The Famous Six in Eight

1. When the final bell sounded at the end of a bruising battle at the Brandywell, it was the Blues who were left standing after a stunning 4-2 win. All of Waterford’s matches are championship bouts now with little room for coasting through any rounds. These are heavyweight clashes week after week all the way through to the end of October. The Blues had Derry on the ropes – even wobbling on their legs – when the second and third goals went in, although referee Declan Toland wasn’t about to step in and stop the fight.

Derry’s two late goals were like a pair of haymakers in the twelfth round when they knew they needed a knockout blow. Waterford took them on the chin and, instead of collapsing to the canvas, stood their ground and landed a decisive counterpunch when Tommy Lonergan sent Jorgen Voilas past Brian Maher to tap home to an empty net.

2. Derry made an offer of £150,000 sterling for Tommy Lonergan last week and are already counting the cost of its rejection. The 22-year-old striker is the hottest property in Irish football right now with nine goals in his last ten matches. Most of them have come in pairs with two each in wins against Drogheda, Dundalk and Derry. The nine points gained from those games highlight the value of his contribution.

Staying in the Premier Division for 2027 will be worth an awful lot more to Waterford financially than even a record transfer fee. It’s just mind-blowing still that Lonergan wasn’t in favour earlier in the season – sitting on the bench for four games with the Blues losing all four. Derry legend Liam Coyle, on LOITV commentary, described Tommy as “a proper centre forward” and he’s a man who should know. 

 

 

3. The difference in this team in recent weeks is remarkable. Graham Coughlan has completely changed the mindset without changing the personnel. Waterford lacked any identity at the start of the season – something Coughlan was quick to recognise. The squad wasn’t blessed with pace or with size. The team wasn’t organised well. Jon Daly set the team up with two players to control midfield (generally against three), but didn’t have a Jack Byrne or Dawson Devoy. The gameplan is simple now – sensible clearances, hard running in midfield, aggressive chasing, get the ball into the box quickly. It’s not rocket science, but it has given the Blues liftoff.

4. Waterford outworked their opponents again on Friday night and that could never be said in the early part of the season. The pressing has vastly improved. The defenders aren’t having to sit as deep because the attackers are harrying relentlessly and making themselves difficult to play through. One very telling statistic was that the Blues won thirteen tackles to just three for Derry. There were bodies on the line – a textbook block from John Mahon to stop James Olayinka scoring ten minutes into the second half stood out. This is a team giving its all for each other. 

 

 

5. It has to be said that Derry are underperforming under Tiernan Lynch. They have a huge budget from their billionaire owner and were tipped by many pundits to win the league this year, but trail league leaders Shamrock Rovers by 21 points. They assembled a very expensive squad, brought James McClean home among other big money moves, and were in a position to offer a massive deal for Tommy Lonergan. Yet, they have only won six games this season - two more than Waterford who didn’t start winning until seventeen weeks into the season. They were soundly beaten and the Brandywell faithful applauded the Blues and their travelling fans generously at the end. 

6. Football is the greatest sport in the world. Friday night just reinforced that. This was a team that was down and out not so long ago, but a little reorganisation and a bit of belief have them playing like world beaters. They were being written off as relegation certainties by the end of March. Now, they have major momentum as the form team in the division and are gaining ground on rivals week after week.

But nothing is ever easy. Pádraig Amond put Waterford 3-0 up in the 77th minute and yet, the blood drained from most fans’ faces when two former Blues – Rob Slevin and Adam O’Reilly – made it a terrifying 3-2 with five minutes to play. There was a gale-force collective exhale from the southeast when Voilas finally put the result beyond doubt ninety seconds into stoppage time.

The Argentina-Cape Verde World Cup match was supposed to be a gentle unwind, but turned out to be a frantic classic. While his clubmates were doing Waterford a big favour with a comeback win in Sligo, Pico Lopes was marking Messi. Football is a sport of opportunities. The Blues have a big one now.