"Probably one of my favorite goals given the atmosphere and the game" - those are the words of Waterford FC striker Pheonix Patterson following his goal for the ages at the RSC on Friday night.
The cup quarter-final ended 3-2 in favour of the Blues, with the Premier Division's Dundalk leaving town with nothing to show for it.
The visitors had taken the lead early on when Paul Doyle found the net inside 12 minutes, but the Blues went back to the task and equalised thanks to Shane Griffin on the half-hour mark.
Darragh Power clinched the lead for Danny Searles's team before the break to send the teams to the changing rooms with a raucous home crowd cheering them off the pitch.
Twenty minutes into the second half was when the ground caught fire. Roland Idowu turned over Dundalk just inside the Waterford half, he advanced up the pitch and played the pass to Patterson. The young Scot "had one thing on my mind, and that was to cut inside and get a good strike off. Thankfully it went in the top corner".
WHAT A GOAL! 💥
Phoenix Patterson makes it a two goal advantage for Waterford FC with an outstanding strike from the edge of the area@WaterfordFCie 3-1 @DundalkFC
Watch live 📺 | https://t.co/7rzXOfmGeH@ExtraIRL | #FAICup | #LOITV pic.twitter.com/DYv1aqd8Mw— SSE Airtricity League (@SSEAirtricityLg) September 16, 2022
Patterson's potential goal of the season is his 14th this season in 29 games and one he described as "probably the best" he's ever gotten.
Elsewhere on the pitch, the team fully deserved their win. Two goals from Griffin and Power got the ball rolling and the team hadn't panicked when Dundalk took the lead early on. When Dundalk pulled one back in injury time there was a moment of worry as the time was still there for Dundalk to draw level, but Danny Searle's side stood tall and held on for their hard-earned win.
Paul Martin was between the sticks on the night with Brian Murphy still unavailable, and while an unusual goal had found its way into his net he was delighted to get the win. His brother John was playing opposite him on the night - having made the switch to Dundalk last season - and Paul was thinking of his brother at full time.
"Thankfully I came out on top tonight. I'm just delighted. We're delighted inside, we fully believed we could win that game, we went out and I thought we fully deserved it - we dominated. It's just unfortunate for John".
The Blues have been drawn against Shelbourne in the semi-finals, which makes it back-to-back semi's after their meeting with Bohemians last year.
