Bohemians 0 Waterford 2
John Sheridan signed off with a resounding win as Waterford manager before insisting that he just couldn’t turn down Wigan Athletic.
The former Republic of Ireland midfielder delighted in watching his side outplay Bohemians to move them into contention for Europe, believing he leaves them in fine fettle for the remainder of the season.
With Wigan, who remain in administration, confirming him as their new manager minutes after the final whistle at Dalymount Park, Sheridan will be in the dugout for the Latics’ League One season opener at Ipswich Town on Sunday.
“Late Wednesday night and things just happened very quickly,” said Sheridan on Wigan’s initial approach.
“It’s just an opportunity and I’m chuffed to bits. There are probably better managers than me out there looking for work.
“For a club like Wigan to offer me the job, it’s just something that I couldn’t turn down.
“I’m sad I’m going,” he added on leaving Waterford after just eight games in charge.
“I just wanted to carry on and get it through and hopefully get over the line and keep us up, push even for Europe if we could. But it’s just something I couldn’t turn down.”
Shedding light on his spat with ex-Dundalk manager Vinny Perth earlier in the season, Sheridan reiterated he never demeaned League of Ireland.
“Everyone has been talking about me calling it a pub league. I never, ever called it a pub league,” he said.
“What I said was, I shouted at Ali Coote, I think it was, and said ‘you are making decisions that you would see in a pub league’.
“I could never disrespect it. I tell you why I came over to Ireland, I love the people. My family are all Irish, the friendliest people in the world for me and they proved that, the people around me at Waterford. The league has a good standard.”
Though Bohemians started positively, they were behind on 24 minutes.
Waterford left-back Tyreke Wilson fed the ball into Coote whose low shot took a nick off defender Dan Casey to squirm under the diving Stephen McGuinness.
The buoyant visitors might have doubled their lead just past the half hour, midfielder John Martin seeing his shot from distance crash back out of the crossbar.
A foul by Casey on Michael O’Connor brought Waterford their second goal in first half stoppage time. Wilson struck his direct free kick up and over the wall to beat McGuinness at his left-hand post.
Remaining the better side into the second half, Waterford kept their shape well as Bohemians laboured to create openings, the frame of their goal twice preventing Blues from increasing their lead further.
Martin hit the butt of an upright with a downward header from a Kurtis Byrne free kick on 73 minutes before Wilson scraped the outside of the same post with a free kick a minute later.
Bohemians: McGuinness; Lyons, Finnerty, Casey, Breslin; Twardek, Buckley, Lunney (Levingston, 50), Grant (Omochere, 77); Mandroiu (Ward, 77); Wright (McAuley, 71).
Waterford: Murphy; Sobowale, Davidson, McCourt, Wilson; Weir; Byrne, Coote, J. Martin (O'Keeffe, 83), Smith; O'Connor (Walsh, 70).
Referee: Damien MacGraith (Mayo).
