Padraig Amond: Need to bounce back from Drogheda disappointment

It was a very disappointing weekend for us as we lost 2-0 against Drogheda United away from home. We probably didn’t deserve to get anything from the game but still, the most disappointing thing was that we didn’t make Drogheda work hard for the goals that they scored. They scored both goals from mistakes by us, one in each half. The second goal was when were pushing on trying to find an equalising goal late on and we got caught on the counter-attack and punished but they first goal was very preventable. Truth being told it was a poor game with very little chances created by either side. If we don’t make the mistakes the game finishes 0-0 and both sides could have very little to argue about. Drogheda will be delighted with the three points from the game as they are fighting for the lives at the bottom of the table and those three points could go a long way in the quest for survival as they look to catch their near rivals Dundalk.

After the poor result on Friday, we need to bounce back quickly if we want to make the most of our good form from the first two thirds of the season but things don’t get any easier this week for us as we face the four-time reigning league champions Shamrock Rovers. They have a lot of their players coming back to full health and have started to pick up some good results recently most notably winning their Champions League first round qualifier against Vikingur Reykjavik, a result that will see them net a minimum €1.7 million in prize money and more than double that if they can win another tie in the Champions League, Europa League or Europa Conference qualifiers. They are severely up against it in the Champions League second round qualifier second leg away to Sparta Prague tonight (Tuesday) as they are 2-0 down from the first leg.

They were a little unlucky to be losing from the first leg although Sparta Prague are a very good side. Rovers had a huge chance at 0-0 in the first half of the game and they will be kicking themselves that they missed that opportunity and then also with the manner that they conceded the first goal of the game too. I hope that they can get a good result over in Prague and possibly take the game to extra time before our game on Friday night, so they have a tough week ahead of them.

For ourselves this week in training is all about getting back to doing what we are good at and making sure that we get a reaction to the disappointment of last week’s result. Places are up for grabs in the team now as we hit the business end of the season, and everyone should be chomping at the bit to be involved. We have a huge month ahead of us in August which will define our season and it could make everything that we have worked so hard for up until now null and void, so it is up to us to make sure that huge effort that we have put in so far isn’t in vain.

The prize money from Europe is huge now. Teams can get more money from winning one tie in Europe than they can get for winning the league title so it is important for clubs to get over the first hurdle in Europe if they can. St Patricks Athletic have been having a very poor season by their standards in the League so far this year but they deserve great credit for their brilliant result at home to FC Vaduz in their Europa Conference league tie and they take a 3-1 lead over to Liechtenstein as they look to reach the next round of the competition and bank close to a half million euros again. For a club like us at Waterford to have a chance of qualifying for Europe is huge and the potential finances that can be made in Europe would be huge for the club going forward. That is before you even have the excitement around the club and the City and what getting into Europe could do for the club itself as we try to build the profile of the club again.

We aren’t the only club that are fighting for that though and Sligo and Galway will be thinking the exact same as ourselves, so we are in a different type of dog fight now to those at the bottom but it is a fight that we desperately want to win and get those chances in Europe that we are envious of looking at the Irish teams have right now.