Some say it is difficult to enjoy the perfect debut, but Keith Long has abolished that rule in some style.
He led Waterford FC out at the RSC yesterday evening for the first time following the departure of Danny Searle as Head Coach.
With chairman Andy Pilley in attendance, Finn Harps supplied the opposition for the latest instalment of the League of Ireland in the South East.
The Blues rose to the occasion in the most emphatic of fashion, annihilating their opponents by a scoreline of 7-1.
"𝗜 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗜 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝘀𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁" 🗣️
Waterford FC head coach assesses his first match in charge at the RSC! 👇#WaterfordFC
— Waterford FC (@WaterfordFCie) April 1, 2023
Speaking after the game, Long appreciated his side's efforts against a difficult opponent.
"I thought the boys, in difficult circumstances on a very tricky pitch, put in a great shift - good effort, good work rate all around the team," he said.
The result leaves Waterford in fourth position with a game in hand over early leaders Galway United.
𝗙𝗨𝗟𝗟-𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘
A spirited second-half display makes it two away wins in Athlone this week for our senior sides ✅
ATH 1-3 GAL#ItsATribalThing | #ATHGAL pic.twitter.com/2xlkHAZHdA
— Gaillimh Aontaithe (@GalwayUnitedFC) March 31, 2023
It is now seven wins from as many games for Galway as they ran out 3-1 winners on the road to Athlone.
A brace from the impressive David Hurley sealed a deserved player of the match award.
The win sees John Caulfield's side sitting pretty at the top of the table with 21 points collected, seven points clear of second place Cobh Ramblers.
🎙️ Ramblers manager Shane Keegan gives some of his thoughts after last night’s 2-1 win ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/H0Vn23eSwa
— Cobh Ramblers FC (@CobhRamblersFC) April 1, 2023
Shane Keegan's Cobh handed Ian Ryan's Bray Wanderers their first defeat with a 2-1 home victory.
With the sides tied at 1-1, Bray goalkeeper Alex Moody was given a straight red card.
The home side missed the resulting spot kick but sealed all three points with a strike shortly afterwards.
"That's two weeks in a row, thankfully, that we have managed to score within a couple of minutes of missing a penalty," Keegan said.
𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗖𝗛 𝗛𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗟𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧𝗦
Full match highlights from our 1-1 draw with @TreatyUnitedFC are now up on our YouTube Channel, link👇
📺 https://t.co/Ar6yA8qSL0 pic.twitter.com/8MFdTB40jm
— Wexford FC (@WexfordFC) April 1, 2023
Last night's final fixture was played out in Wexford. Treaty United made the trip to Ferrycarrig Park.
The game finished 1-1, extending James Keddy's unbeaten home record to three.
In what was an entertaining fixture, Wexford were unlucky to not take all three points.
The result leaves Keddy's side in sixth position, only two points off the final promotion playoff spot.
