Dublin City 1 Waterford 3The sinking sensation Dublin City's few supporters have been feeling for the last couple of months all but became a reality last night.

They were already a goal behind and midfielder Robbie Farrell had been shown a straight red card before they started playing like a team desperate for points.

For the ensuing half hour they duly bombarded the Waterford goal, with Keith Rowland finally equalising after a lovely flowing movement that saw contributions from Gary O'Neill, Adam Rundle and Cathal O'Connor before the fullback powered the ball to the net.

What did they do next? Well, they went deep into their shells and allowed Waterford to muscle their way back, with Daryl Murphy taking advantage of a miscued clearance from Barry Ryan to make it 2-1 at the break.

The frustration on the face of Roddy Collins told its own story as he trudged towards the dressing-room at half-time. Ever the enthusiast, Collins at least could draw a couple of positives from the first-half display, but then there was that disastrous opening.

Seven minutes in and, from a Willie Bruton corner, Vinny Sullivan steered the ball past Ryan for the opener. Within four minutes City were a man down when referee Anthony Buttimer flashed a straight red to Farrell for retaliation on Alan Reynolds after a challenge left Sullivan on the deck.

In the second half, Waterford were happy to defend deep. Mark Kenny twice saw free-kicks ricochet off the wall before United broke out to seal the three points via a goal from Bruton.

DUBLIN CITY: Ryan; Henry, Rowland, T O'Connor, Cooper; C O'Connor, P Crowley, R Farrell, A Rundle; O'Neill, Kenny.

WATERFORD UNITED: Connor; Coleman, Frost, Mulcahy, Whelahan; Sullivan, Reynolds (O'Brien, 84 mins), Fitzgerald (Breen, 26 mins), Quitongo (Waters, 76 mins); Murphy, Bruton.

Referee: A Buttimer (Cork City).