Waterford United 2 - 0 Mervue United

• Dean Hayes
• Sat, May 02 2009


Waterford United took full advantage of last night’s slip up by Sporting Fingal by beating Mervue United 2-0 at the RSC today with goals from Joe Mulcahy and Willie John Kiely. The Blues dominated the game and should have scored more having created numerous chances but this was a very good win against a team with a decent away record.

Waterford predictably began the game confidently given their recent form. The pitch was in superb condition allowing a flowing passing game to be played, and it almost produced a goal for the home side in the second minute. A floated cross from Kevin Waters was met at the back post by Willie John Kiely but his bundled effort was cleared off the line by Mervue full-back David O’ Brien. Five minutes later Paul McCarthy was played into space just inside the Mervue box but he wastefully blasted over from close range. Waterford were exploiting both flanks to great effect and on nine minutes McCarthy’s cross from the left was deftly flicked on at the near post by Kiely but Eoin Martyn was alive to the threat and smothered the ball.

Mervue were really struggling to establish a foothold in the game and it looked like a mere matter of time until Waterford scored, and their best chance of the half arrived in the 21st minute. Once again it came through Waters down the left wing, he swung in an inch perfect cross to meet the surging run of top-scorer Graham Cummins but the striker somehow headed over from seven yards. The home side continued to dominate possession but lacked a cutting edge up front, something they’ve had in abundance over the last six games. In the 38th minute Cummins headed across the box but strike partner Kiely snatched at the chance and his shot rolled harmlessly wide.

The away side seemed to take confidence from Waterford’s inability to score and began to creep back into the game. They had a great chance five minutes before the break when Mike Tierney found himself with the ball four yards out following a short corner which was fired in low, but he only succeeded in prodding the ball off a defender’s legs. From the resulting corner Mark Ludden chipped a ball in and David O’ Dowd headed wide from 12 yards.

Waterford emerged after the interval with the words of manager Stephen Henderson clearly still ringing in their ears. They opened the scoring two minutes into the second half when Cummins dinked a ball over the top for McCarthy, his shot was excellently saved by Martyn low to his left but Mulcahy was on hand to fire in the rebound. A collective sigh of relief washed over the stadium, and it turned to an outburst of joy five minutes later when they added their second. It came on the counter-attack when Alan Carey played a ball over the top for Kiely to race on to, with the Mervue defence outpaced, and he beautifully lifted the ball over the keeper from 25 yards. It was a superb finish by the front man and put him level with teammate Cummins atop the league’s scoring chart on seven goals. Waterford could then have notched a third two minutes later when McCarthy again found himself through on goal but Martyn was once again equal to the midfielder’s effort, this time saving with his leg. Then immediately from the corner the ‘keeper got a hand to Seamus Long’s back post header and Mervue were able to clear.

David Grincell was brought on to replace Cummins in the 62nd minute and almost made an immediate impact. Less than a minute on the pitch, he was played in behind the Mervue backline but, unlike Kiely’s, his lob sailed high and wide of Martyn’s goal. Waterford were well on top now and were piling pressure on an unsteady Mervue defence. On 67minutes Martyn was again called upon, this time getting down to block Kiely after Grincell’s low cross.

Minutes later he was on hand to parry John Kearney’s powerful shot from the edge of the area. Martyn was having one of his busier days at the office and was coping admirably with the workload being inflicted by the home side. With 15 minutes remaining Kiely was once again played through but the visiting custodian saved well to deny Waterford’s number nine. The home side should have been more than two goals up but were repeatedly spurning opportunities. The home fans watched on in mild frustration as Kiely found space down the left and pulled the ball back for Grincell, but the substitute poked tamely into Martyn’s grateful arms.

The game petered out and The Blues claimed a deserved three points at the expense of a well-beaten Mervue United side. In truth they should have scored a few more but nobody at the RSC will mind too much as they gain important points in the hunt for promotion and keep in touch of UCD at the summit of the First Division.

Waterford United: Michael Devine; Seamus Long, Kevin Murray, Kenny Browne, Alan Carey; John Kearney, Kevin Waters, Paul McCarthy(Kieran Fitzgerald 81), Joe Mulcahy(Gary Dunphy 73); Willie John Kiely, Graham Cummins(David Grincell 63). Unused Subs: Kevin Burns, Declan Woodgate.

Mervue United: Eoin Martyn; David O’ Brien(Davin Dowling 73), Mark Ludden, Damian O’ Rourke(Kenny Farrell 77), Eric Browne; Mixie Harty, Rory Gaffney(Alex Lee 73), Gary Traynor, David O’ Dowd; Mike Tierney, David Goldbey. Unused Subs: Kevin Barrett, Rynal Browne.

Referee: Jim McKell (Tipperary)

Attendance: 345 extratime.ie man of the match: Kevin Waters. Waterford’s most creative player on the day and was a constant threat.