Darragh Burns struck midway through the second half at Aviva Stadium to hand Derry City a 1-0 victory over Waterford in the Club Orange Men’s FAI Cup final.
The win secured a seventh cup triumph for the Candystripes since joining the League of Ireland in 1985, as rté.ie reported in its live coverage of the November 8 match. For Waterford, the result extends a 46-year wait for a cup victory, marking another defeat in the final 22 years after their last appearance in the decider.
A crowd of 36,093 paid in to watch a stop-start encounter in Dublin. The Blues shaded proceedings for a large portion of the middle phase of the game, but Derry displayed the clinical edge required to get over the line.
70 mins: DER 1-0 WAT Darragh Burns breaks the deadlock with a devastating finish from outside the box just before he was about to be subbed off for Kevin Dos Santos. 📺@rte2 @rteplayer 📱Live blog https://t.co/Jp0XIAlC8Q @rtenews app 📻 @rteradio1 pic.twitter.com/gdfcexyZVW
Before kickoff, the atmosphere quietened as those in attendance remembered the English family, of whom five were recently killed in an arson attack in the city. The opening fifteen minutes proved frantic as both teams struggled to establish control.
Michael Duffy registered the first notable chance for Derry in the 13th minute with a shot from outside the box that Stephen McMullan gathered comfortably. Just two minutes later, Benny Couto nearly put Waterford ahead when his free kick from the right struck the crossbar after Derry goalkeeper Brian Maher misjudged the flight of the ball.
28mins: DER 0-0 WAT The ball is in the Waterford net courtesy of James Clarke, but the flag had already gone up. Derry fans' celebrations are cut short by a marginal offside call. 📺@rte2 @rteplayer 📱Live blog https://t.co/Jp0XIAlC8Q @rtenews app 📻 @rteradio1 pic.twitter.com/WJxB6dCQ0F
Derry thought they had broken the deadlock when James Clarke turned home a cross from Duffy, but the assistant referee’s flag went up immediately. Replays confirmed that Ellis Chapman was fractionally offside in the build-up.
Waterford finished the first half stronger. Tommy Lonergan headed over the bar following a long throw into the penalty area, while Evan McLaughlin sought out Pádraig Amond only for the Derry defense to intervene.
FT: DER 1-0 WAT The last roll of the dice for the Blues, but Derry City claim their seventh FAI Cup with a 1-0 win at Aviva Stadium. 📺@rte2 @rteplayer 📱Live blog https://t.co/Jp0XIAlC8Q @rtenews app 📻 @rteradio1 #faicupfinal #derrycity #rtesoccer pic.twitter.com/3DQHMQ1d7h
The second half began in a similar fashion, with Waterford applying sustained pressure. McLaughlin and Amond saw efforts blocked on the edge of the area, and Conan Noonan forced Maher into a low save after beating Cameron Dummigan.
With both sides struggling to find a breakthrough, Burns seized the initiative in the 70th minute. He drove at the Waterford defense, cut back, and curled a powerful strike into the right corner just moments before he was scheduled to be substituted for Kevin dos Santos.
Chapman nearly added a second soon after, but Brandon Fleming’s cross carried too much pace for him to connect cleanly.
Waterford pressed for an equalizer in the closing stages as fatigue set in. Noah Mawene fired a shot wide from 20 yards, and Lonergan looped a header past Maher’s left post.
Late penalty appeals involving Mawene were waved away by referee Kevin O’Sullivan during added time. Dummigan received a yellow card for Derry in the 86th minute, while Waterford’s Kevin Long and Mawene were booked either side of halftime.
The victory sends Derry City into European competition next summer, leaving their earlier league disappointment and the James McClean saga now long behind them.
