohemians at Dalymount Park, despite being reduced to 10 players for the final 30 minutes. Sligo Rovers recorded their first triumph in seven matches, thanks to Ellis Chapman’s strike in the 23rd minute, defeating St. Patrick’s Athletic 1-0 at the Showgrounds.
Shamrock Rovers: Pohls, Cleary, Lopes, Honohan, Poom (exchanged for Barrett after 78 minutes), Noonan (swapped with Farrugia after 55 minutes), Clarke (replaced by C. O’Sullivan after 70 minutes), Nugent, Kavanagh (substituted with Byrne after 56 minutes), Kenny, Greene.
Waterford: Sargeant, Power, Radkowski, Horton, McCourt, Leahy, McDonald, McMenamy (replaced by O’Keeffe in the 90th minute), Asamoah (swapped with Macadam after 70 minutes), Amond, Parsons (changed for Pattisson after 82 minutes).
Referee: Eoghan O’Shea from Tipperary was officiating. A total of 4,843 spectators were present at the venue.
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