The Famous 6 in 8

Six notes, less than eight minutes to read.

1.  In my preview, I said Waterford would need an energetic and disciplined performance in order to get a result in Derry. The Blues delivered in spades. Right from the off, Keith Long’s side were on the front foot. They attacked, pressed, harried, but kept their shape fantastically well too. The effervescence of Tommy Lonergan and Conan Noonan has helped Pádraig Amond this season, although the soon-to-be 37-year-old shows no sign of slowing down himself.

Yes, Waterford conceded a penalty, but Derry were the ones who picked up six yellow cards while no Blues player went into referee Aaron O’Dowd’s notebook. Even when the home team began to set up camp around Stephen McMullan’s eighteen-yard box, every Waterford player kept their discipline, led by a courageous display from the veteran Andy Boyle.

 

2.  It would have been hard to predict those two goalscorers. Kyle White was an unexpected starter at left wing back. Normally a midfielder, the 20-year old from Burnley marked his first start for the club with his first goal. He has had to be incredibly patient after a torn hamstring in his first training session after joining from Fleetwood Town last summer ruled him out for the rest of 2024. He played out of position tonight, but stuck to his task manfully, defending with aggressiveness paired with discipline, and took his goal with the composure of a striker in peak form.

All five of Waterford’s goals this season have been the scorers’ first for the club. Lonergan and Noonan scored on their debut, but Rowan McDonald, White and Radkowski all notched for the first time in a Blues jersey too. Surely the odds would have favoured a headed goal from Big Kacper, but instead, he took a great first touch and then hammered the ball low inside Brian Maher’s near post. It was a sublime goal for a defender, yet drew the calmest of celebrations from the club’s record signing.

 

 

3.  We have a goalkeeper in Stephen McMullan. The youngster, on loan from Fleetwood, has been extremely impressive so far. He hasn’t had to claw any shots out of the top corner to date, but has made some excellent saves including that crucial penalty stop in Sligo. Where he has really stood out is in his command of his area and his strong handling of the ball. There were balls in the Brandywell that skipped and slid off the surface and could easily have been spilled, but the Northern Ireland Under 21 international dealt with all of them confidently. By all accounts, he is loud too. Despite his youth, he is not afraid to boss his defenders around – something they will really appreciate. Any fears fans may have had about an inexperienced keeper being nervous or unsure have been firmly put to bed already.

 

4.  Six points from three games is a terrific start to the season and the Blues clearly have more strength in depth than last year. However, I still feel we could do with more cover at the back. With only six senior defenders in the squad, any absences hurt more. With Ryan Burke suspended and Grant Horton injured, Long turned to White to fill in at left back and it worked brilliantly. White’s lack of full match fitness though meant that the final twenty minutes needed midfielder Sam Glenfield to slot in at right back and Navajo Bakboord to swap sides to the left. It was a success so no complaints, but I have no doubt that the manager will be looking to add to his defensive ranks in the summer.

 

 

5.  It wouldn’t be a night at the modern Brandywell without commenting on the surface. I always considered Luton Town’s plastic pitch at Kenilworth Road in the 1980s to be the worst artificial surface I’ve ever seen, but this is worse. The technology shouldn’t have regressed in forty years so how is this pitch so bad? The ball slips around as if it was on glass and nobody understands how many injuries it causes more than Derry themselves. Every team just has to be grateful by the final whistle if they haven’t sustained a serious injury. It needs to go.

 

6.  It’s unfortunate on a night of celebration to have another gripe, but the LOITV website not working for the first half is unbelievably frustrating. There’s so much momentum behind the League of Ireland with growing coverage and an insatiable thirst for more from the fanbase. So if they pay a subscription to watch matches, then they should be able to see them. The LOITV app does seem to work consistently, but work needs to be done on the website. Credit to Colin Green and Seán Hargan though for solid and relatively unbiased commentary tonight.