By Neil Madigan
Tommy Lonergan celebrated his permanent deal with a brace, as goals from Conan Noonan, Trae Coyle and Padraig Amond also helped to seal a 5-1 victory against St Mochta’s in the Sport Direct Men’s FAI Cup.
On the back of last week’s Munster Derby triumph, Waterford FC began their 2025 Sports Direct FAI Cup journey Friday night as they welcomed St Mochta’s to the RSC for a highly anticipated second-round clash. With ambitions of a deep cup run, the Blues had the ambition of asserting their dominance early against the Leinster Senior League side, who made the trip to the southeast hoping to cause a major upset. While Waterford, boosted by top-tier experience and home advantage, St Mochta’s arrived with nothing to lose and a history of pushing League of Ireland opposition close—setting the stage for an intriguing encounter.
With two debutants Finlay Armstrong and Jordan Rossiter on show, the Blues looked to pile the pressure from the get-go. The visitors also showed some early promise of their own in the opening exchanges as they had aspirations of their own to hold on to possession in the Blues half. With the Blues settling to this quickly, St Mochta’s persistence was soon to be punished by Coleman’s side after 10 minutes as Tommy Lonergan, who recently signed a permanent deal with the Blues, pounced on a loose defensive header to round the keeper and slot it home putting the hosts ahead in cool fashion. Five minutes later, the Blues looked to quickly build on their lead as Lonergan was involved again, forcing Adam Hayden on the visitors goal in a good save, keeping the lead to a singular goal.
As the Dubliners remained competitive, the momentum seemed to die down for the Blues with the visitors continuing to break down the play and steering the danger away from their half. With the half progressing , chances were coming few and far for both sides.This was until the 35th minute, as the Blue’s patience finally paid off as the hosts were quick to pounce on more loose possession from the visitorsin the final third, where Tommy Lonergan was able to find a pass on the half turn into the path of Conan Noonan, who drilled it past Adam Hayden to double the lead.
With the game slipping away from St Mochtas, they had nothing to lose as they started to commit numbers forward. To the delight of the travelling side and the surprise of the Blue’s faithful, they were handed an instant lifeline from their pursuit as they drew a penalty which was then cooly dispatched by Dean Casey.
As the half drew to a close, there was a sense of renewed ambition for the visitors. With Coleman’s side eager to reinstate their two goal cushion, they were almost punished by a St Mochta’s counter. Goal scorer Dean Casey was in amongst the action once again as the attacker broke into space finding himself at the end of a long ball, only to be met by a hurried Stephen McMullan, which provided Casey with a chance to try his luck at the open goal, narrowly missing the far post. With the half
time whistle sounding, Waterford undoubtedly still had work to do in order to keep St Mochtas at bay with 45 minutes to go.
With the second half underway, the Blues looked to get on the front foot yet again. A minute into the half saw Trae Coyle pull the trigger from range, which saw his effort deflected into the path of Amond, who was unable to utilise. Ten minutes later, another chance came passing for the Blues as the duo of Amond and Lonergan combined with a slick passage of play between them which ultimately came to no avail from the latter’s effort. In an attempt to find their way back into the game, it appeared like the visitors had the Blues where they wanted them with little over 30 minutes remaining. Coleman’s team had to continue to work hard to uncover the solutions in order to maintain their lead and keep the obstinate St. Mochta’s side at bay.
As the game drew to the closing stages, the Blues eventually found the solution to restore comfort into the tie and they did so in style. With the momentum growing in the host’s possession, Trae Coyle was able to shoot from range catching the keeper off guard with a beautiful finish. Coleman’s side weren’t done there yet, as moments later Tommy Lonergan was able to double his tally for the night from close range. With the Blues out of sight, it wouldn’t be a big win for Waterford without talisman Padraig Amond getting his name on the score sheet. A close range header from the captain was able to put the game even more beyond doubt.
With the game finally out of sight after some tough moments, The Blues steamed into the next round of the cup with a 5-1 win. Focus now turns to a big clash with Galway United next week at Eamonn Deacy Park.
Waterford FC: Stephen McMullan, Ryan Burke, Andy Boyle, Grant Horton (Trae Coyle ‘35), Rowan McDonald, Padraig Amond, Darragh Leahy, Tommy Lonergan, Conan Noonan (Jesse Dempsey ‘63) , Finlay Armstrong, Jordan Rossiter (Dean McMenamy ‘73).
St Mochta’s FC: Adam Hayden, Glenn Shannon, Luke McWilliams (Graig Giles ‘55), Conor Dunne, Ciaran Grogan ( Clayton Maher ‘70) , Jordan Buckley, Michael Scott (Liam Brady ‘55), Dean Casey, Tyler Doherty, Aaron Robinson (Darragh Owens ‘70),Samuel McGowan.
(Photo Credit – Sportsfile)
