What’s Another Year (Well It’s 29 Years Since We Won The Damn Thing!)

by Brian Kennedy

(first published in the June 2009 Carrigaline United FAI Cup programme)

They are some mysteries in life that will forever remain unexplained. The Bermuda Triangle, UFOs, toast falling to the ground on the buttered side, and Leeds United calling themselves a big club, whilst playing in the same league as Exeter City (come on the Grecians!)

Among those statistics you could easily included the astonishing fact that, despite being the second most decorated club in League of Ireland history, by the time we kick-off tonight in our 2009 FAI Cup campaign, history will have shown the Blues have only managed to win the FAI Cup just twice in almost 80 years of competition.

Put that with the fact there’s a gap of nearly 43 years between both those victories and remember the embarrassment of talent we had on Suirside, and it would leave you scratching your head so much, you’d be bald by the time you came up with some type of answer!

But there it is. On only two occasions, Waterford – in 1937 & 1980 – triumphed in the Blue Riband event of League Of Ireland football.

On April 18th 1937, in front of 35,000 hardly souls on a cold afternoon (this is Ireland after all) a Waterford side, that had already claimed the Free State Shield and a top three finish , contested their first ever FAI (or Free State Cup, as it was called back then) Final ever. Goals from Eugene Noonan (who had been brought in for Johnny Walsh in a move that nowadays could be compared to dropping Ronaldo for Darren Gibson!) and Timmy O’Keeffe brought the cup south-bound.

Though it’s unlikely there was anyone in the crowd that night at tonight’s game (God love you if there is!) it’s fair to say they’ll be more than a handful of people here who were about on April 20th 1980, when a certain Englishman named Brian Gardiner wrote himself into Waterfordian folklore with a 22nd minute winner against St Patrick’s Athletic to bridge a gap of over 40 years to bring the cup back over the river Suir.

Along the way there have been near misses. In particular 1959, when the Blues took part in one of the greatest FAI Cup finals of its time, losing out in a replay to St Pat’s after drawing the first game 2-2 with goals from Jack & Peter Fitzgerald. Luck wouldn’t favour the brave that day. Peter smacked the upright, Tommy Coady missed from 6 yards and Pat’s got a late equalizer. For Waterford it would become the Hale final – because of both Alfie (who missed the final after getting injured a few weeks previously – ironically against St Pat’s) and Dixie – majestic throughout, but missing a penalty in the replay which would ultimately cost the Suirsiders.

Many might also remember 1968, and the majestic Rovers side that beat the Blues 3-0 and went on to win six FAI Cups in a row. The same scoreline would be replicated in 1972 when Miah Dennehy became the first man to score a hat-trick in an FAI Cup final (it’s only been done once since – John Ryan for Bray against St Francis in 1990). 1979 & 1986 would also produce identical scorelines when Waterford lost out 2-0 to Dundalk and as Waterford United to the old enemy - Rovers - seven years later.

However the cruellest defeat would be 2004. God what I haven’t wrote about this! Two balls on the field, ex-Waterford players scoring, four minutes from Europe… OK enough of that misery!

Who knows what this year’s adventure will hold. It could be over at 9pm tonight or it could end in the Autumn and a bridging of a 29 year gap.

Either way they’ll be no shortage of drama along the way.