Benson gets Lilies going
DUNDALK 2 WATERFORD 0
A 50TH league goal for Robbie Benson and a first for Marco Tagbajumi proved decisive as Dundalk beat Waterford to strengthen their position at the top of the table last night.
Just 17 days ago Alan Reynolds’s side beat the Lilywhites at the RSC to move level on points with them. A failure to win since then, coupled with four wins on the bounce for Stephen Kenny’s side, has seen them fall 10 points behind the tabletoppers who increasingly look like they are in a two horse race with champions Cork City once more.
Dundalk showed just why they are top with a commanding display for the most part but a failure to take their chances meant they were hanging on towards the end as the Munster men pushed hard for an equaliser, even being denied by the post before Tagbajumi finished them off in stoppage time.
It was one-way traffic right from the off with the home side taking the game to their opponents from the very first whistle. Their first real chance arrived on six minutes when Daniel Cleary rose highest to head Michael Duffy’s free kick goalwards but Lawrence Vigouroux sprung to his left to claw the ball behind for the first of the Louth men’s 13 first-half corners.
Duffy then turned provider again three minutes later when he pulled a cross back to the edge of the box for the inrushing Benson but he blazed over on his favoured left foot.
The visitors were clinging on at times and perhaps no more so than on 24 minutes when Vigouroux pulled off a sensational save to tip Duffy’s dipping effort from 25 yards over the crossbar.
Then came the breakthrough on 38 minutes. Chris Shields broke up an attempted Waterford break to release Duffy on the left.
Just as he had done earlier in the half, he pulled the ball back to the edge of the area for Benson.
This time the midfielder took a touch to steady himself though before rifling high to the net for his fifth of the season.
The visitors did end the half on a high note, though, with a low Gavan Holohan shot being turned around the post by Gary Rogers.
The visitors then had the ball in the net from the resulting corner only for it to be chalked off by referee Rob Hennessy for an infringement in the build-up.
Dundalk continued where they left off on the restart and should have been two up within two minutes when Jamie McGrath slipped Dylan Connolly in behind the Waterford defence. He squared to the league’s top scorer Pat Hoban but with only the keeper to beat he blazed high and wide.
Duffy then passed up a big chance to put the result beyond doubt on 68 minutes when he raced clear from his own half only to fire straight at Vigouroux in the end.
Dundalk then had a big let-off two minutes later when Faysel Kasmi’s free picked out Rory Feely unmarked at the edge of the six-yard box but he could only glance wide with the goal at his mercy.
Feely was then involved in another contentious moment 13 minutes from the end when he went down in the Dundalk box having tangled with Rogers but the referee pointed for a goal kick rather than a spot kick.
There was late drama as a Sander Puri hit the post for Waterford in the 90th minute before the Lilywhites broke upfield where Duffy squared to Tagbajumi for a tap-in to ensure the victory. DUNDALK: Rogers; Hoare, Gartland, Cleary, Massey (Jarvis HT); Shields, Benson; Connolly (Adorján 66), McGrath, Duffy; Hoban (Tagbajumi 70). Subs not used: Sava, Folan, Poynton, Murray. Scorers: Benson 39, Tagbajumi 90 WATERFORD FC: Vigourox; Feely, Browne, Webster, Barnett; Keegan (Puri 34), Hery, Holohan, Martin (Daly 74); Akinade, O’Halloran (Kasmi 58). Subs not used: Corbet, Whelan, Croke, Walsh. Referee: R Hennessy (Limerick).