‘There are three decisions here that have gone against us’
Waterford's Tommy Lonergan celebrates scoring a goal with teammates Conan Noonan and Trae Coyle.
Waterford FC Head Coach Jon Daly was bemoaning the performance of referee Paul Norton after his side suffered a 4-2 loss from a 2-0 winning position in their SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division clash against Derry City at the Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium on Friday night last.
Daly was cursing his luck at the Dublin official after the game, where he believed that the officials missed the most blatant foul throw of all time in the build-up to Derry’s third goal, as well as two poor handball decisions that proved costly at the call of time.
Speaking after the game, the Blues boss said: “I think to come to the Brandywell and go two-nil up, and deservedly so for me as I thought the lads were excellent, but to lose the game is cruel, frustrating and disappointing.
“I’m never one to moan about decisions, but I think two of the decisions in the build-up to the third goal are not acceptable. The foul throw from Michael Duffy is so obvious, and he says Jordan handled the ball for the free-kick, he guesses, and it’s not a handball.
“Obviously, we need to defend better, and we need to defend the cross better. I think when changes are made, and they are making so many changes, it becomes who is picking up who? It’s a great cross and header from their point of view, but for me, it should be stopped at the throw as it’s the most obvious foul thrown seeing in the League of Ireland.
“In terms of opportunities, when they get back to 2-2, Conor Carty hits the inside of the post, and I don’t know how it doesn’t go in. Again, it’s those little moments that don’t go for you. Unfortunately, then you find yourself on the end of a 4-2 defeat. John Mahon is unlucky with the penalty.
“His hand is by his side. What is he supposed to do? I think when sometimes when things are not going for you, those decisions go against you. I understand that when referees come here, and the place is bouncing, it’s difficult not to make decisions when everyone in the crowd is cheering and asking for them.
“Sometimes as a referee, you need to make the right call, and unfortunately for me, there are three decisions here tonight that have gone against us that have led to the last two goals.”
Daly added: “There was a lot of disgruntlement coming from the crowd and a lot of anger coming down onto the pitch, but that’s when big players step up. Michael Duffy is the best player in the league by a country mile for me, and he steps up.
“It’s a fantastic header to get back into the game, and I felt that we needed to get through the next couple of minutes. When we put on Dean (McMenamy), I felt that we had a little bit more control, but we never used the extra man.
“When they went 4-4-2, we tried to put the extra man in midfield to give us an extra body in there, but we never used it. I thought the two boys up top for the first 70 minutes were excellent. That’s the best I’ve seen them. I spoke to them after the game that I’m really disappointed with the group and with them as a team.
“I felt that they done enough to get something out of the game, and it’s cruel decisions that have cost them something here today. It’s very raw, and it’s very soon after the game that it’s hard to see the positives for the players.
“As I said to them in there, we have to take the positives from today and build on that. I don’t think that many teams will come up here and do what we did for the first 70 minutes, go 2-0 up in a game, but at the end of the day, we’re standing here talking about a defeat. It feels like a harsh one.
Daly concluded: “We have to believe that we can get a result regardless of who we’re playing. We have to match them and obviously come up with game plans. We’ll set them up and structure them in a way we feel will get results.
“I thought that the boys were excellent tonight. It’s obviously a long trip down the road now, after you’re left feeling that you were hard done by. I do believe my job, the coach's job behind the scenes, is to pick the players up, to show them, through analysis and video, and on the training pitch, the positives we can take.
“We’ve worked over the last week or so about the two strikers playing closer together and actually been a partnership. I think in the first couple of games that they were playing as individual strikers, which is never going to work. I think we’ve seen tonight how good they can be when they play together. We have to try to grow as a group and get that elusive first win.”
