BOHEMIANS BOSS KEITH Long hailed the “absolutely outstanding” Georgie Kelly after his dramatic late winner sealed their progression to the FAI Cup final.
In the dying minutes of normal time at Dalymount Park, talisman Kelly broke Waterford hearts and made amends for an earlier penalty miss.
After incredible scenes after the final whistle in Phibsborough, Long caught his breath and offered his assessment of the win, which sets up a mouth-watering Dublin derby decider against St Pat’s at the Aviva Stadium on 28 November.
“It was a bit mad at the end there with the supporters on the pitch,” Long began. “You can’t really blame them. It’s been a while; 2008, since we were in the cup final. Delighted for them, delighted for the group of players, backroom staff, everybody involved in the club that we were able to cross the line tonight.
“We certainly don’t do it easy, we kept going to the end; an 88th minute winner, Georgie coming up trumps for us again having missed the penalty in the first half. I think we deserved to win.
“It was difficult for Waterford down to 10 men, there’s no doubt about that, and then they had another man sent off very late in the game. I think we deserved to win overall. I thought at times we looked a bit nervy, but that’s understandable, to a degree.
Semi-finals are there to be won, we’re into the final, we play Pat’s so looking forward to a Dublin derby with a big crowd at the Aviva. We’ve proven already this year that we can play in the Aviva.”
While others may have feared it would be another one of those nights for The Gypsies, having fallen at this stage of the competition in recent years, Long said he and his side never panicked after after Brian Murphy denied Kelly just after the half-hour mark — “We just had to reset and go again”.
“Georgie has been in-form for us all year, banging in goals,” he added. “He bounced back, he didn’t let the penalty miss set him back.
“And nor should it, because he’s been absolutely outstanding for this club since he’s come in. The supporters have really taken to him. Delighted for him, delighted for the group, the backroom team, the supporters.
“We got a good day out, we’ve got to now try and reset ourselves and get ready for Waterford here on Monday. And we’re delighted to be in the cup final.”
- Additional reporting by Darryl Geraghty.
