The Famous Six in Eight

1.  Was it game over after just ten minutes? Not quite, but the Blues gave themselves a climb that proved insurmountable and Drogheda were well-worth their win by the end without too much stress. After conceding an early goal against Shelbourne last week, Waterford were once again on the back foot from the beginning and, this time, could find no way back into the game. 

It was a truly disastrous opening to the match. A failure to clear the lines saw the defence under immediate pressure. Drogheda won two headers in the box forcing Benny Couto into a goal-line clearance, but still the ball could not be cleared and it fell to Shane Farrell to execute a thunderous strike to the net. So much for “keep it tight for the first few minutes”, the visitors were already up against it with just two minutes on the clock.

While the first goal was messy, the second is more indicative of a problem with the structure of the team. Conor Kane made a great run infield with the ball which drew four Waterford players, leaving Thomas Oluwa in twenty yards of space when he received the pass – the same space that Shelbourne enjoyed too often last week. Edwin Agbaje was first to his measured cross and Mark Doyle seized on the breaking ball to swivel and finish brilliantly. Another bad start, but this one was more costly. 

 

2.  Despite the lack of success and, to a large extent, quality, I saw no lack of effort from Waterford and that, at least, is encouraging. While it never really looked like they could turn that early deficit around, they couldn’t be accused of throwing in the towel. For the second week in a row, the second half was better than the first and the work-rate was high right to the end. Drogheda were the better team on the night and outmuscled Waterford, but the Blues kept scrapping and were still throwing in blocks and tackles right to the end. Conan Noonan’s defensive header clear at the far post stood out as one example of that effort and Tommy Lonergan gave his all chasing lost causes. It may seem like a minimum to demand that commitment, but we didn’t always see it last season. 

 

 

3.  It's not often fans to call for a more negative, less attacking approach so this is a rarity. The Blues have set up with a very attacking line-up so far in 2026. They appeared to be very open defensively in preseason and that has only increased in the two league games. It’s an ambitious, and probably admirable, strategy that may well reap rewards come the summer months when the pitches are more playable and the team has fully gelled. It looks as if the players haven’t got to grips with the system yet because there are huge gaps in the wide areas defensively. The old maxim is to make the pitch big when attacking and small when defending. It’s been the opposite for Waterford too many times in these early stages with opposition wingers and full backs finding acres of space too regularly. With so many new recruits and the team adjusting to a new manager, it seems wiser to tighten up and provide more protection for the back four at the expense of some of our attacking thrust until the team settles and pitches improve. 

 

4.  While the defence will foot the bill for three sloppy goals conceded to date, there have to be question marks over whether Waterford have enough in midfield for the season ahead. Manager and chairman were united in highlighting the need for a right back at last week’s Fan Forum and Daly also admitted he would like another centre back if possible. The former would allow Luke Heeney into his natural midfield role, but will that be enough? Heeney should do a lot of work in the middle and the Blues also have the engine of Glenfield, Barrett and Dean McMenamy, plus the passing ability of McLaughlin (who has been quiet so far). Noonan looks set to be the one to make the team tick with even greater responsibility than last year, but if teams strategise to nullify him, will there be enough to open defences up?

 

 

5.  Squad depth has been a real problem in the two seasons since promotion to the Premier Division so it’s been heartening to see substitutes having a positive effect in these two games. In the 74 top flight matches since 2024, Waterford have only had a shockingly-low three goals scored by substitutes. Cian Barrett almost made that four with an outrageous hit off the crossbar from thirty yards that would have been a Goal of the Season contender. Jorgen Voilas has impressed in his two appearances and was excellent in the Munster Senior Cup clash with Cobh. Trae Coyle, Jordan Faria and Jesse Dempsey are others who Daly can turn to in order to bring guile or pace from the bench and hopefully complement the starting eleven. 

 

6.  Lastly, today was a taste of what the past days of ‘winter football’ were like with two postponements and the pitch at Sullivan & Lambe Park admirably staying barely playable, albeit with patches and divots that were distinctly old-school. Of the seven games that went ahead tonight across both divisions, four were played on AstroTurf. Any return to winter football would see an end to football played on grass the way it is meant to be. Maybe Blues fans would prefer, in hindsight, that the pitch inspection had produced a different outcome today.