Pádraig Amond netted his first hat-trick since returning to the League of Ireland on a night that saw Waterford come from 2-0 down to beat Drogheda United 4-2 in front of 2,423 spectators at the RSC.
The striker hit the back of the net three times in 14 minutes at the start of the second half, and Darragh Power made sure of the win for Keith Long and his players.
Drogheda will have regrets, they were in total control after Adam Foley opened the scoring in the 20th minute and Zishim Bawa doubled their lead at the start of the second half.
Kevin Doherty's side deserved to be in front, they had a clear game-plan and that involved pressing high and being aggressive in attack.
This almost paid off when Frantz Pierrot twisted into space in the fifth minute of play, and a tame effort by the striker went straight into the hands of Sam Sargeant.
Waterford came through this spell and chances were missed by Christie Pattisson and Maleace Asamoah.
Andrew Wogan helped to open the scoring in the 20th minute when a long-kick out by the Drogheda goalkeeper landed at the feet of Foley, and the midfielder fired passed Sargeant.
The Blues pushed up after the restart and McCormack chipped the ball to an unmarked Amond, who tried to score with his first touch. Evan Weir was in the right place to deal with this for Drogheda, and he headed the ball off the line in the 23rd minute.
Drogehda came through this spell and they doubled their lead at the start of the second half after going long and putting the ball out for a throw-in. Pierrot muscled in to get possession back for his side, and this started a chain of events that ended with Bawa hitting the roof of the net.
Waterford did not panic. Instead, they started targeting the channels and this paid off when a McCormack cross was turned in by Amond in the 55th minute.
Asamoah squared to the striker, and he equalised by rolling the ball in from right in front of the posts.
The third goal came from a McCormack free-kick which caused chaos inside the penalty area. Drogheda’s attempted clearance set up Dean McMenamy, and his shot deflected into the path of Amond.
Once again, the striker scored from close range and it was 3-2 to Waterford in the 69th minute.
Power bundled in the 'insurance goal’ and made sure of the three points for Long’s side.
Waterford: Sam Sargeant; Darragh Power, Grant Horton, Rowan McDonald (Niall O’Keeffe 90), Ben McCormack (Romeo Akachukwu 85), Padraig Amond, Maleace Asamoah (Connor Parsons 85), Darragh Leahy, Robbie McCourt, Harvey Mcadam (Dean McMenamy 5), Christie Pattisson (Connor Evans 90).
Drogheda United: Andrew Wogan; Evan Weir, Hayden Cann, Darragh Markey, Gary Deegan, Frantz Pierrot (Killian Cailloce 67), Adam Foley, David Webster, Steve Zishim Bawa, Ryan Brennan (Oisin Gallagher 62), Luke Heaney.
Referee: Paul Norton
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