Aidan Corbett
"You just don't see those goals conceded from top teams, from good teams. Poor teams concede goals like that. And at no level in football should you be seeing goals like that. They're terrible."
Those were the thoughts of Waterford FC manager Keith Long who cut a frustrated figure after a topsy-turvy night at the RSC ended in a 2-1 loss for his side against Galway United.
The Blues got off to the perfect start with Dean McMenamy opening the scoring within ten minutes. A penalty was awarded to Waterford shortly thereafter. But Brendan Clarke saved from Pádraig Amond and from then on, it was Galway's night. Second half goals from Stephen Walsh and Killian Brouder ensuring all three points headed west.
Waterford find themselves in a torrid run of form with seven losses from their last ten league matches and an FAI Cup exit at the hands of First Division side Athlone Town.
Long was honest in his assessment of the squad, acknowledging the average age of the squad and admitted the squad is low in confidence despite performances in training.
"We're young. We lack a little bit of leadership at times. We can't rely on one or two senior players. We need everybody. Our form has dipped and our job now is to try and attack the next four games, between now and the end of the season and finish on a high."
Asked post match whether the result was disappointing, Long described that as an 'understatement'.
He did acknowledge the bright start from his team against the Tribesmen but did not shy away from the manner of the goals conceded.
"We can't concede the goals that we conceded at any level of the game. Our defending is really poor and we're extremely disappointed with that," he said.
The Blues have kept just six clean sheets in the Premier Division this year, a statistic the manager laments.
"You've got to keep clean sheets in football to give yourself a platform to try and play and we haven't kept enough this year. That's just not good enough for a team with aspirations."
Long was magnanimous in defeat, praising opponents Galway, stating his team were not worthy of the points.
"Not good enough in the duels, winning tackles, winning headers, doing the basics of the game. Second half, we didn't weather the storm," he said.
The Blues boss has called on his team to show more personality going forward.
"It comes down to personality, having players on the pitch that are accountable and responsible for their performances. We've been a little shy of that. You have to have personality. You have to have character. You have to go out and defend the moments."
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