“We wanted to bring it to the final day and we’ve managed that”
Waterford FC interim manager Matt Lawlor gives a thumbs up to the fans at the final whistle.
Waterford FC Head Coach Matt Lawlor knows that only victory in the final game of the season against Galway United will be good enough to see his side avoid the relegation playoff spot after a super 1-1 draw away to St. Patrick’s Athletic on Friday last.
The Blues will go into the final day of the season with a home fixture that they must win, but they will need a favour from Shamrock Rovers on Wednesday against the Tribesmen before they come to the RSC on Saturday evening next with a 4.30pm kick-off.
Speaking after the game, Lawlor said: “It’s a massive point for us, and I thought that we performed really well. We did okay in the first half, obviously got the goal, and then in the second half, I thought we were excellent.
“We could have actually won the game. Listen, I know they had a lot of half-chances, but we defended like men, proper men tonight. They were like warriors, and it's so crucial that we took it to the last game.
“The response was excellent after conceding the goal because sometimes when we've had a punch on the nose, we haven’t responded. So, for us to get a punch in the nose and react the way we did — I was so pleased with that —that bodes well for next week.
“It was obviously a great time for us to score. It changes what you speak about in there and the way that you approach the second half. We changed a couple of things in the second half in terms of tactics, just about how we can cover the pitch against a team that moves so freely.
“Obviously, Stephen Kenny's the ex-Ireland international manager, and that shows you the calibre of coach manager you're coming up against. You have to be tactically really good, and I thought we were excellent in the second half.” Lawlor added: “This is the first time that we haven't scored first in all the games I've taken as interim, so for us to come back after not scoring the first goal is massive. It shows how crucial the first goal is.
“I think that we’ve scored first in six games coming into tonight since I've been at Waterford, and we've won four of them, we didn't score it tonight, so it's a big, crucial stat that.
“But at half-time, we did change things, and we cleared the heads of the lads. I think what you saw in the second half was such a professional, amazing togetherness that obviously when we went to the fans at the end, you felt that kind of togetherness. I really enjoyed that bit at the end for us to build on as we go into the week.
“I got goosebumps at the end, like genuinely, it sounds really mad for someone as young as me in management terms, to receive the love that I've had here personally. “For us as staff and the players for what they've been through this year in terms of the ups and the downs, for the fans to stick with us like they have in the numbers, travelling to Dublin on a Friday night, is amazing.
“We have brought it to the last day, and we know that we’re up against a really good professional team with some brilliant players in there that have had really good careers back home in England and obviously over here.
“So I'm not taking anything for granted. Our week looks no different from the last three weeks. The players have been unbelievable for me personally, the professionalism channel and their attitude, the way that they take messages on, but the approach to training every single day. We need one more push.”
