A first half brace from on-loan Oldham Athletic striker Courtney Duffus moved Waterford FC up to second in the Airtricity Premier Division table as the Blues defeated 10-man Shamrock Rovers 2-1 at the RSC.
Goals from the forward, who missed out on his side's trip to Dundalk last week, book-ended a frenzied 5-minute spell after the half-hour mark to maintain Alan Reynolds' side's 100% home record in their first season back in the top flight for a decade.
The home side made three changes to the starting line-up who lost narrowly to Dundalk last Friday, with the midfield strengthened by the inclusion of captain Paul Keegan and Bastien Hery, while Rovers drafted in Greg Bolger, Dan Carr, Brandon Miele and Ally Gilchrist from Monday night's away win at Limerick.
Rovers looked more comfortable on the ball in the opening stages with loanee Lawrence Vigouroux getting down well to block Trevor Clarke's deflected effort before Ronan Finn blazed a 25-yard effort shy of the post.
However the visitors were left with a mountain to climb after just 10 minutes after Gilchrist gathered two bookings the space of two minutes - the second appearing harsh after gently clipping Duffus' ankles.
With the numerical advantage, Waterford were patient in their build up, with Gavan Holohan turning a Duffus pull-back over the bar before the opening goal arrived in the 32nd minute.
Freshly arrived substitute Luke Byrne failed to deal with Dylan Barnett's whipped cross and man-of-the-match Duffus pulled the looping ball beneath Tomer Chencinski.
Courtney Duffus puts @Waterfordfcie ahead against 10-man @shamrockrovers. Watch live on @rte2 pic.twitter.com/DtDyg0IAaZ
— Soccer Republic (@SoccRepublic) March 23, 2018
The sides were soon level again when the league's top scorer Graham Burke bagged his seventh of the season, cutting in on his left foot before his beautifully arched strike gently kissed the post.
Just four minutes after opening the scoring, Duffus again put his side ahead. Not for the first time on the night the Rovers defence played themselves into trouble and after Stanley Aborah nipped in the win the ball, Duffus steered Holohan's slid pass beneath the keeper's legs.
The Hoops should have equalised at the beginning of the second period - Vigouroux stopped a Finn header from point-blank range while Carr blasted narrowly wide after Miele had played in Sam Bone.
As Rovers sought to find space down Waterford's right-side, the Blues' attack was struggling to function despite the extra man, Holohan's powerful header just after the hour mark being the closest they got to nabbing a third. Over the last half hour however their Chilean keeper was rarely tested by Stephen Bradley's side, ensuring the majority of the 3,010 in attendance went home happy despite the dreadful conditions.
It's a thriller at the RSC. Courtney Duffus makes it 2-1 to the home side. pic.twitter.com/G2wiMqs5m1
— Soccer Republic (@SoccRepublic) March 23, 2018
Waterford FC: Lawrence Vigouroux, John Kavanagh, David Webster, Garry Comerford, Dylan Barnett, Paul Keegan (C), Bastien Hery, Stanley Aborah, Gavan Holohan (Sander Puri, 85), Dean O'Halloran (Izzy Akinade 50), Courtney Duffus (Faysel Kasmi, 77).
Substitutes: Niall Corbet (GK), Sander Puri, Faysel Kasmi, John Martin, Derek Daly, Dean Walsh, Izzy Akinade.
Shamrock Rovers: Tomer Chencinski, Ethan Boyle, Lee Grace, Ally Gilchrist (sent off 9), Trevor Clarke (Luke Byrne, 30) (Sam Bone, 47), Greg Bolger, Ronan Finn (C), Graham Burke, Joel Coustrain (Roberto Lopes, 10), Brandon Miele, Dan Carr.
Substitutes: Kevin Horgan, Luke Byrne, Roberto Lopes, Gary Shaw, David McAllister, Sean Boyd, Sam Bone.
