St Pats showed no signs of rust on their return to domestic action, dispatching in-form Waterford with ease at the RSC, with goals from Mason Melia and Conor Carty
St Pats made the trip down to Waterford for their first league match since July 4th. Stephen Kenny’s side have enjoyed a successful start to their European campaign and will now look to transfer that form into domestic football but standing in their way was a Waterford side on a three-game winning streak, having scored 11 goals along the way.
The opening twenty minutes saw both sides enjoy a fairly even share of possession, but it was Waterford who created the better chances. That didn’t stop St Pats from taking the lead. After Conan Noonan was dispossessed, Pats broke quickly, finding Kian Leavy in space. The 23-year-old played an incredible through ball that split the Waterford defense. Mason Melia was on the receiving end of the pass, and he was able to calmly slot the ball past Stephen McMullan, for his 8th goal of the season.
Melia was in again, nearly doubling his tally and the Saints’ lead. A Jake Mulraney cross found the 17-year-old, who had been dragged to the floor by a Waterford defender. That didn’t stop him from getting a shot off, but his effort was narrowly wide of the bottom right corner.
Waterford needed to respond to the St Pats pressure, with minutes remaining in the first half, they began to push high up the pitch in search of an equaliser. St Pats nearly took advantage, as Brandon Kavanagh dispossessed Darragh Leahy before laying it off to Melia, who had another great goal-scoring opportunity but was unable to capitalize, firing it straight at McMullan. Pats went into the break 1–0 ahead but could easily have been three up.
The pressure from the visitors continued well into the second half. Mulraney looked incredibly dangerous on the ball, demonstrating great skill to beat Andy Boyle, but his effort was comfortably saved by McMullan, who was having a much busier evening than his opposite number, Joseph Anang. After 75 minutes, the St Pats keeper was yet to make a save.
Anang finally had his share of involvement minutes later, intercepting a Waterford cross before quickly distributing the ball to Kian Leavy, who was subsequently brought down by Josh Miles in what was a textbook yellow card. The St Pats players weren’t happy with the “tactical foul” and let that be known, players from both sides were involved in a minor spat, which resulted in bookings for Jamie Lennon, Chris Forrester, and Padraig Amond.
Waterford may have won that battle, but St Pats certainly won the war, doubling their lead minutes later through second-half substitute Conor Carty, who was on the end of a Brandon Kavanagh corner.
On a Sunday evening where Waterford fans came out in numbers to support their team, consistently loud and passionate throughout, the same could not be said for their players, who showed little fight against the Saints and failed to register a single shot on target. Focus now shifts to next Friday night, as they travel to County Louth to face Drogheda United.
A comfortable three points for St Pats, who now leapfrog Waterford in the table. League form has been hard to come by for Stephen Kenny’s side this season, so this result should boost the players’ confidence ahead of a big couple of weeks: some crucial league ties, an FAI Cup clash with Shelbourne, and first up a mouthwatering Conference League qualifier against Turkish giants Beşiktaş this Thursday.
Waterford XI: Stephen McMullan (Y), Andy Boyle, Darragh Leahy, Ryan Burke, Grant Horton, Rowan McDonald, Jordan Rossiter, Finlay Armstrong, Conan Noonan, Padraig Amond (c)(Y), Tommy Lonergan
Subs: Jesse Dempsey for Armstrong (60′), Josh Miles (Y) for Horton (60′), James Olayinka (Y) for McDonald, Samuel Glenfield for Rossiter, Trae Coyle for Boyle
St Pats XI: Joseph Anang, Alex Sjøberg, Joe Redmond, Tom Grivosti (Y), Anto Breslin, Jamie Lennon (c)(Y), Chris Forrester (Y), Jake Mulraney, Brandon Kavanagh (A), Kian Leavy (A), Mason Melia (G)
Subs: Al-Amin Kazeem (Y) for Breslin (38′), Simon Power for Melia (75′), Conor Carty (G) for Mulraney (75′), Darren Robinson (Y) for Kavanagh (90′), Barry Baggley for Forrester (90′)