John Mahon completes stunning Waterford comeback to sink Dundalk

Waterford were second best to Dundalk for the opening 40 minutes but then the game changed

John Mahon scored a late winner for Waterford against Dundalk. Pic: ©INPHO/Laszlo Geczo

SSE Airtricity Premier Division: Dundalk 2 Waterford 3

John Mahon was the Waterford hero at Oriel Park, scoring a late goal to complete an extraordinary comeback and sink high-flying Dundalk.

Tommy Lonergan’s brace looked to have rescued a point for Waterford but Mahon’s superb 86th minute goal means the gap to Sligo Rovers at the foot of the table is reduced to just two points.

Graham Coughlan had said before the game that the Blues would have to right the wrongs of their defeat to champions Shamrock Rovers last week. But, for the most part at least, their first half performance was not one of a side with a point to prove.

They were second best to Dundalk in every aspect, for the first 40 minutes anyway. It was only as the clock ticked towards the interval that they threatened in a meaningful way. Lonergan served notice of his danger when he rattled the crossbar from close range, albeit having shot from a tight angle.

He would not be denied for long. Just as was the case when the teams met at the RSC last month, he halved Dundalk’s 2-0 lead before the referee’s half-time whistle. Keith Buckley’s attempt to clear his header off the line proved unsuccessful, with Marc Lynch indicating the ball had crossed the line.

Before that, the effervescent Eoin Kenny and returning Harry Groome had handed Dundalk a lead that their dominant display thoroughly deserved. Kenny’s opener arrived on 10 minutes, as he stooped to touch Daryl Horgan’s corner inside the far post.

Groome blasted a shot into the roof of the net to lift Dundalk, temporarily at least, into third spot. All was rosy in the Lilywhite garden at that point. But Lonergan’s first intervention muddied the pond.

The Republic of Ireland Under 21 international scored his and the Blues’ second on 63 minutes, after Bobby Burns was booked for handling Willie Johnson’s shot. From 12 yards, he made no mistake.

The mood off the pitch and the flow on it had changed. By now, Dundalk were hanging on. Right back Jordan Houston’s shot cannoned off the post, sub Jorgen Voilas’ shot was blocked down and Minogue saved well from Hayden Cann’s back post header.

The hosts had a spell at the start of the second half when they might have restored a two-goal cushion but now they were merely hanging on. Buckley did clear off the line this time, from Padraig Amond’s shot.

Even as the game wore on, it swung this way and that. Kenny again went close for Dundalk as they sought to find a winner that would maintain momentum built up over recent weeks. They remain a work in progress.

As do Waterford, but Mahon’s goal – an acrobatic finish from a narrow angle - can be considered the cherry atop recent progress that has supporters dreaming of an unlikely survival story.

Dundalk: Minogue; Buckley, Cornwall, Burns, T Wilson; Dervin (Animasahun, 74), Groome (Tracey 68), Teahan; Kenny, Arubi, Horgan.

Waterford: McMullan; Cann, Mahon, Long; Houston (Bailey Coyle, 80), Heeney (Glenfield, 56), Johnson, McMenamy (Voilas, 56), Couto; Lonergan; Amond.

Referee: Marc Lynch