Waterford FC 6
Finn Harps 1
Waterford FC returned to winning ways in the SSE Airtricity Men’s First Division with a dominant display that yielded another six goals against Finn Harps bringing it to 17 in three games this season following this clash at the RSC.
Connor Parsons and Ronan Coughlan both netted a brace inside 57 minutes before Eddie Nolan and Roland Idowu added to the goalscoring tally before the finish as the Blues breezed to a facile 6-1 win.
Parsons opened the scoring inside three minutes when he took a pass from Ryan Burke on the halfway line before racing at the Harps defence before he beat keeper Tim Hiemer with a fine right-footed shot from 25-yards.
The Blues attacker didn’t know much about his second goal on 21 minutes when Barry Baggley swung over a left-wing corner-kick that struck Parsons in the knee before deflecting high to the net.
Ronan Coughlan added a third goal three minutes later when he got on the end of a headed pass from Parsons before outpacing his marker to slip a right-footed shot past Tim Hiemer from the left-side of the area.
Finn Harps pulled a goal back from the penalty spot on 32 minutes when Ryan Burke was guilty of a foul on Sean O’Donnell, and Ryan Flood dispatched the spot-kick past the left-hand dive of Paul Martin.
Ronan Coughlan made it 27 goals for the season when he regained the three-goal lead on 57 minutes on the clock when he latched onto a super pass Baggley pass on the left-side, and after creating space for himself, he beat keeper Tim Hiemer at his near post.
A fifth Blues goal came on 77 minutes when Coughlan’s free-kick from distance wasn’t held by keeper Hiemer, and substitute Eddie Nolan was on hand to bundle the ball over the line from close-range.
The Blues completed the goalscoring when adding a sixth goal in the final minute when Thomas Oluwa raced down the left before crossing into the centre where Roland Idowu scored neat control to touch home past Hiemer from close-range.
WATERFORD FC: Paul Martin, Niall O’Keeffe, Giles Phillips (Eddie Nolan ’64), Kilian Cantwell (Adam Queally ’82), Ryan Burke (Ronan Mansfield ’82), Shane Griffin (Dean Larkin ’73), Barry Baggley, Romeo Akachukwu, Connor Parsons, Roland Idowu, Ronan Coughlan (Thomas Oluwa ’82).
FINN HARPS: Tim Hiemer, Daithí McCallion, Noe Baba, Ryan Flood, Filip Da Silva (Max Johnston ’61), Michael Harris (Katlego Mashigo ’53), Caoimhin Power, Shane McMonagle (Kevin Jordan ’53), Ellis Farrar (Sean O’Kane ’79), Sean O’Donnell, Damian Duffy (Aaron McLaughlin ’53).
Referee: Marc Lynch.
