Ronan Coughlan nets four as Waterford win seven-goal thriller

FOUR ON THE BOUNCE: Waterford head coach Keith Long. Pic: Michael P Ryan/Sportsfile

SSE Airtricity Men’s First Division 

WATERFORD FC 4 ATHLONE TOWN 3 

Ronan Coughlan stole the headlines as his first-half four timer saw Waterford FC make it four wins on the bounce under head coach Keith Long, but it was far from easy stuff after Athlone Town’s second-half rally in their SSE Airtricity Men’s First Division clash at the RSC.

Coughlan, who became the first Waterford player since Vinny Sullivan against Salthill Devon back in June 2010 to net four, opened scoring on nine minutes when he got on the end of Shane Griffin’s right-wing delivery to head the ball past keeper Enda Minogue.

The Blues were gifted a second goal on 27 minutes when the visiting keeper played the ball to defender Noah Van Geenan, who gave the ball straight to marksman Coughlan, and he lobbed a right-footed shot to the back of the net from the top of the penalty area.

Coughlan’s brilliance yielded a third goal on 38 minutes when he blasted to the net after a tee-up from Griffin, before the breathtaking first-half performance from the centre forward yielded a fourth goal two minutes later, superbly finishing Ryan Burke’s delivery from the left.

Two goals in the space of three minutes really brought Athlone back in the game with the first of the goal arriving on 53 minutes. Jamar Campion-Hinds’ corner was headed home by Patrick Hickey, before a penalty three minutes later after Frantz Pierrot converted after he was fouled narrowed the gap.

Athlone narrowed the gap even further on 69 minutes when Niall O’Keeffe pulled back Frantz Pierrot as he raced at goal, and Valerii Dolia beat Paul Martin at his near post with a right-footed shot as the Blues held out for a narrow win at the finish.

WATERFORD FC: Martin, Power (Sobowale ’76), Phillips, Cantwell, Burke, Griffin, O’Keeffe (Larkin ’71), Parsons, Baggley, Idowu (Oluwa ’71), Coughlan (Conn-Clarke ’48).

ATHLONE TOWN: Minogue, Dolia, Rodriguez, Hickey, Kavanagh, Van Geenen, Abdikadir, Campion-Hinds, Connolly, Pierrot, Louis (McCarrick ’48).

Referee: Alan Patchell (Dublin).