Coming off the disappointment of being knocked out of the FAI Cup by Athlone Town, Waterford FC we're eager to get back to winning ways as they welcomed second-placed Derry City to the RSC.
A win at home would see them just three points off the northern side and with former Waterford FC player John O'Shea in the stands for this evening's game Keith Longs' side were looking to impress.
Keith Long was forced to watch from the stands this evening as he waits out his three-match ban following a red card in the Blues' loss to Athlone Town in the FAI Cup.
The first half didn't see many goal-scoring opportunities from either side as both teams seemed to squander the attacking opportunities they had.
It was a mixed bag for the Waterford defence as the backline produced moments of brilliance when dealing with Derry's attacking players. Notable some brilliant tackles from Kacper Radkowski managed to keep the City wingers at bay.
On the other hand, there seemed to be moments where the defence failed to communicate with each other as on more than one occasion Blues players found themselves clashing with each other in an effort to head the ball to safety.
These defensive errors nearly cost the hosts as in the 34th minute Derry's Adam O'Reilly played a lovely ball through the Waterford defence to Paul McMullan who just managed to hit the post.
There was drama at the other end of the pitch too as the first half came to a close when a loose ball in the Derry City box made a number of connections with Waterford players only to be eventually put out for a corner kick.
Half-Time Score: Waterford FC 0-0 Derry City
Both sides seem to come out in the second half with rejuvenated purpose. The first chance of the half fell in the 54th minute as Christie Pattison struck a great shot from just outside the box only to hit the same post Derry's Paul McMullan clattered in the first half.
However, in the 59th minute a ball was headed high into the air from Derry City and the ball just managed to slip through the fingers of Louis Jones to narrowly cross the line for a brief moment marking an on goal and giving the visitors a 1-0 lead.
Waterford could have levelled the game late on in the 89th minute as Gbemi Arubi played a low driven cross into the Derry City box only for Ryan Burke to make a poor connection with his left foot sending the ball over the bar.
Waterford fans were taunted by the idea of an equalizer as a late shot from the Blues which found the back of the net in additional time was ruled offside leaving Derry City to leave the clash with all three points and to put them top of the League of Ireland Table.
Full-Time Score: Waterford FC 0-1 Derry City
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