We can have real aspirations of getting Europe

We have hit the midway point of the season in the League of Ireland, and as a whole, it has been a very exciting season for neutral supporters. The attendances are up throughout the league, and the competitive nature of the league is in full flow. The transfer window opens in a months’ time, and I am sure there is going to be plenty of activity throughout the league. Because of how tight the league is, eight of the ten teams can have real aspirations of getting into the European places for next year’s competitions.

Shamrock Rovers sit top of the table right now and history has shown us that when they get to that top spot it is very difficult to get them off it. The chasing pack will hope they have something to say about that though and they will be trying to keep within touching distance for as long as possible and strike at the right time.

For Rovers and some of the others chasing them, who are in Europe, the next six weeks are going to be huge for them. There are lots of games coming up thick and fast for them, and with the travelling involved, let alone mentioning the difficulty of the games in Europe, one or two of them subconsciously might take their eye off the league action, with the financial rewards in Europe being so big.

A MIXED FIRST-HALF

For us at Waterford it has been a mixed first half of the season. we started very well but the run of seven losses in a row was a real low point for us. we had the change of management which saw an upturn in our form and hopefully now we can kick on in the second half of the season.

If we are do that though we need to cut out the silly errors that we have been making especially those in recent weeks. The previous two games we played away to St Patricks Athletic and then Fridays game at home to Drogheda United and were a prime example of us throwing points away. We led twice in the RSC against Drogheda only to be pegged back both times with their second goal coming deep into injury time which cost us all three points.

We played really well against Drogheda, dominating the game from the off. We took the lead early in the half when Tommy Lonergan opened the scoring. Tommy has been in really good form of late, which has led to his call-up to the Ireland U21 side this week. It was another U21 call up Warren Davis, who has had an excellent season so far, who scored for Drogheda to level the game. we kept pressing and putting pressure on Drogheda for the rest of the game, hoping to find a second goal. We had to be very patient, and that patience was rewarded when I scored with ten minutes remaining. It felt comfortable on the pitch after that, and we didn’t seem like we were going to concede and get all three points, but a few errors combined allowed Drogheda to sneak away from the RSC with an undeserved point.

A REAL CONFIDENCE

Since John Coleman has some in, we have been doing that to most teams, and he has instilled a real confidence in the lads, especially in possession. That is only going to get better as he gets more time to stamp his authority on the team and the style of play that he wants us to play, so it is an exciting time for us. Some of our play in recent weeks has been really impressive, and we are causing the opposition all sorts of problems when we have the ball. We just need to tidy up the little things that are costing us at the moment and if we can do that, we should be really excited about the second half of the season.

The league has a break now and we have no game until we play Sligo on the 14th of this month, and I know most of the league are away on holiday at the moment. I would love to have gone away, but I am in the final year of university and unfortunately for me the week’s break has coincided with my final week, which was more important.