Waterford FC Advances to Quarter-Finals of FAI Cup
Waterford FC are into the quarter-finals of the Club Orange FAI Men's Cup, but they were made to sweat every second of a 2-1 win over a relentless Athlone Town at the RSC.
Not since 1980 have the Blues lifted this trophy. Nights like this show why that wait has been so long – and why they might just believe again.
Amond strikes, Athlone bite back
Waterford, as the Premier Division side, carried the favourites’ tag and started like it. They dominated the early ball, probing and recycling possession, but Athlone’s shape was tight and stubborn. Chances were scarce.
On 15 minutes, the first crack appeared. Kevin Long launched a booming clearance from deep inside his own half that turned defence into attack in a heartbeat, sending Jorgen Voilas racing down the right. The forward burst into space and looked ready to pull the trigger, only for James Crawford to thunder back and produce a superb last-ditch block.
Athlone survived the breakaway but not the set piece that followed. From the resulting corner, Benny Couto – whose dead-ball delivery has become a serious weapon for Waterford – whipped in a teasing ball. Padraig Amond, all experience and instinct, ghosted into space and powered a header beyond Brendan Clarke from eight yards. Sixteen minutes gone, 1-0, and the RSC finally had something to roar.
Athlone refused to fold. Jonathan Kehir almost dragged them level soon after, forcing Arlo Doherty into his first meaningful save of the night. The warning wasn’t heeded, and on 25 minutes the visitors struck, with Waterford howling for a foul that never came.
From a Mark Connolly corner on the left, the ball caused chaos in the home box. John Mahon looked to be impeded as he tried to clear, but referee Alan Patchell let play go. The loose ball dropped invitingly for Cillian Tollett, and the striker reacted in a flash, smashing a close-range finish into the roof of the net. Athlone were level, and Waterford were livid.
That equaliser changed the mood. Athlone grew in confidence, snapping into tackles, keeping the ball better, and unsettling a Waterford side that suddenly looked short of ideas. The Blues struggled to carve out anything clear before the break, and a fiercely contested first half ended all square.
Couto’s moment of class
Whatever was said in the home dressing room at half-time worked. Five minutes after the restart, Waterford found the quality they had been missing.
A throw-in on the right looked harmless enough. Couto collected possession, drove infield, lifted his head and saw the angle. With his left foot, he wrapped a superb curling effort around the Athlone defence and beyond Clarke, the ball bending beautifully into the far corner. A defender by trade, a match-winner by execution. 2-1, and the RSC exhaled.
The goal settled Waterford and tilted the tie back in their favour. They began to dictate again, moving the ball with more purpose and pinning Athlone deeper.
Couto almost turned provider once more on 65 minutes. This time he swung in an excellent cross from the left, and Amond met it with a deft glancing header at the near post. Clarke was beaten, but the ball drifted inches wide. A clever finish, a collective groan from the home fans.
The pressure kept coming. Three minutes later, the bench made its mark. Substitutes Tommy Lonergan and Dean McMenamy combined neatly on the edge of the area, Lonergan laying the ball back smartly for McMenamy to hit first time. His strike took a deflection and looped agonisingly over the bar.
Chances missed, nerves tested
Athlone, though, never went away. In midfield, Aaron Connolly kept demanding the ball, kept trying to drag his team up the pitch. On 71 minutes he let fly from outside the area, a powerful effort that forced Doherty into a sharp low save to his left.
Waterford should have killed it off seven minutes later. Conan Noonan did brilliantly near the byline, refusing to let the ball run out and then delivering a superb cross onto the head of Hayden Cann. The defender met it with a thunderous header that looked destined for the net until Clarke produced a stunning reaction stop. McMenamy pounced on the rebound but volleyed over from close range. A huge chance gone.
The home crowd’s anxiety only grew when Clarke appeared to handle outside his area as Amond looked to burst through on goal. Again, play continued, again Waterford looked towards the referee in disbelief.
Clarke stayed busy as the clock ticked down, denying both Noonan and Voilas as Waterford hunted the third goal that would finally put the tie to bed. It never came. And that left the door open for one last scare.
Deep into stoppage time, Sean Brennan stepped up from distance and unleashed a fierce drive that seemed destined for the top corner. Doherty, at full stretch, got the faintest of fingertips to it and turned the ball over the bar. A magnificent save, and the moment that kept Waterford’s cup dream alive.
The corner came to nothing. The whistle went. Waterford had survived – just.
They march into the last eight, their 44-year wait for cup glory still flickering with possibility. Nights like this, hanging on under floodlights, are how real cup runs are built.
