Waterford United  1 - 1  St Patrick’s Athletic

Waterford United were tonight held to a 1-1 draw by St Patrick’s Athletic in the FAI Ford Cup quarter final, in a game where they had a real chance to progress to the semis. Taking the lead early in the first half, the Blues were the better side up until half time, and possibly again towards the end of the match, but a twenty minute spell after the break where the Saints got themselves on top in the game culminated in Gary Dempsey firing home the equaliser through a crowd of players.

The Blues had an early scare when a perceptive Dempsey through ball split the defence, but found Glen Fitzpatrick in an offside position. The flag was up long before the striker applied the neat finish. At the other end, Graham Cummins found Stephen Grant with a deft flicked header, and as the midfielder drove into the area, the ball was blocked out to Alan Carey, whose cross just eluded everyone in the box. On 13 minutes Willie John Kiely almost profited as a high ball in from Kevin Waters bounced unchecked in the area. The striker managed to prod over the advancing Pat’s goalkeeper Gary Rogers, but unfortunately for United also just over the crossbar. He was not going to have to wait long however.

Just four minutes later Kiely got on the end of a superb Seamus Long ball down the left channel, and he held it up well for Grant, advancing through the middle. Grant spurned the chance to strike first time, but he managed to hold the ball under severe pressure, and scrambled it back out to the left, where Kiely drove it to the top left corner with some aplomb from 15 yards out. On 26 minutes the Blues had a warning when Ryan Guy neatly turned Long and fired just wide of the right hand post from the edge of the box, and they had another almost immediately through Alan Cawley, who clipped the top of the crossbar with a freekick after Bobby Ryan had been felled 20 yards out.

The home side responded well, and on  35 minutes Kiely neatly controlled a Cummins flick and fired in a volley on the run, but straight at Rogers. Two minutes later another fine Carey cross found Waters at the back post, but his header was superbly held by the Pat’s keeper. The Saints posted the last chance of the half when Guy found Dempsey well, and the former Blue fired low across goal but wide of the left post, with Michael Devine looking to have it well covered.

Into the second half and Devine was called into action twice early on, first diving to his right to hold Gary Dempsey’s superb header from Stephen Maher’s cross, then throwing himself full length to his left to block Damien Lynch’s long range drive after an attack had been half-cleared. Some effective catches and punches were required from the Blues netminder during the early spell as Pat’s came out of the traps at full tilt.

United seemed to have weathered the early storm, but worryingly they were not nearly as effective in midfield as they had been, and the visitors were getting themselves on top in the match. They were nearly gifted a way back on 65 minutes, when Carey fluffed a short pass allowing Guy to hare in on goal. Kenny Browne got back superbly to take command and play it back to Devine, but the Blues keeper surprised everyone by passing the ball straight back out to Guy, who luckily was wide enough that his attempted lob hit the side netting.

Three minutes later, at the other end, Cummins made a great surging run into the Pat’s area, only for his shot to take a slight touch up and over the crossbar, and the Blues were made to rue that missed chance on 70 minutes. As the Saints attacked in their turn, a ball into Mark Leech on the penalty spot was not dealt with: three chances to clear eventually saw it hacked only as far as Dempsey, twelve yards out on the left, who fired low to the bottom corner of the net.

Both sides pushed on in search of the winner, but there were to be no more clear cut chances, although Cummins did manage a clean header across the area when he might have been better served going for goal. On the stroke of normal time Waterford got a free kick in a promising position, but Carey fired it straight at Rogers, and that was that. In truth, the draw was the fairest result on the night, as each side could lay claim to one of the two very different halves. The replay, that really neither side could have done with, will be at Richmond Park on Tuesday next, September 15th, at 7.45pm, and the Shelbourne league match is again banished to limbo until further notice.

Waterford United: Michael Devine; Alan Carey, Kenny Browne, Kevin Murray, Seamus Long; Joe Mulcahy (Dave Warren 68), John Kearney, Stephen Grant, Kevin Waters; Willie John Kiely (Vinny Sullivan 78), Graham Cummins – subs: Kevin Burns, Declan Woodgate, Kieran Fitzgerald, Gary Dunphy, Paul Carey

Goals: Kiely 17

Booked: Devine

St Patrick’s Athletic: Gary Rogers; Damien Lynch, Jason Gavin, Stuart Byrne, Enda Stephens; Stephen Maher (Darragh Ryan 65), Alan Cawley, Gary Dempsey, Bobby Ryan; Ryan Guy, Glen Fitzpatrick (Mark Leech 57) - subs: Brendan Clarke, Noel Haverty, Gints Freimanis, Andy Haran, Kyle Moran

Goals: Dempsey 70

Booked: Lynch, Gavin

Referee: Anthony Buttimer (Cork)