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By Neil Madigan

The Blues returned to the RSC for the first time in 2025 for the 3rd round of the Grandons Toyota Munster Senior Cup. This was an opportunity for the youth to begin the club’s defence of the cup in front the 841 returning Blues faithful who were in attendance.


The hosts looked sharp in the opening moments with young side on the front foot with the lion share of possession. As the visitors resisted the early pressure, they went on to create a chance of their own through Paul Nnotum who forced Jason Healy into a great save at his near post.

The relentless pressure eventually prevailed after the 15-minute mark, as an elegantly dinked pass over the top from Kyle White at the edge of the box set Jan Wozniak through on goal who then took it past the Bandon keeper to draw a foul and win a penalty. Last year’s cup winning goal scorer, Callum Costello stepped up to coolly dispatch from the spot to put the Blues ahead and in charge at after quarter of an hour.


The remainder of the half saw the Waterford dominance continue as most of the game was being played in the Bandon half. Although, the Blues failed to increase their advantage, the intensity of their play evidently increased as the young Blues began to create an increasing number of chances as the half drew to a close.

Firstly, Zak O’ Sullivan found himself with a clear sight on goal but couldn’t do much more than test the Bandon keeper Kevin O’Brien. This was shortly followed by a precise passage of play at the edge of the Bandon box, which saw Fidel Pululu unlucky to find his effort fly inches past the far post at the 40-minute mark.

The second half started in the same fashion as the first, as the side were eager to increase their lead to prevent any upsets. Wholesale changes took place throughout the second half, but the idea remained the same with some steady defending and impressive passages of play.

The best of the Waterford chances in the second half came through Zak O’Sullivan yet again who couldn’t poke a breaking ball in the 6-yard box past Bandon keeper Kevin O’Brien, who was quick off his line. This was then followed by a Dylan Warren rebound which sailed over the crossbar.

As Bandon continued to withstand a lot of pressure in the second half, they were eventually gifted with a golden opportunity to equalise in the final 15 minutes after a defensive mix up which was pounced on by Paul Nnotum who was ultimately unable to find the back of the net.

The closing minutes saw the Blue’s young side remain professional which saw them get over the line and hence get the job done. Callum Costello’s spot kicked deemed to be the only goal of the game which sees the Blues get their first win of 2025 and go into the hat for the upcoming quarter final draw.

Waterford FC: Jason Healy; Fidel Pululu (Shane O’ Sullivan 46′), Aaron Zborowski (Matt Barrett 84′), Sean Keane, Jesse Dempsey; Mikey Carroll, Jan Wozniak, Kyle White (Alex Sheehan 46′), Aaron Cass (Dylan Warren 59′); Zak O’Sullivan, Calum Costello (Jack Garrett 59′)

Bandon AFC: Kevin O’Brien; Jack O’Donoghue, Mark O’ Driscoll (Conor Payne 59′) , Lee Holland, Adam Hunt, Dylan Wilmot (Conor McKahey 76′), Brendan Cullen, Paul Nnotum (Peter Craig 76′) , Gerard Rice, Dean Harrington Harte (Cathal Dineen 68′) , Adam Kelly (Luke Harrington 59′)