Tallaght stadium
Photo; Richie J. P
Shamrock Rovers 3
Waterford FC 1
at Tallaght Stadium
A strong team performance by both sides gave this game a battle that hasn’t been seen in Tallaght stadium in a long time. The midfielders for Waterford Frenchman Bastien Héry and Nigerian Stanley Aborah shone brightly for their new team. Passing was good between the Waterford team and their strong centre half Kenny Browne and defensive midfielder Paul Keegan provided a lot of incisive passes to begin attack however unfortunately for them not many shots came from these moves. To add insult to injury the Rover’s side got the referees decision in their favour throughout the game and frustration grew as Héry complained he was being fouled and not getting compensated.
Rovers were two up by half time; Daniel Carr the provider of both goals from inside the box. Early into the second half both managers were sent into the stands. Stephen Bradley and Alan Reynolds had some heated argument on the side-lines but when things seemed to have become amicable between them referee Robert Harvey had already decided to send them up to the terraces.
You couldn’t talk about this game without mentioning Waterford’s French and Nigerian midfielders. They held off Rover’s harassment for as long as they could. The final ball never there for them. Izzy Akinade was then brought on and put up front alone chasing lost balls for the rest of the game. Akinade did get one back when a perfect cross came in for him to finish easily past a flat footed keeper. Waterford put everything at it making three substitutions-attack for defence. But it was Rovers who were getting the closest as Carr was lethal on the left side. Sean Boyd scored Rovers third against a defence that just seemed to have crippled.
This match sealed third position for Rovers as the season comes to a close; Daniel Carr proving to quite the asset for the squad. The new stand definitely keeps off the cold breeze that comes down from the Dublin Mountains and a good crowd made it a fixture lucky to be seen.
By Paul Carton
Tallaght stadium
Photo; Richie J. P
