Tim Nilsen's angry reaction at being subbed summed up frustrating night for Derry City

Declan Devine wasn’t impressed by the Norwegian’s tantrum but I don’t mind seeing a player expressing those sort of emotions or showing a bit of passion and he’s clearly frustrated by his failure to get off the mark for his new club.

Whether he was furious with his own performance or simply the fact that he was called ashore with Derry needing a goal, at least it shows he’s unhappy that he hasn’t been able to show the fans his true worth just yet.

He hasn’t yet completed a full 90 minutes during the opening four games but he can’t argue with being hauled off on Friday as the game was passing him by for one reason or another.

I understand why this sort of petulant behaviour gets noticed. It comes across as rebellious and perhaps childish at first glance, especially should the team lose. However, I don’t see anything wrong with Nilsen momentarily expressing his frustrations over what was a difficult evening for both him and the team.

And it’s not as if he stormed off the pitch obnoxiously and into the changing rooms or kicked a bottle in anger. He certainly didn’t do a ‘Granit Xhaka’, rip off his shirt or swear at the fans. In fact the dugout probably got off lightly! It was simply a fleeting moment of annoyance and after a quick talking down by both Devine and assistant boss, Kevin Deery it was quickly forgotten about.

I’m obviously not privy to what was said in the heat of the moment nor in the dressing room but Devine certainly wasn’t accepting that sort of reaction, suggesting the striker take a look back on his performance and warned against disrespecting his teammates when the manager was questioned about it in his post-match interview.

“It’s up to Tim to look at the game back and have a reflection on his own performance,” said Devine. “I’ve said that to Tim. We ain’t in the habit of disrespecting the people who come on the pitch. We’ve got a lot of good players at the club and if someone isn’t happy then come and see me.”

Instead of brushing the incident under the carpet it was refreshingly honest from the manager to call Nilsen out on the matter. It would’ve sent a very clear message to the squad that such behaviour won’t be tolerated as they look to keep a close knit group.

It’s only four games in and this Derry City side are still trying to find their feet and gel after another close season of chopping and changing. It’s difficult for a foreign player to come to a new country and adapt quickly to a new culture, new teammates and different style of play and Nilsen was starved of the ball on an off night for the entire team on Friday.

Bearing in mind the 27 year-old bagged an incredible 28 goals in 49 matches for Fredrikstad FK during a 12 month period, he knows where the net is and will no doubt have expected to hit the ground running.

He told me in a pre-season interview he thrives on pressure and wants to ‘score in every game’ and so you can understand why he cut a disgruntled figure as failed to get off the mark once again. I’m sure, once he breaks his duck in front of goal, we’ll start seeing the best of him.

Devine will be hoping for a different kind of reaction from Nilsen against Sligo on Friday night and I’d like to see if he would be better suited to having a strike partner and maybe we might see him start in a 4-4-2 alongside Adam Liddle against the so far pointless, Bit O’Red.

Derry could quite easily have come home with a point on Friday night but two stunning strikes on the stroke of half-time and then in the fifth minute of second half stoppage time saw them leave Munster empty handed.

Sam Bone’s equalising goal really should’ve been dealt with sooner as it was possibly the fourth phase following a corner kick when the one-time Derry City target latched onto the scraps and sent his thunderous strike into the top corner.

Shane Griffin’s winner was a different story. Derry were under the cosh and perhaps could’ve closed the Waterford substitute down quicker but it was a special strike needing applauding.

It was a difficult one to take for Devine’s troops and the small band of City supporters who made the long trip south but this team will get better. They’ve showed real promise and with exciting attacking talents in Stephen Mallon - who netted another lovely goal against the Blues - Walter Figueira, Nilsen, Liddle and McDonagh, it won’t be long before they put someone to the sword.

On a side note, I got the chance to meet a real Waterford legend in the very modest, Paul Morrisey on Friday. The full back, now in his early 70s, was a key part of Waterford’s glory years in the 1960s and 70s and is revered by Waterford supporters of a certain vintage.

The tough tackling defender was part of a Blues side who won six out of eight League of Ireland titles and he attended Friday night’s game with his two grandsons. To think he was once tasked with man-marking one of the all-time greats, the genius George Best and Celtic’s best ever player, Jimmy ‘Jinky’ Johnstone during two of Waterford’s memorable European Cup fixtures in 1968 and 1970 is something else.

Man United were kings of Europe when Morrisey came face to face with the wizardry of Best in the second leg of their first round clash at Old Trafford. Having lost 3-1 to United at Lansdowne Road in the first leg, United thrashed the Blues 7-1 in front of 40,000 people in the return fixture.

Two years later they met the mighty Glasgow Celtic and after a 7-0 drubbing in Dublin, Morrisey’s side narrowly lost 3-2 at Celtic Park with Jinky Johnstone scoring twice. Derry City have their own legends from the Irish League days and of course the 1989 treble winning team and Morrisey is no doubt held in similar esteem by the Waterford faithful.