“Tonight makes all the low moments worthwhile”
Shane Flynn rises highest to get on the end of this ball during his side's meeting with Cockhill Celtic in the Sports Direct Men's FAI Cup tie. Photo: Noel Browne.
Gripping a bottle of champagne after picking up the man of the match award in his first performance in a Waterford FC jersey, new signing Shane Flynn reflected on a night that saw him play for a first-time in 18 months as the Blues beat Cockhill Celtic in the Sports Direct Men’s FAI cup second round on Friday last.
Speaking after the game, Flynn said: “It’s a brilliant win and it was important that we bounced back after losing in Galway last week. It was brilliant to get to play here at the RSC and the pitch was like a carpet here tonight. It’s a fabulous facility and one of the best in the country so I’m delighted to be able to call this home.
“It wasn’t a bad performance, but I think that we would have liked to have made it a bit more comfortable, and at the end of the day, the cup is just about getting the result especially against teams that can be a bit of a banana peel. We want to play better obviously, but we’re happy to be in the next round.
“In the week of training, we were reinitiating the fact that we needed to move the ball quick, shift them around, and try to create spaces in central areas. You could see at times that it worked, but at other times, we were too lethargic on the ball. We need to move the ball a little bit quicker.”
Friday’s game was Flynn’s first game in nearly 18 months. “No it wasn’t a tough decision to come back to Ireland. Tonight is my first game is nearly 18 months. I haven’t played a game since February of last year so I just wanted to get back playing.
“The manager is somebody who has known about me for a while from when I was back playing here before I went to the UK. Once I came down training I really enjoyed it and the facilities down at the SETU campus are brilliant as well so it was a very easy step for me to come home and join Waterford.
“As you’ve seen tonight, I’ve enjoyed it off the bat. Getting balls into the box and getting up the pitch is my game. It has always been my game and my suit. As I said this was my first game in a year and a half and I got the first ninety minutes in. I think that there’s more to come once I get my match fitness and bit of sharpness back in the legs.
“I’m looking forward to contributing a bit more than I did tonight in terms of goals and assists. There was days when, and I’ll be honest with you, where I thought that I would never play again. I had some really, really low times, but I had to persevere through it.
“When you’re working hard in the gym when I was in Leicester, on the bike, and working on my fitness, it was always in my mind that I would get back playing one day. Today was the day and I’m glad that I could finish it off getting man of the match.
Flynn concluded: “Before my injury, I was well regarded at Leicester City, but things obviously went wrong by getting injured and it held me back a bit. I’m here now at Waterford and my full focus is on the rest of the season.
“We need to try do as well as we can in both the league and cup. I need to show the fans that I can be an asset to this side and bring some success here. I think that it was massive that we bounced back to winning ways tonight and hopefully we can carry that into the game against Drogheda next week.”
