Late heartbreak can’t dampen our progress

We continued our recent good form with a 1-1 home draw against high-flying St Patrick’s Athletic at the RSC on Friday night. While many would have taken a point before the game, given our position in the league table, it felt like a loss as we walked off the pitch because of the manner in which we conceded the equaliser.

Heading into the game, we were dealt a significant blow with the loss of Kevin Long, who picked up an injury in training during the week. Kevin has been a brilliant signing since returning to Ireland after a long and successful career in the UK with Burnley and Birmingham City, most notably, before a spell in the MLS with Toronto FC.

In my opinion, he is the best centre-back in the League of Ireland, even at 35 years of age. He looks so comfortable every time he plays and I can see him remaining among the league’s top defenders for the next couple of years at least. Playing against him in training every day is incredibly challenging and has helped all of our forward players improve by testing themselves against someone of his calibre. His experience and know-how have been invaluable to what is still a very young squad. I know for a fact that all of our defenders have learned a huge amount from him, even in the relatively short time he has been at the club.

Longy’s absence forced us into a change of shape and I think that caught St Pat’s by surprise early in the game. A few months ago, losing a player of Kevin’s importance might have knocked us off stride, but this squad has grown enormously in recent months and Friday night’s performance reflected that.

We took the lead in the first half when Conan Noonan volleyed home the opening goal. In truth, we probably should have been further ahead by the break. There was also a controversial moment when the referee initially awarded us a penalty, only to overturn the decision after consulting with his assistant. Fair play to the officials on that one. They are there to work as a team and, if they came to the correct decision through that process, they deserve credit for it.

Looking Ahead With Confidence

We were the better team for most of the second half but just couldn’t find the second goal that would have put the game to bed. That ultimately came back to hurt us when we conceded a 95th-minute penalty, which Aidan Keena converted to earn St Pat’s a point.

As the game wore on, we dropped a little deeper and invited pressure onto ourselves, which was disappointing. However, it is all part of the learning curve for a young team. If we had been a bit braver and applied more pressure higher up the pitch, perhaps the equaliser might never have come. Unfortunately, there is little we can do about it now.

The penalty itself was a penalty, but the major talking point afterwards — particularly on social media — was the failure to send off a St Pat’s player for a stamp on Tommy Lonergan right in front of the fourth official and assistant referee. It was a reckless challenge and somehow went unpunished.

Even though I was around 30 yards away, I had a clear view of the incident. The force of the stamp and the aggression involved were obvious, and in my view it was a red-card offence. With less than an hour played, a dismissal would have left us with a numerical advantage for more than 30 minutes while leading 1-0 at home. Had that decision gone our way, I’m confident we would have gone on to win the game comfortably.

It didn’t happen, we conceded late on, and we have to accept that. The positive is that our recent form has been excellent and it has seen us climb off the bottom of the table over the weekend — and not just on goal difference either.

Cup up next

We now have a break from league action as our attention turns to the FAI Cup and a Munster derby against Cobh Ramblers at the RSC. The cup presents a great opportunity for clubs to reach Europe by putting together a run of four victories. League form often goes out the window in knockout football and we have seen plenty of examples of that in recent seasons. Drogheda United won the competition while battling relegation in 2024, while Cork City reached last season’s final despite eventually being relegated.

Hopefully, we can emulate Drogheda’s cup success while also improving on their league position by avoiding the play-off spot. Winning a trophy would mean a huge amount to everyone associated with the club. Waterford FC is steeped in tradition and history, and hopefully this group can add to that story and leave its own legacy in the years to come.