Waterford United crush Ramblers with ease Waterford United 4 - Cobh Ramblers 0
Waterford United got a busy week off to the perfect start on Friday last when they crushed a poor Cobh Ramblers team at the RSC. With a game against Shamrock Rovers ``B'' due to be played yesterday (Tuesday) and an FAI Cup game against Shelbourne on Friday this was an ideal way to get the hectic seven days underway. The team showed six changes from the side which lost narrowly to Longford Town the previous Friday.
Jack Doherty and Willie John Kiely were the main players on the night. Doherty created all four goals, three from set pieces and Kiely who replaced the suspended Vinny Sullivan took his opportunity well by scoring two goals. It has to be said that the visitors were dreadfully poor and it was clear to see why they are the only team in all two divisions not to have won a game to date this season. The opening goal arrived on 22 minutes when Doherty sent over a corner kick from the right side that was missed by Gary Delaney but when the ball broke John Kiely, he blasted the ball to the roof of the net from deep inside the penalty area.
United were celebrating their second goal of the game with the first attack of the second period on 50 minutes when Jack Doherty whipped in a corner kick to the near post for Thomas Croke, who couldn't control the ball, however Willie John Kiely was on hand to fire the ball to the net past a helpless Robert Birdsall from six yards out.
Cobh Ramblers were reduced to ten men on 63 minutes when Chris McCarthy picked up his second yellow card from referee Michael O'Connor and from the resulting Jack Doherty free kick from the right side, Gary Delaney powered an unstoppable header to the corner of the net past a motionless Ramblers keeper Birdsall.
Robert Birdsall was called into action to make a smart save five minutes later when the Blues won a corner kick out on the left and after Doherty played the ball short to Paddy Barrett but his ambitious effort was plucked from underneath the crossbar.
Jack Doherty, who had a brilliant game for the Blues, nearly got on the scoresheet with a quite superb individual goal on 82 minutes when he burst into the penalty area but his cracking left-footed strike was magnificently turned around the left hand post by Robert Birdsall.
After Shane Murray was just over the crossbar with an angled effort from the right-footed shot, it was Paul Quilty that should have scored his sides fourth goal on 87 minutes when he fired over the bar from a great position after a superb through ball from Willie John Kiely.
Quilty made up for that miss when he did find the back of the Cobh Ramblers less than sixty seconds later when he did superbly well to get on the end of another Jack Doherty delivery but after his header was saved brilliantly, the striker made no mistake with the rebound. The local players did extremely well on the night as the manager Tommy Griffin rotated his team due to the busy week ahead.
Waterford United: Burns, Nolan, Corcoran, Barrett, Delaney (Whitty '50), Croke (Murray '73), Doherty, O'Connor, Kiely, Drohan, Rocks (Quilty '73)
Cobh Ramblers: Birdsall, Frahill, O'Donnell, Burns, McCarthy, Waters, K. O'Flynn, Gill (Barry '81), Donoghue, A. O'Flynn, Spillane (Creamer '46)
Referee: Michael O'Connor (Kildare)
