Ten man Waterford held out against an attacking storm from Longford Town to win 1-0 at the RSC on Saturday evening.
A goal from Prince Mutswunguma in the eighth minute gave Kevin Sheedy's team their second win of the season and moved the Blues out of the bottom two.
Though they attacked well, Longford will be frustrated that a loose pass from Joe Gorman was picked off by Prince Mutswunguma for the game's only goal.
The forward darted in, stole the ball from the feet of the defender and ran clean through on goal. Michael Kelly tried to put the striker off but to no avail as Prince Mutswunguma slotted the ball passed the Longford goalkeeper.
An important win for Waterford as they edge past Longford Town #RTEsoccer pic.twitter.com/o3P7U7TXza
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) April 24, 2021
The midlanders did not panic and returned to Daire Doyle’s gameplan. Gorman was happy to act as the catalyst for the side's attacks and Rob Manley was the energetic striker who hunted down and chased every ball. In between was tight midfield pairing of Aaron Robinson and Aodh Dervin, who linked play in the centre of the pitch.
Paul Martin saved Waterford minuteslater after Darragh Power played Manley through. The goalkeeper saw the pass as soon as the ball left the defender’s boot, and just as Manley went to strike, Martin had the ball cleared from his feet.
An in-swinging corner from Dervin could have equalised for Longford, but the ball skidded off of Manley’s head and went wide. It was a similar situation when Cameron Evans beat Aaron O’Driscoll at the end of a free kick. The Waterford defender put the ball behind for a corner, which then came to nothing for Longford.
The Blues nearly made it 2-0 when Tunmise Sobowale and Mutswunguma broke. Only Gorman stood between the Waterford duo but the defender remained cool, which allowed him to block the passing lanes and win back possession.
In the final moments of the first half, John Martin squared the ball to Mutswunguma who was facing goal. The striker fired first time and the ball curled inches wide.
An elbow from Ferguson led to referee Neil Doyle producing a red card fifteen minutes into the second half. A free-kick was given to Longford, and out of this, Gorman found the net, but was flagged offside.
Longford threw everything in search of an equaliser. Gorman, who jumped highest at a corner, saw his header saved on the line by Kelly. Dylan Grimes tormented Waterford out wide, but his crosses invariably found blue jerseys.
Josh Collins came to the rescue for Waterford with a dashing clearance on the line following a venomous shot by Conor Davis.
The five minutes added time saw Longford pour themselves into the Waterford half, desperate for the equalising goal.
Sobowale was defiant at this stage of the game, as he stood firm to break down the Longford play and break.
Waterford FC: Paul Martin, Darragh Power, Cameron Evans, Kyle Ferguson, Adam O’Rielly, James Waite (Katlego Mashigo 65), John Martin, Niall O’Keeffe, James Mascoll, Tunmise Sobowale, Prince Mutswunguma (Josh Collins 69).
Longford Town: Michael Kelly, Shane Elworthy (Callum Thompson 56), Paddy Kirk, Aaron Robinson, Dylan Grimes, Rob Manley (Aaron Dons 56), Aaron O’Driscoll (Sam Verdon 74), Aaron Bolger (Conor Davis 65), Aodh Dervin, Karl Chambers, Joe Gorman.
Referee: Neil Doyle
