Waterford FC have one foot in the League of Ireland First Division Play-off Final, thanks to a 4-1 away win at Treaty United in last night's semi-final first leg.
Phoenix Patterson put the Blues two ahead with a first half brace and they could've been further ahead had Junior Quitirna's penalty not struck the base of the post five minutes before the interval.
Enda Curran brought the Limerick men back within one from twelve yards early in the second half, before Treaty were reduced to ten - and Quitirna and a late own goal from Sean Guerin gave Danny Searle and his men some breathing room heading into Saturday's return fixture at the RSC.
Blues boss Danny Searle was delighted with his side's performance - and felt they could've been even further ahead come the final whistle, but he did also admit that there remains room for improvement defensively.
"We had a mad five minutes in the second half which we can do at times - we got the wrong side from a defensive perspective, and when you get the wrong side in the penalty area - any contact, the lad will go down and I thought the referee got the decision right. He got the decision right with both penalties and no complaints on that. You then question can we reassert ourselves quickly? We did. I thought we took over, obviously the red card hurt them a bit - but we dominated the ball tonight. When you watch us play with that confidence and that professionalism, we could have made it probably even more comfortable than what it was."
The Waterford FC manager reserved special praise for the role of Yassine En-Neyah in the opening goal after just five minutes, while also speaking of the quality at his disposal in all areas of the pitch.
"Yass was unbelievable for the first goal - his aggression in the press to not only win the ball back but then to retain possession, drive forward with real pace - and then the weight of the pass is superb. Phoenix does what Phoenix does. You give him an opportunity and you expect him to score. I can't pay him any more compliment than that. When he is in those positions, I expect him to score. He's a part of a puzzle tonight, and he played a major part - but there's a lot of excellent performances there from the whole squad tonight, even the lads who came on - I thought they affected the game. It's pleasing for a manager, we've got some strength in depth - and it's exciting."
Searle won't be getting complacent despite last night's excellent result - and he says Waterford will treat the return leg on Saturday as if it's a blank slate.
"I think we have to be professional - and we've got a job to do on Saturday, which is to ensure that Waterford will be in the First Division play-off final. Yes, we've got a three-goal cushion - but things can change in football and we know how quickly that can happen. Momentum, if you give anyone a sniff or an opportunity - we have to be effective on Saturday, and that comes from us doing our job properly."
The return leg kicks off at 7.45 at the RSC on Saturday evening.
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