John Mahon rescued an important point for Waterford FC in a pulsating six-goal thriller with Dundalk FC in their SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division clash at the RSC as the hosts showed nerves of steel to pick themselves off the floor twice to earn a 3-3 draw.
Dundalk looked threatening from set-pieces with Daryl Horgan playing a short corner for a Robert Burns inswinging left-wing cross on seven minutes that found the head of Mayowa Animasahun, but he couldn’t direct his header at the back post on target.
It was another corner that gave the visitors a chance to go in front as Burns whipped in a brilliant ball from the right that found Animasahun at the back post, but he headed wide of an open goal.
Dundalk pounced for the lead goal on 14 minutes as Eoin Kenny got beyond Benny Couto before crossing for Daryl Horgan, who showed his experience to control the ball before spinning onto his left-foot to blast high to the net past Arlo Doherty.
Kenny was denied a second goal for the visitors on 22 minutes when he got on the end of Horgan’s left-wing cross after peeling off his marker, but his looping header looking for the far corner was hacked off the line by Blues defender John Mahon.
With Dundalk camped in the Waterford half, another chance for them to double their lead went abegging on the half-hour mark. Hayden Cann’s clearance was straight to Eoin Kenny, who looked to have a tap in, but the Blues defender redeemed himself with a vital block to deny a certain goal.
A second goal for the visitors did arrive on 35 minutes when Tyreke Wilson sent over a left-wing cross to the back post that saw John Ross Wilson crash a header off the near post, but Gbemi Arubi was on hand to bundle the close-range rebound over the line.
Waterford got themselves back into the game less than five minutes later when Jordan Houston dispossessed Robert Burns out on the right before sending in a cross into the centre where Tommy Lonergan was on hand to fire home past Enda Minogue from six yards.
Jordan Faria nearly had an immediate impact after going on as a 57th minute substitute as he took a flicked pass from Padraig Amond out on the left, but his cracking right-footed shot struck the top of the crossbar.
The Blues were level with a goal of beauty three minutes later when Hayden Cann nipped the ball into the path of Dean McMenamy out on the right-side before crossing into the area where Padraig Amond was on hand to finish superbly past keeper Minogue with the outside of his right-foot.
Enda Minogue showed his class to tip a stunning header from Tommy Lonergan onto the post on 72 minutes before the netminder produced an incredible save to keep out a Ronan Mansfield header six minutes later after a brilliant Evan McLaughlin right-wing corner.
Dundalk had a big chance to get their noses back in front on 81 minutes when Tyreke Wilson sent in a left-wing free to the back post for Eoin Kenny, who saw his goalbound block by John Mahon into the path of Ronan Teahan, but he blazed wide of an open goal.
But the visitors thought that they had won the game two minutes later when Kenny got space down the left-wing before pulling the ball onto his right-foot to put a cross to the far post where Daryl Horgan was on hand to beat Arlo Doherty with a downward header.
The Blues drew themselves level once again on 88 minutes when they won a corner out on the left that saw Evan McLaughlin put the ball on the head of John Mahon, and the central defender powered an unstoppable header past Enda Minogue.
Amid six minutes of added time, the visitors could have won it when keeper Doherty somehow managed to tip a close-range Sean Spaight header over the bar as a pulsating game ended in stalemate after a draining 97 minutes.
WATERFORD FC: Doherty (GK); Houston (87′ Johnson), Mansfield, Mahon, Cann, Couto (57′ Faria); McMenamy (87′ Coyle), McLaughlin, Noonan (72′ Glenfield); Amond, Lonergan.
DUNDALK FC: Minogue (GK); JR Wilson, Spaight, Animashun (66′ Warren), T Wilson; Groome (57′ Teahan), Tracey (57′ Dervin), Burns (78′ McDaid); Arubi, Horgan, Kenny.
Attendance: 1,667
