“We rode our luck a little, but overall we performed very well”
Waterford FC's Ryan Burke celebrates with Darragh Power and Dean McMenamy after victory over Dundalk. Photo: Noel Browne.
Waterford FC defender Ryan Burke was pleased that his side showed the battling qualities to overcome the challenge of bottom side Dundalk in their SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division clash at the RSC on Friday evening last.
Speaking after the game, the Blues left full-back said: “It’s a great result for us and we’re delighted with the win after the disappointment of the last few games. We had to defend well in the last 15 or 20 minutes. We rode out luck a little bit but I think overall, we performed very well. I thought that we kept the ball really well for long spells of the game. So overall, I think we deserved it.
“The second goal was crucial for us because they had a chance to after Sam scored the first, but I thought that Bellis was excellent tonight as was Podge, but it was great to see Sam get his first goal in his first start.
“But yeah, Podge’s goal definitely at an important time. We always know that 2-0 is always a dangerous lead in football. We knew that we needed to try get a third goal, but we didn’t unfortunately.”
Burke spoke highly of the performances of both Rowan McDonald and Barry Baggley. “The two boys in the middle were brilliant for us and we know their qualities. They are so good on the ball and they are able to keep the game ticking over.
“That’s what we need when we are 2-0 up. We can’t let it turn into a basketball game, which we didn’t. Obviously they got the goal, and then it got a bit scrappy, but I thought that the two boys in the middle of the park were excellent.
“The goal that we conceded, It's disappointing. Obviously, it's a bit of a scrappy one. It's a ball into the box, and it's just kind of bundled in. We’ll always pick the bones of every goal kind of thing. But listen, they got the goal, and we needed to battle well. They had a couple of chances, but we done well defensively.”
Burke added: “We spoke about the league and how tight it is and how difficult it is to get wins. But yeah, as you said, at the last 15 minutes, they nearly had five up top, so we needed to sit in a bit more and just ride that wave so to speak for that last 15 minutes. We done that and we’re happy.
“With the game tonight, we need to get back on track. We knew that, but now we just all our focus goes to Pat's next week. We know that’s going to be a really tough task. They're doing really good form so we’re going to do our analysis on them, and hopefully have a good week of training going there and hopefully getting it out.
“This is a massive three points and we needed them. We really needed them. I think that every team in the league is always going to have a dip in form. We had that dip so hopefully we can put the disappointment of that last four or six weeks and finish the game strong. We need to put it all behind us and move forward.”
