Waterford will enjoy their trip back to the sunny south-east tonight after a big win over Bohemians in Phibsborough. Bohs had enjoyed a stirring string of comeback wins in recent weeks but couldn’t repeat the trick against a dogged, pragmatic visiting side.
The first half was a relatively unremarkable affair, particularly the first 20 minutes or so, with Waterford set up in a somewhat negative 3-4-1-2 that often became a 5-2-1-2. Bohs probed but their play lacked quality in the initial stages.
They improved after a somewhat tedious first quarter though, with Dawson Devoy, James Clarke and Niall Morahan doing well to inject some zip into proceedings. In the thirty fourth minute, ex-Bohs man Kacper Radkowski did very well in making a sliding interception to prevent Dayle Rooney getting on the end of a dangerous Colm Whelan cross.
Bohs then had a couple of penalty shouts after Clarke and Jordan Flores both went to ground within a couple of minutes each other. In truth, however, the home side didn’t create enough and were punished three minutes into added time. Waterford’s fantastic holding midfield player James Olayinka – an ex – team mate of Bukayo Saka and Eddie Nketiah in the Arsenal academy – unleashed a Paul Scholes-esque drive from 25 yards out. Jordan Flores didn’t do enough in attempting to block and the ball flew past Kacper Chorazka.
The start to the second-half was much more eventful than its’ first-half equivalent. After Blues’ left wing-back Kyle White pushed Ross Tierney in the back, Dayle Rooney delivered a searching ball to the back post. Flores was there, in acres of space, to meet it with a good headed connection. ‘Keeper Stephen McMullen should have dealt with it but palmed it out and Clarke appeared to get the final goalscoring contact with an instinctive flick.
Parity would only last ten minutes. White made up for his role in the equaliser by whipping a great ball across the box, which Chorazka and Seán Grehan failed to deal with adequately. The energetic Tommy Lonergan was sharpest to the loose ball and fired home brilliantly, to leave Bohs needing yet another comeback.
Alan Reynolds decided to change things with a quarter of the game left, bringing on teenage tyro Rhys Brennan and talented midfielder James McManus for captain Keith Buckley and the previously influential but tiring James Clarke. They both had a positive impact, with Brennan in particular driving the Bohs’ attack for the rest of the game.
Rooney, Morahan and Brennan himself had a string of chances within a few minutes of the latter’s introduction but Waterford hung on. Reynolds’ final roll of the dice was the introduction of Lys Mousset for Rob Cornwall, with the ex-Waterford boss going all out for the last fifteen in search of an equaliser.
Mousset made a positive impact and Bohs had more chances but lacked quality in the final third in that last stretch of the game. The Frenchman, alongside Whelan and Flores, had chances but none were clinical, and Lonergan came close to completely taking the game away from the Gypsies.
In the desperate throes of added time, Grehan and Tierney had half-chances but displayed a lack of composure. The home side deserved at least a draw but only had themselves to blame for some poor technique and decision making in and around the box.
Waterford interim manager Matt Lawlor will be delighted with this victory. Olayinka in midfield was excellent and Radkowski made some big defensive contributions, whilst Lonergan, alongside Pádraig Amond, worked tirelessly up front. They lacked quality in possession (only completing around 60% of their passes) but won’t be kept up tonight thinking about that.
Bohs, on the other hand, should have a sleepless night. Some of their approach play was quite good, with wingers Rooney and Brennan both dangerous. But they couldn’t find that final bit of quality, and so their winning run comes to an end.