Classy Patterson makes up for lost time as Waterford rush towards next stage

League's hottest property gets visitors going early and helps leave Treaty floored 

ON THE MONEY: Waterford's Phoenix Patterson celebrates scoring with Waterford team mates.

TREATY UNITED 1 WATERFORD 4

In a match that was delayed due to traffic congestion, Phoenix Patterson didn’t need much time to make his mark on a night when he helped spark Waterford to a commanding first-leg victory.

The country’s leading marksman across both divisions took just five minutes to show why he’s the hottest young property in the league at present. 

Anticipating a pass from Yassine En-Neyah, the 22-year-old bolted with explosive pace in from the left and tucked the ball beneath Jack Brady into the far corner.

Treaty’s Ben O’Riordan had been glued to the Young Player of the Year contender in the opening exchanges, only to be exposed by a momentary lapse.

A replica arrived on 29 minutes despite the warnings. Junior Quitirna drifted over from the left and slipped in his opposite wing wizard to bear down on goal. Again, the subtlest of touches carried maximum impact; firstly to glide inwards and the second a finish, low and hard, of optimal precision for his 21st of the campaign.

That signalled game over for the Limerick side - and likely tie over too.

Tommy Barrett’s part-timers overachieved this term by nicking the final promotion playoff spot in fifth but over the 32 regulation games in the season, clawed back only three draws from losing positions.

Outdoing themselves against the in-form team of the division, who reached the semi-finals of the FAI Cup, was unrealistic.

Though they halved the deficit through Enda Curran’s penalty on the hour, two bookings incurred for substitute Colin Conroy in the space of 15 minutes left them stretched.

Nifty operators like Quitirna prey on such weaknesses and he soon capitalised with a third 20 minutes the end to restore the two-goal cushion.

A stoppage-time own-goal by Sean Guerins put the task well beyond Treaty for Saturday’s return leg at the RSC.

The sight of an immediate Premier Division return is becoming clearer for the Blues.

O’Riordan need not beat himself up for being dazzled by Patterson, for right-backs operating on a full-time basis have also been victims of the ex-Tottenham Hotspur trainee’s brilliance this season.

While the Scotland underage international refrained from showboating, frustration got the better of O’Riordan approaching the hour when he smashed into him near the touchline, reconciling himself with the punishment of a booking.

Waterford could have cashed in on their prize asset in July when financial uncertainty lingered during an ownership change but when he’d two years left on his contract, both Bohemians and Derry City couldn’t get near his valuation.

He might have also crowned his night with a first-half hat-trick had Junior been generous.

When William Amshaw tripped him right in front of referee Damien McGrath, Junior clutched the ball tightly walking towards the spot. He wasn’t so clinical from the spot, sending Brady the wrong way but firing his penalty off the foot of the post.

Treaty, who missed an early chance when Guerins glanced his header wide, were relieved not to be three behind and received an unlikely lifeline.

Tunmi Sobowale's mistimed challenge on Lee Devitt inside the box had the home faithful pleading for a penalty and Curran buried the spot-kick, taking him to within a goal of Patterson’s haul for the season.

FAI Cup final referee McGrath then took centre-stage, brandishing a second yellow to Conroy for a lunge on Wassim Aouachria. However indefensible his eagerness was, Treaty were justified in wondering why the whistler didn’t dish out a similar sanction to En-Neyah, already booked, earlier in the half.

Losing a man for the final stages mothballed their comeback hopes, affording Junior the space and time to atone for his penalty miss. He struck again with the last action of the game, squaring a ball that Guerins turned into his own net.

TREATY UNITED: J Brady; B O’Riordan, C McNamara, S Guerins, M Ludden; W Armshaw (M Keane 75), J Lynch (C Conroy 52), M Walsh, L Devitt; S Christopher (S Edogun 75), E Curran (F Doherty 85).

WATERFORD: P Martin; T Sobowale (Timi Sobowale 75), K Cantwell, A Baptiste (R Taylor 46), D Power; N O’Keefe, S Griffin; J Quitirna, Y En-Neyah, P Patterson; W Aouachria (R Uche 75).

REFEREE: Damien McGraith (Mayo).