By Neil Madigan
The Blues welcomed reigning League of Ireland champions Shelbourne FC to the RSC on Monday night, as the sides had to settle for a share of the spoils in an entertaining 2-2 draw.
Waterford were back at the RSC, hosting a Shelbourne side in flux. The Blues came into the game showing upticks under boss John Coleman, picking up seven points in their last five, including a 2–1 win over Bohemians on Friday. Offensively sharper and more cohesive, Coleman’s men looked to build on Friday’s win and exploit Shelbourne’s current instability.
Shelbourne, managed by Joey O’Brien for the evening, entered the contest in mid‑table form, logging just one win in their past six Premier Division outings. They’ve drawn more often than lost, but energy and cutting edge had been lacking as of late. Damien Duff’s departure on Sunday was undoubtedly a surprise, occurring just a day before this fixture. As Shelbourne were coming here to regroup tactically and mentally under interim coach O’Brien, Monday’s clash was always going to be a litmus test of their resilience and reaction to Duff’s sudden exit.
With the stage set at a lively RSC, there was a real sense of optimism amongst the Blues faithful as the game got underway. With the opening spectacles portraying the opposite, the feeling of optimism was quickly diminished as it proved to be a nightmare start for the hosts.
With the visitors looking to get on the front foot from the get go, the Blues were unable to settle in the opening minutes. With Shelbourne beginning to commit numbers forward, space was opening up for them way too easily in such an early part of the game. These early openings for Shels were quickly utilised as it allowed for an early cross from range to be met by Mipo Odubeko, who was able to guide it to the back post for Harry Wood to finish and give Shels a quickfire lead after three minutes.
This was a huge wake up call for Coleman’s side as they immediately looked for a positive reaction. With some brilliant passes through the lines along with some evident attacking intent, it already looked like the Blues support were getting a reaction and it wasn’t going to be an easy task for the visitors to hold on to their lead.
Confidence was rapidly growing and with eight minutes played, the deficit was cancelled to the surprise of the fans. A nonchalant header left short back to the keeper by Kameron Ledwidge was pounced on by wingback Grant Horton, who rounded the keeper to slot home and score his first goal in Blue while more importantly erasing the early setback.
With nothing to separate the sides once again, the sides became a bit more cautious while showing more patience for an opening. With the Blues continually trying to keep the ball in the final third through a high press, Shels were more interested in taking advantage of that in a counter attacking style when the opportunity arose.
There didn’t seem to be any obvious opportunities for either team to take the lead as the game approached the 20-minute mark. However, it was Shelbourne who looked slightly more likely to reclaim their lead moments later as Stephen McMullan’s strong hands pushed away a strong effort from Mipo Odubeko. A few minutes later, goalscorer Harry Wood also presented a threat at the back post once again but was ultimately denied by the young Northern Irish keeper.
As the game resumed for the second half, the Blues positivity seemed to have sparked back to life with the ambition to stamp their control on proceedings immediately becoming evident in the second half. Two minutes into the second half, this renewed ambition was rewarded. Tommy Lonergan, who was causing problems for Paddy Barrett, scrambled his way past the defender to get a strong effort off which was parried by Conor Kearns on the Shelbourne goal. To the disbelief of Kearns, the parried effort fell to the feet of the arriving Padraig Amond who put it through the keeper’s legs to send the RSC into celebration.
With the Blues exactly where they wanted to be, the jubilant atmosphere was to be immediately disrupted. From the visitors’ kick off, Mark Coyle instantly led the Shels team forward with a driving run through the centre, leaving the Blues midfield stunned and unable to stop the Shelbourne captain. As he arrived at the edge of the hosts box, he was able to find Ali Coote, who drilled it across the box to meet Harry Wood to tap home his second of the night. As the RSC was left in disbelief, the contest was level once again in a similar feat to the first half’s events.
Both teams were both looking positive with the contest looking like it could swing either way as the game entered the last half hour. While Shelbourne were playing some fantastic football aswell as showing a strong ability to drive with the ball across the pitch, the Blues were portraying real solidity as they continued to hang in and create some of the opportunities that were questioning Shelbourne’s backline.
The final moments saw the visitors starting to get a foothold of proceedings with Coleman’s side backs to the walls trying to avoid another turnaround. With the final whistle blowing, the contest ended all square with the Blues definitely the happier following a late flurry from the visitors.
Focus now shifts to Friday’s trip to Tallaght to face league leaders Shamrock Rovers, with tickets on sale now.
Waterford FC: Stephen McMullan (GK), Ryan Burke, Grant Horton (Ben McCormack 84′), Rowan McDonald (Kyle White 84′), James Olayinka, Padraig Amond, Jesse Dempsey (Andy Boyle 60′), Darragh Leahy, Tommy Lonergan, Sam Glenfield (Dean McMenamy 71′), Conan Noonan.
Shelbourne FC: Conor Kearns (GK), Sean Gannon, Tyreke Wilson (James Norris 60′), Kameron Ledwidge, JJ Lunney, Harry Wood, Mark Coyle (Ellis Chapman 74′) , Mipo Odubeko (John Martin 84′), Ali Coote (Sean Boyd 74′), Evan Caffrey (Daniel Kelly 60′), Paddy Barrett.
Attendance: 2,641.
