The Famous 6 in 8
Shane MurphySix notes, less than eight minutes to read.
1. And on it goes. That’s now six games in a row that Waterford have lost in Galway. Three one-nils, a pair of two-ones and a three-one. Our last seven matches against them at home and away have produced a grand total of two points. It looked for a while tonight that we might grind out a point in an ugly game. It would have been warmly welcomed by every fan and player, but it was only a tease and ended up just giving everyone déjà vu. No win away to Galway since 2007. Not even a point away to them in three years.
2. The winner wasn’t quite a carbon copy of the goal in last July’s 1-0 defeat to Galway, but it was from another set-piece at the same end, from the same side, with a big American firing to the net. Last year, it was Patrick Hickey from a long throw, tonight Vincent Borden from a corner. It didn’t take a psychic to predict where John Caulfield’s side would be at their most dangerous.
I’m sure Waterford worked hard on defending set-pieces in training this week and they did very well to nullify the threat until the final fifteen minutes. Long throws, corners and free kicks rained in and were dealt with impressively, but it all counts for nothing now. David Hurley’s delivery was exquisite and Borden used his height advantage to win the ball ahead of Grant Horton and loop it to the unguarded post.
3. While the Blues defended relatively well until that goal, they posed very little threat in attack themselves. The stats show eight scoring attempts, but several of those were shots high and wide that never troubled United’s back-up keeper Evan Watts. The only shot on target was a fairly tame free kick by Pádraig Amond at the beginning of the second half that was comfortably held by the loanee from Swansea City.
The biggest moment of concern for Galway was Conan Noonan’s shot in the 73rd minute that was clipped across goal and, unfortunately, out of reach of Amond’s outstretched leg. Had it petered out into an instantly forgettable scoreless draw, I think most would have been very happy to take the point and run. Losing late in the game meant the defensive effort went to waste and we’re left with doubts about our ability to create chances.
4. Lack of squad depth was one of the key factors in Waterford’s poor second half to last season and it arose again tonight. This time, it would appear to be bad luck with injuries rather than lack of players. Matty Smith remains out since early January. According to Keith Long’s post-match interview, Andy Boyle was injured midweek and Rowan McDonald was only fit enough for the bench. Then, he lost Tommy Lonergan in the warm-up, meaning a late change of plans with Maarten Pouwels getting his first start.
It took until the 83rd minute for a change to be made with Sam Glenfield replacing the lively James Olayinka. Still, Ben McCormack, Trae Coyle, Kyle White and McDonald stayed seated on the bench throughout. Whether they are at full fitness is questionable, but for one reason or another, there is still very little impact being accrued from substitutes. Meanwhile, Caulfield was able to send Hurley and Borden on just shy of the hour mark and they combined for the winning goal.
5. LOITV commentators should be encouraged to put a little effort into researching the away team given that at least half of their audience is likely to follow them. Would it take ten minutes to learn their names? I can forgive them for not recognising players immediately, but it’s very amateurish to get names so woefully wrong.
Waterford’s right back was “Bakood”, “Booland”, “Bakooa” and mainly “Bookland”. Anything but Bakboord, which is hardly a difficult name to pronounce. We had “Kaborski” and “Kapowski” with “Conor Noonan” throughout and then a classic as “Garfield” came off the bench, presumably to annoy Jon and Odie. Do better.
6. Two wins from three long away trips is still a great return. It’s the two losses from three home games that are an issue, especially last week’s heavy defeat to Bohemians. The derby day win against Cork City had the RSC rocking and the club’s bank balance brimming. The Blues need a big performance and a result against St Pat’s in two weeks’ time. Enjoy the international break, prepare for Pat’s and get back on track.