Waterford FC picked up maximum points at home to Dundalk FC on Friday night, as first-half goals from Sam Bellis & Padraig Amond secured the win for Keith Long’s side at the RSC.
As Head Coach Keith Long watched on from the stands as he served the final game of a three-match suspension, his side nearly got off to a dream start inside a minute when Darragh Power whipped in a teasing ball for Sam Bellis, but his first-time shot lacked power that Ross Munro saved.
Waterford were celebrating the lead goal on five minutes. Grant Horton’s long ball out of defence held up in the wind that caught out defender Hayden Cann under pressure from Padraig Amond, and when Bellis latched onto the ball, he drilled a low right-footed shot that beat keeper Munro at his near post to net his first goal for the Blues.
Eoin Kenny went close to levelling for the visitors on eight minutes when he got space down the left-side after getting by the challenge of Darragh Power, but his curling right-footed shot was just wide of Louis Jones’ far post.
Dundalk had a big chance to draw level three minutes later. Ryan O’Kane latched onto a ball from midfielder before slipping it past the advancing keeper Jones, but his teasing cross was somehow missed by the inrushing Daryl Horgan.
It was brilliant Waterford move down the left that yielded a second goal on 16 minutes. Bellis and Amond linked up down the left with the latter passing to Barry Baggley before continuing his run into the centre where he met the pin-point cross from the Blues skipper before heading past the helpless Munro.
The Blues won a 51st minute corner-kick out on the right-side that saw Ryan swing the ball in, but his effort came crashing back off the crossbar with keeper Ross Munro in No-man’s-land as the hosts tried to get a third to put the game to bed.
Dundalk keeper Munro came to his side’s rescue with a fine save six minutes later when Dean McMenamy cracked in a snapshot from the top of the area, but he got down well to save, and from the resulting corner from the latter, Darragh Power headed wide at the near post.
Ben McCormack was on the field less than a minute when he had a chance to put his side in total control on 73 minutes as he latched onto a flicked-on Padraig Amond pass, but defender Daniel Pike got in a vital intervention to deflect the ball out for a corner.
The visitors halved the deficit three minutes later when the two substitutes combined down the right as Jad Hakiki cut into the area to set up Jamie Gullen and his daft finish from close-range gave keeper Jones no chance.
Dundalk did have two chances to level the contest on 86 minutes when firstly Jones saved a header from Daniel Pike before John Mountney missed a big header after Daryl Horgan’s right-wing delivery as the Blues held out for the win.
Waterford FC: Jones; Power, Horton, Radkowski, Leahy, Burke (90+4′ Flynn); McDonald, McMenamy (72′ McCormack), Baggley; Bellis (80′ Arubi), Amond
Dundalk: Munro; Boyle, Pike, Cann, McGill (61′ Hakiki); Mountney, Kenny (72′ Gullen), Horgan, Dervin (85′ Oostenbrink), Benson (72′ Keane); O’Kane (61′ Mahon).
Attendance: 2,226.
