“We paid the price for inviting pressure on us early” - Daly
A dejected Waterford FC manager Jon Daly during the game against Drogheda. Photo: INPHO/Ryan Byrne
Waterford FC Head Coach Jon Daly believes that a slow start cost his side any chance of getting something from their first away game of the season in the SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division after suffering a 2-0 loss against Drogheda United at Sullivan & Lambe Park on Friday evening last.
Speaking after the game, Daly said: “I think that it was a slow start in not dealing with first contacts and the basics. I thought some of the clearances in the first five minutes were panicky, and we snatched a few things.
“We ultimately gave away a couple of corners that we shouldn’t have done, and we invited a bit of pressure early on. We paid the price for that, and Farrell scores a fantastic goal from their point of view. It’s a great strike from him.
“I think from our point of view, we could have done a lot better. The second goal, we jumped to press the centre backs when we spoke about the wing backs that we had to worry about. We switched off for that, which allowed them to go down the sides, put in the cross that we don’t deal with, and Mark Doyle scores.
“We found ourselves 2-0 down in a place like Drogheda, which is always going to be tough. I thought after going 2-0 down, we had a good foothold in the game. We looked lively, and we created opportunities, but ultimately didn’t take them on the night, which is disappointing.”
Daly added: “They dealt with things that we threw at them. As I said, coming to Drogheda, going 2-0 down, they are quite happy to sit in and wait for moments to hit you on the counter. We had a lot of good buildup play and got into good areas, but we lacked that bit of quality in the final third to unlock the door.
“I thought that we had moments where we could have done. It’s unfortunate tonight that we haven’t done that. I think that had we gotten the third goal, we could have gotten back into the game, obviously, and tried to push on to get something.
“We spoke at half-time about the next goal being key, but no goal came, which meant that we ran out two-nil losers.” Daly admitted that the team didn’t do enough from set plays, including 11 corners. “It’s obviously tough when there isn’t an awful lot of space for Conan and his deliveries in the corner areas. It’s tight, and that’s something that we were trying to change the way that we approach the ball.
“It is tough, and it is difficult, but we didn’t attack the ball in the right manner. We didn’t put it in the right areas. That happens. I think last week, Conan’s deliveries were excellent, but tonight was difficult for him with the limited space in the corners.
“Kevin (Doherty) has that backline for a good few years now. They are well drilled, what's expected of them, and what they need to do. It’s a tough place to come. We’ll look back at the game, and we’ll learn from the first ten or 15 minutes.
“We’ll learn from the rest of the game how we can improve our possession and anticipate that second ball. We ultimately have to try to work on putting the ball into the back of the net.”
The Blues face Sligo on Friday night in their third game. “It’s another home game for us, and we need to really focus on making the RSC a fortress this year. We spoke about that at the start of the year and making the RSC a difficult place to come.
“When people come here to Drogheda, they always feel that it’s going to be a tough game, so we have to make sure that our home games are going to be like that as well. Then, if we can pick up points on the road, it will obviously help, but I think we have to focus on our home games, and our away games will take care of themselves.”
