~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Team Bulletin
Longford Town v Waterford United at Flancare Park 
Saturday, May 1st, 2010 (KO 7.30pm)
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Injury hit Blues head to Flancare: 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

An untimely injury crisis has been visited upon Waterford United as they prepare for the journey to Flancare Park to take on Longford Town on Saturday (KO 7.30pm).
 
Half time at the recent Finn Harps game saw the sorry sight of Seamus Long being taken away in an ambulance with a suspected fractured ankle. That turned out not to be as bad as first feared, but the defender will still be out for 3-4 weeks with damage to the ankle. Further bad news followed in midweek, when his central defensive partner, inspirational captain Kevin Murray, damaged a hamstring in training, and will also be out for a similar period of time. John Hayes will come in to fill one of the berths, with Alan Carey moving sideways from right back to fill the other. Paul Carey is likely to be drafted in at full back for his namesake, but with Kevin Waters still out with a calf strain, the Blues defensive cover is stretched thin.
 
Long’s injury was about the only negative note in an otherwise satisfactory evening for the Blues last Friday, as they got back on track in the league with a useful 2-0 win over Finn Harps. United had the upper hand for most of the match, and once again set about creating numerous chances in the game, pleasing manager Stephen Henderson, as his side showed real attacking threat up front, from wide midfield, and in particular, from the centre of the park through George O’Callaghan. The new signing’s impressive display of the full range of passing underpinned a marvellous team performance, which delighted the Waterford boss.
 
And so to Flancare Park. In previous years very much a bogey ground for the team, in recent times it has become a little more generous, with United going home with all three points in their last three visits to Strokestown Road. The Blues will be wary of any complacency, however. Longford on their day are a match for anyone, and, particularly at home, present a tough challenge for any team. Though they’ve recorded two losses at Flancare so far this season, they’ve both been to title contenders in Shelbourne and Derry City. United will have to be at the top of their game if they are to become the third.
 

Henderson Quotes: 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On the Harps match:
“That was our best performance here since we beat Derry City.”
“During the past few weeks we have been passing the ball sideways, but tonight we passed the ball forward at every opportunity, and perhaps we could have won by a bigger margin.”
“The people who came here tonight saw a player [George O'Callaghan] who is simply different class. All through the game tonight he never stopped encouraging the players around him, and never stopped talking all through the match.”
“There is no doubting that the players will learn a lot from him because his passing and free kicks were brilliant.”
“We were all upset by what happened in Monaghan, but that is well and truly behind us now, and we will kick on from here and try and put another winning run together.”
“We will travel to Longford now confident that we can win up there.”

Suspensions & Injuries:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Suspensions:
none
 
Injuries:
Josh Byrne (goalkeeper) – tendon strain (hand), 4 weeks
Kevin Murray (defender) – torn hamstring, 3-4 weeks
Seamus Long (defender) – ankle strain, 3-4 weeks
Kevin Waters (defender/midfielder) – calf strain, 1-2 weeks

Top Scorers (League):
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
5 – Vinny Sullivan
3 – Alan Carey
3 – Willie John Kiely
1 – Kevin Murray
1 – Liam Kearney
1 – Timmy Purcell
 
Top Scorers (All Competitions):
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
5 – Vinny Sullivan (5 Lge)
5 – Willie John Kiely (3 Lge, 1 EA, 1 MSC)
3 – Alan Carey (3 Lge)
2 – David Grincell (1 EA, 1 MSC)
1 – George O’Callaghan (1 MSC)
1 – Kevin Murray (1 Lge)
1 – Liam Kearney (1 Lge)
1 – Timmy Purcell (1 Lge)

Recent Form:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Last Match:
Waterford United    2 – 0    Finn Harps
Sullivan 21, Murray 49
 
 
Form:
WWWWW WWLWW

Head-to-Head:
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29 Sep 09   Lge   Waterford United    1 – 0    Longford Town
25 Jul 09    Lge    Longford Town    1 – 3    Waterford United
04 Apr 09   Lge    Waterford United    1 – 0    Longford Town
27 Sep 08   Lge    Longford Town    0 – 3    Waterford United
25 Jul 08    Lge    Waterford United    4 – 0    Longford Town
17 May 08  Lge    Longford Town    0 – 2    Waterford United
14 Mar 08   Lge    Waterford United    1 – 1    Longford Town
 
Betting:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Longford: 7/2
Waterford: 4/6
Draw: 12/5

Results This Season:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
23 Apr 10     h     Finn Harps                             (ALFD)      2-0        W
20 Apr 10     h     Tramore AFC                          (MSC)       3-2        W
16 Apr 10     a     Monaghan United                    (ALFD)       0-1        L
12 Apr 10     a     Kerry League                          (EASC)      2-0        W
09 Apr 10     h     Limerick FC                            (ALFD)       2-1        W
03 Apr 10     a     Mervue United                        (ALFD)       3-2        W
27 Mar 10     a     Salthill Devon                         (ALFD)       1-0        W
19 Mar 10     h     Derry City                              (ALFD)       1-0        W
12 Mar 10     a     Cork City FORAS Co-op            (ALFD)       2-0        W
05 Mar 10     h     Wexford Youths                      (ALFD)       3-0        W

Next 6 Matches:
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04 May 10    h     Athlone Town (ALFD)
07 May 10    a     Shelbourne (ALFD)
11 May 10    h     Tralee Dynamos (EASC)
14 May 10    a     Wexford Youths (ALFD)
21 May 10    h     Cork City FORAS Co-Op (ALFD)
29 May 10    a     Derry City (ALFD)

Waterford United will host its annual golf classic on Friday May 21st 2010. This very popular fundraiser will once again be played at the superb Championship Course at Faithlegg Golf Club, which has hosted numerous European Tour Events in recent years.

The event kicks off at 10am and tee times are available until 3pm. The format is a 4 person team event with entry priced at €250 per team and all teams will receive a meal after their round in the clubhouse.

There are great prizes to be won and there is a special prize for the leading pub/golf society which was won last year by Norris’s Bar, Barrack Street.

The event is being co-ordinated by Dudley Higgins and he can be contacted on 086 8588008.

Waterford United  2 – 0  Finn Harps

Waterford United got their league form back on track at the RSC tonight, bouncing back from last weekend’s disappointment with a comfortable 2-0 win over Finn Harps, and keeping themselves two points clear at the top of the table.

A cagey first half saw little in the way of chances early on, Marc Brolly the only one to threaten in any way, first with a long range drive that Chris Konopka held easily, and then with a wildly slashed volley that screwed well wide from 15 yards, a better opportunity for the winger. On 21 minutes though the game kicked into life, as United won a free kick wide on the right. George O’Callaghan flighted in a dangerous cross that was only half cleared by Packie Mailey, and Vinny Sullivan picked it up on the edge of the area, shifted left and then left again to deal with an awkwardly dropping ball, before sliding to stroke home inside the post with the outside of his right foot from 12 yards out.

As the half hour approached O’Callaghan and Gary Dunphy troubled the home defence with a series of useful crosses, but Harps had another good chance at the other end, with Brolly, again, forcing Konopka into a full length dive with a volley from the edge of the area. Minutes later the visitors broke up a Blues attack and countered quickly and with men over, Michael Funston leading the charge, but Kevin Murray got back in the nick of time to intercept his pass into the middle. As the break approached Harps laid siege to the home goal, and O’Callaghan was called on to make a great block from a Brolly drive. Sadly, moments before, United lost Seamus Long to a serious looking ankle injury, and indeed at the break he was taken to hospital for precautionary x-rays, though it now seems that the injury is thankfully not as bad as first feared.

United doubled their lead early in the second half, when Liam Kearney skinned James Doherty deep in the left corner, before being brought crashing to earth by the full back. George O’Callaghan fired in a wonderfully judged cross, picking out Kevin Murray unmarked at the far post to head home his first of the campaign. Harps responded quickly and well at the other end through the ubiquitous Marc Brolly, crossing well from the left for Tommy Bonnar to crash a volley just over from distance, but on 59 minutes another superb move, again involving O’Callaghan, saw the new signing arrow a cross-field ball straight to the feet of Paul McCarthy, wide on the right, who cut inside and fired left-footed for goal, only to drag the shot a foot wide of the butt of the near upright.

With the game swinging very much in the home side’s favour at this stage, a number of chances to extend the lead came and went. Alan Carey fired a 20-yard free kick just high and wide of the left top corner on 66 minutes, and five minutes later John Kearney showed he was no slouch with the angled pass either, knocking a quick free kick, from deep, cross-field to Timmy Purcell, who swung in a superb early cross, only to see Vinny Sullivan head well over the top from 8 yards. Moments later Purcell again showed great composure to hold possession and then slip it inside for O’Callaghan, who struck side-footed from outside the area, the ball cannoning back off the crossbar with Liam Mailey beaten all ends up.

Finn Harps piled on the pressure as the game wound down, forcing several corner kicks, unfortunately from their point of view none of which taxed the home side unduly. Waterford, in turn, took the ball into the Harps’ corners when they broke forward, and it was one of those forays which provided the last incident of the game, an unpleasant end to proceedings. Initially it was yet another superb O’Callaghan ball, over the top for Vinny Sullivan, which started the move. He flicked it on to Purcell, who, seemingly caught unawares, missed his chance to shoot, but kept possession as he was harried out to the corner. As Purcell continued to hold the ball in the corner, Michael Funston’s impatience got the better of him, and he clattered the midfielder from behind to earn a straight red card in virtually the last act of the match.

Waterford: Chris Konopka; Alan Carey, Kevin Murray, Seamus Long (John Hayes 42), John Kearney; George O’Callaghan, Gary Dunphy (Timmy Purcell 62), Paul McCarthy, Liam Kearney; Willie John Kiely (David Grincell 66), Vinny Sullivan – subs: Paul Carey, James O’Sullivan

Goals: Sullivan 21, Murray 49

Booked: Sullivan, Kiely, Long

Harps: Liam Mailey, James Doherty, Gary Whoriskey, Packie Mailey, Matt Crossan, Michael Funston, Stephen McLoughlin (Davitt Walsh 45), Tommy Bonnar, Marc Brolly (Fintan Bonnar 75), Kevin McHugh, Johnny Lafferty (Mark Forkar 75) - subs: Shane O’Gara, Oisin McMenamin

Booked: T Bonnar, Whoriskey

Sent Off: Funston 92

Referee: Graham Kelly (Cork)

In the Finn Harps programme this Friday night:

Tom Flynn talks to United’s greatest ever custodian,

Brendan White looks back on recent Harps meetings,

Brian Kennedy celebrates the lovable oddities of our League,

A man in a woolly hat gets set for marriage,

And Shane Murphy goes “VinnyVinnyVinnyVinny!!!”

All this, plus the usual goodies, are in this Friday night’s match programme!

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Team Bulletin
Waterford United v Finn Harps at the RSC 
Friday, April 23rd, 2010 (KO 7.45pm)
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Blues to start again from scratch against Harps: 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Having seen their six-game winning start to the league campaign come to an abrupt halt, Waterford United will be looking to start another from the beginning when they play host to Finn Harps at the RSC this Friday (KO 7.45pm).
 
After going behind to an early strike last weekend the Blues just could not find a way past a resolute Monaghan United side, who stifled their best attempts to create anything. Boss Stephen Henderson was not happy with the team’s inability to break down the solid defence, though not faulting his players for effort, but he was somewhat philosophical after the match, putting it down to just a bad day at the office. In some ways, of course, a run like that coming to an end can be a monkey off a club’s back, but there’s few managers who would swap a win for a loss at any stage of the season.
 
Importantly, United did bounce back within a few days, with a 3-2 victory over neighbours Tramore AFC in the Munster Senior Cup last Tuesday, a more comfortable win than that scoreline might suggest as the Seasiders grabbed a late second from the penalty spot in injury time. Henderson was again unhappy with his side’s overall play, though he was pleased with the contribution of George O’Callaghan on his home debut and first full match, as the new signing passed the ball around well all night, set up the first goal, and scored what turned out to be the winner with an absolute screamer from 25 yards. However the Blues boss doesn’t think the team are that far away from the levels required, and he’ll be looking to see them step up against the Donegal men on Friday.
 
Finn Harps always try to play attacking football, which will suit Waterford, and should make for an entertaining game, but also a tough game for the home side. The RSC has been relatively benign to Harps in recent times, as they’ve drawn three times and lost once in their previous four treks to the South East. That loss was a 4-0 hammering last July, and the Blues will of course be hoping for a repeat performance. But a win of any kind, to get another unbeaten run underway, and maintain their lead at the top of the table, must be the only focus. Apart from Kevin Waters, who remains out of contention with a torn calf muscle, Henderson should have a full squad to select from.

Henderson Quotes: 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On the Monaghan match:
“You get nights like this in football, and I will put it down as a bad day at the office.”
“We tried to play a more wide game with the side we put out, but we played too narrow and as a result we did not create any real chances.”
“I will not blame the players because they tried hard, but unfortunately it did not happen for us here tonight.”
“We’ll put the defeat behind us, learn from it, and move on from here.”
“The lads in this squad are good players, and I’m confident we will bounce back and get on another run, starting this week.”
 
On the Tramore match:
“Really disappointed with our own performance, in second gear all night, Munster Senior Cup or not.”
“I think we are all in there [the dressing room] and we all accept that we didn’t play well tonight. We have our standards and we didn’t reach them.”
“We’re not a million miles away from it, but when we get there we’ll be a very good side.”
“You can see George has a bit to go, he’s working hard on his fitness, the goal was tremendous though. I suppose George would be one of the players tonight who the majority of his passes reached the player it was intended for.”

Suspensions & Injuries:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Suspensions:
none
 
Injuries:
Kevin Waters – torn calf muscle, 2-3 weeks

Top Scorers (League):
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
4 – Vinny Sullivan
3 – Alan Carey
3 – Willie John Kiely
1 – Liam Kearney
1 – Timmy Purcell

Top Scorers (All Competitions):
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
5 – Willie John Kiely (3 Lge, 1 EA, 1 MSC)
4 – Vinny Sullivan (4 Lge)
3 – Alan Carey (3 Lge)
2 – David Grincell (1 EA, 1 MSC)
1 – George O’Callaghan (1 MSC)
1 – Liam Kearney (1 Lge)
1 – Timmy Purcell (1 Lge)

Recent Form:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Last Match:
Waterford United    3 – 2    Tramore AFC
Grincell 5, Kiely 38             Quilty 60, 90 (pen)
O’Callaghan 64
 
Monaghan United    1 – 0    Waterford United
O’Connor 5
 
Form:
WWWWW WWLW

Head-to-Head:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
03 Oct 09   Lge   Finn Harps    1 – 1    Waterford United
28 Jul 09    Lge    Waterford United    4 – 0    Finn Harps
11 Apr 09   Lge    Finn Harps    1 – 3    Waterford United
23 Nov 07   PO    Waterford United    3 – 3    Finn Harps
20 Sep 07   PO    Finn Harps    3 – 0    Waterford United

 
Betting:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Waterford: 2/5
Harps: 7/1
Draw: 13/5

Results This Season:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
20 Apr 10     h     Tramore AFC                          (MSC)       3-2        W
16 Apr 10     a     Monaghan United                    (ALFD)       0-1        L
12 Apr 10     a     Kerry League                          (EASC)      2-0        W
09 Apr 10     h     Limerick FC                            (ALFD)       2-1        W
03 Apr 10     a     Mervue United                        (ALFD)       3-2        W
27 Mar 10     a     Salthill Devon                         (ALFD)       1-0        W
19 Mar 10     h     Derry City                              (ALFD)       1-0        W
12 Mar 10     a     Cork City FORAS Co-op            (ALFD)       2-0        W
05 Mar 10     h     Wexford Youths                      (ALFD)       3-0        W

Next 6 Matches:
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23 Apr 10     h     Finn Harps (ALFD)
01 May 10    a     Longford Town (ALFD)
04 May 10    h     Athlone Town (ALFD)
07 May 10    a     Shelbourne (ALFD)
11 May 10    h     Tralee Dynamos (EASC)
16 May 10    a     Wexford Youths (ALFD)

Waterford United are to co-host a FAI Soccer Referees Course in conjunction with WIT.

The 15 hour introductory course will take place on Thursday April 29th and Friday 30th at Waterford Institute of Technology on the Cork Road, and is a combination of theory and practical set by UEFA, and given by Joe Casey, the FAI’s refereeing tutor.

At a special once-off price of just €5, an amazing low cost which is available to all (normally €50), it represents a great chance to get a rewarding extra qualification that can give you years of extra enjoyment from sport.

Enrol by emailing: douglasengi@yahoo.ie, or texting 087 6799579.

Waterford United  3 - 2  Tramore AFC

Waterford United had enough to get past Tramore AFC last night in an entertaining Munster Senior Cup quarter final. The victory was slightly more comfortable than the 3-2 scoreline might suggest, but at the same time the Seagulls were never out of the game, looking threatening going forward for long spells, and it was a good test for the home side. It was a chance for some of the less frequent starters to get a game under their belts, with Paul Carey, Josh Byrne, James O’Sullivan and David Grincell all doing well right from the start, but it was the new signing George O’Callaghan who caught the eye, capping a fine display with a stunning debut goal.

The Blues got off to a flying start, as David Grincell put the home side ahead on five minutes. In virtually a carbon copy of his late effort against Monaghan on Friday night, the former Tramore star rose to meet an inswinging George O’Callaghan corner kick to glance his header into the top far corner. Five minutes later, O’Callaghan was involved again, finding Willie John Kiely racing into the left channel with a slide-rule pass, but Mark O’Reilly got out and down to block the close-range shot.

Gary Dunphy then went close with a well struck effort from distance, but mid-way through the half Tramore had a real chance to equalise courtesy of an indirect free kick. Josh Byrne had done well to catch a high cross, but in trying to get play going quickly he dropped the ball, and then instinctively grabbed at it again. Francis Rockett tapped the free kick sideways to Chris Grace, but his shot was charged down well by the Blues defence, and the mistake went unpunished. Unfortunately for the visitors, that wasn’t the case at the other end on 38 minutes, when Leigh Quilty’s ill-advised attempt to deal with a John Kearney cross teed up Kiely to rifle home to the roof of the net from six yards.

Tramore made a bright start to the second half, pegging the home side back for much of the opening spell, though it was David Grincell who looked most likely to score on 54 minutes when Willie John Kiely won a loose ball wide on the right, touched it back to his strike partner, and the youngster unleashed a fiercely struck effort, 30 yards out from a narrow angle, that had Mark O’Reilly flying across his goal to make a fine save. However six minutes later the Seagulls did get their reward, from a direct free kick. Leigh Quilty had already cannoned a 25-yarder into the wall, more specifically Seamus Long’s upraised arm, and when the second free was taken from five yards closer he exquisitely curled the ball up and around the wall, left footed, and into the top corner of the net, giving Josh Byrne no chance.

The visitors had little time to rally, though, as George O’Callaghan restored the two goal cushion within four minutes. A superb move saw Timmy Purcell feed Kiely from wide on the right, the Abbeyside hitman laying it back to O’Callaghan who rifled a simply stunning strike past a stranded O’Reilly from 25 yards out. With play swinging from end to end now, Franny Rockett was given space to manouvre in midfield before shooting narrowly over two minutes later, while at the other end O’Callaghan was producing some delightful passes in an attempt to open up the home defence once more. One such angled ball found Vinny Sullivan in the right corner on 79 minutes, he cut it back for Timmy Purcell, who really should have done better than blaze over from the edge of the area. Just before the end of normal time a sweet O’Callaghan dink over the top sprung the offside trap for Kiely, who raced goalwards and fired low, only to see O’Reilly make a fine save with his legs.

Right at the death at the other end, substitute Micheal Downey – another former Blue – who had already forced Byrne to come off his line at pace minutes before, raced into the right side of the area, knocking the ball square past the advancing keeper, before being harshly adjudged to have been brought down. Quilty took the responsibility and stroked the spot kick home past a rooted keeper into the bottom left corner. Into injury time and Downey briefly threatened once more, but once more Byrne was out quickly to nip the chance in the bud, and the Blues march on to the semi final at Limerick, date still to be decided.

Waterford: Josh Byrne; Paul Carey, Kevin Murray, Seamus Long, John Kearney; Timmy Purcell (Gareth Cambridge 84), Gary Dunphy, George O’Callaghan, James O’Sullivan (Liam Kearney 75); Willie John Kiely, David Grincell (Vinny Sullivan 68) – subs: Alan Carey, Gary Keane

Goals: Grincell 5, Kiely 38, O’Callaghan 64

Booked: Grincell, Long

Tramore: Mark O’Reilly; Ross Douglas, Ian Stenson, Craig Maher, Leigh Quilty; Sean Browne (Micheal Downey 61), Stephen Grant, Francis Rockett, Robbie Phelan; Joe Watson (Colin Walsh 68), Christopher Grace (Michael Kavanagh 79) - subs: AJ Murray, John Butler

Goals: Quilty 60, 90 (pen)

Booked: Phelan, Browne, Watson

Referee: Jim McKell (Tipperary)

Waterford United will face local opposition in the quarter final of this season’s Munster Senior Cup on Tuesday evening. Tramore AFC, the only side to inflict a pre-season defeat on the Blues, will attempt to repeat this win at the RSC. The kick off in the game shall be 7.45pm.

Admission prices for the game are as follows

Adults: €10

Concessions: €5

Children: €3

Waterford United’s second round clash in the 2010 EA Sports Cup has been confirmed for Tuesday May 11. The Blues will face Kerry opposition for the second round in a row when they meet Tralee Dynamos at the RSC. The kick off will be 7.45pm.

As in previous rounds, the tie will be played to a finish on the night and extra time and penalities will be used in the event of the game finishing level after 90 minutes.

Waterford United defeated the Kerry League in the previous round by 2 goals to nil while Tralee Dynamos enjoyed a first round bye in this season’s competition.

The victorious sides in the second round will be entered into an open draw for the Quarter Finals.

Monaghan United  1 – 0  Waterford United

Waterford United finally lost their 100% start to the season as they went down by a single early goal to a well organised Monaghan United side at Gortakeegan tonight. A lacklustre Blues recovered well from the early setback, but they were never able to use the possession  they enjoyed, never able to open up the home side, and in truth rarely looked like changing their luck at a ground where they haven’t scored in eight years and haven’t won in twelve.

Waterford made four changes from the Kerry League game, as the team was freshened up yet again. Alan Carey returned for Paul Carey at right back, and in came John Hayes for Gary Dunphy, with Seamus Long moving into the holding midfield role. Paul McCarthy got the nod ahead of James O’Sullivan in midfield, and up front Vinny Sullivan returned for David Grincell. An unfamiliar Blues formation, in an unfamiliar yellow strip, saw Sullivan lead the line on his own, with Willie John Kiely wide on the left, and Liam Kearney in the middle. And in the early stages Waterford struggled with the change of tactics, as Monaghan took the game to their visitors, and capitalised on a defensive lapse to take an early lead when Barry Clancy’s left wing cross found Cathal O’Connor unmarked at the back post, and he fired low across goal into the far corner.

Though both sides looked lively early on, the half was light on chances. Liam Kearney shot straight at Gabriel Sava after a driving run on 19 minutes, and on the half hour Philly Hughes tried to bend a low free kick around the wall, but put it a couple of yards wide. As the break loomed though, the Blues twice came close to drawing level. On 38 minutes McCarthy turned superbly to fire a left foot shot inches wide of the far upright from just inside the box, and two minutes later the hosts nearly gifted an equaliser, as Aidan Lynch’s long backpass squirted under Sava’s foot and crashed back off the foot of the upright.

The restart saw James O’Sullivan take over from Gareth Cambridge, but it was the home side that started the brightest again, Cathal O’Connor almost doubling his, and his team’s, tally four minutes in as he fired inches over the top on the half-volley when well placed. Just after the hour mark saw the introduction of George O’Callaghan, in for Paul McCarthy, and the new signing immediately showed to good effect, forcing a corner with a close range shot from Alan Carey’s cross on 64 minutes. And with the Blues switching back to an orthodox 4-4-2 for the last twenty minutes, the game was set for a barnstorming finish as they went looking for goals. On 72 minutes great work again from O’Callaghan almost set up Liam Kearney, but his dipping shot from 25 yards fizzed just over the crossbar. Then almost immediately at the other end Sean Brennan tested Chris Konopka from distance as the home side broke forward through Philly Hughes.

With time running out, the introduction of David Grincell, and Kevin Murray’s move up front, signalled the escalation of Waterford’s intent, but the goal refused to come as Monaghan held resolutely firm. John Kearney was unlucky on 85 minutes to see his shot clip Sullivan and deflect kindly for Gabriel Sava after a surging run, and right at the death Grincell’s header from O’Callaghan’s corner kick was taken off the line by Alan Byrne.

With that went the last chance, and a bad day at the office for the Blues came to an end. One of the few bright notes of the evening came with the news that Shelbourne and Cork had played out a draw, limiting the damage done by the result, and keeping Waterford five clear at the top of the table, at least until Sunday.

Monaghan: Gabriel Sava, Conor McMahon, Aidan Lynch, Brian Gartland, Anthony Costigan, Cathal O’Connor, Stephen McCrossan, Barry Clancy, Alan Byrne, Philly Hughes, Sean Brennan – subs: Dean McMahon, Stefan McKevitt, Niall Flynn, Philip Donnelly, James Clarke

Goals: O’Connor 5

Booked: Brennan, Hughes

Waterford: Chris Konopka; Alan Carey, Kevin Murray, John Hayes, John Kearney; Gareth Cambridge (James O’Sullivan 45), Paul McCarthy (George O’Callaghan 61), Seamus Long, Liam Kearney; Vinny Sullivan, Willie John Kiely (David Grincell 78) - subs: Gary Dunphy, Timmy Purcell

Booked: McCarthy, Murray

Referee: John McLoughlin