Waterford FC head coach Danny Searle has spoken to the media following his sides’ 4-1 win away at Treaty United in the SSE Airtricty First Division play-off semi-final match.
A brace from Phoenix Patterson and two second half goals from Junior Quitirna and Timi Sobowale sealed a first leg lead, with the second leg taking place on Saturday 29 October at the RSC, with kick-off at 7:45pm.
Supporters can buy their tickets for the match ONLINE or via the Club Shop which will be open. Full details can be found HERE!
Searle sat down with us to discuss the match, the boys mentality in the game and the unbelievable support from the Blues in the stands. Here is what he had to say:
On the overall match…
“Bar a mad five minutes, we were in total control tonight and we asked for a professional performance from the lads and that’s what we got.
“It was a different type of game against Treaty with it being the first leg of the play-offs and we wanted to come here, be professional and do a job and that’s all we asked and I don’t think I could have asked the players to do anything else tonight.
“As I said, to a man we were in total control and we probably should have scored more goals this evening.
“It was the start we wanted. We know we are a treat and have been all season and as a group, we knew if we came here and played our game by looking after the ball, being solid at the back and more importantly just being us.
“I didn’t want the players to be different, I wanted them to focus on us and what we do best and we did that by causing the opposition problems and that was shown tonight. Credit to the lads, we did it well in the first 15 minute and got the two goal lead.”
On Treaty’s goal and the Blues response…
“With their (Treaty United) goals, it wasn’t a case of getting nervous, it was important for me to see how the lads reacted and I know we won 4-1, but if it finished 2-1, we would still be going back home this Saturday ahead in the tie and they would have to come at us from the first whistle.
“It was a hectic games to be honest. There were a lot of cards in the game and fair play to our lads, especially those who were on a yellow card. Fortunately, with the game how it was we were able to make these 3-4 changes.
“All in all, we are very proud of the lads!”
On the Waterford fans who made the trip to Treaty…
“The fans who made the the trip, wow they were brilliant! The combination of the two, the players and the fans, they were electric and that was shown on the pitch by the lads and the start they made.
“It felt like a home game towards the end. It’s great to get the win and now all eyes are on Saturday’s second leg match at the RSC!”
