By Neil Madigan
Tommy Lonergan with a touch of class earns Jon Daly’s Blues a hard earned point at the RSC for the season opener. Goals from John Martin and Tommy Lonergan saw the Blues draw with Shelbourne in the first game of the 2026 season.
Friday night’s opening-day Premier Division fixture at the Regional Sports Centre saw Waterford and Shelbourne lock horns in a pulsating start to the 2026 League of Ireland season. With the Blues launching their campaign on home soil and the Reds looking to carry momentum from a strong close to last term, both sides served up an entertaining contest in front of a lively Blues faithful, setting the tone for what promises to be an enthralling season ahead.
The opening moments saw both sides looking to settle quickly on the occasion. The visitors appeared to have the fastest start though, launching a few menacing attacks which left Jon Daly’s side on the back foot from the get-go. This was to be punished on the 15 minute mark as former Blue John Martin put Joey O’Brien’s Shels ahead. An inswinging cross which was met by the miscued effort from Odubeko fell at the feet of Martin, who guided it past McMullan.
With the hosts eagerly looking to get back into the game after a slow start, Shels continued to look the more likely to double their lead. Milan Mbeng came the closest during this period, as he failed to utilise an opening at the back post after 25 minutes. This was followed by another chance for John Martin to double his tally a couple of minutes later, as he saw his header glanced past McMullan’s far post.
As the first half reached it’s latter stages, the Blues started to show some promise. Confidence was seeming to grow. Although no clear cut chances were created, Daly’s side definitely were beginning to probe and remained well in the contest.
The half time whistle blew with encouraging signs for the Blues. Daly’s side were hoping the break would allow them to regroup. Trailing but hope remained, knowing momentum can swing quickly.
The resumption of proceedings began in similar fashion to the first. The visitors came out guns blazing as Harry Wood saw a close range strike go just wide after a couple of minutes into the half.
The Blues weren’t to lie down from here though. A triple change ten minutes into the half was followed by a change of fortunes for the hosts. A deep freekick from the returning Conan Noonan was met by Tommy Lonergan, who flicked a header goalbound with his back to goal stunning Speel on goal and miraculously levelling proceedings.
With the half progressing, the Blues had their tails up and were eager for more. Remaining resolute and resisting Shels’ advances, Jon Daly’s men looked like they got the boost they needed by going toe to toe with the opposition.
The closing stages offered a lot of promise but no reward for both sides. With 10 minutes to go, both sides saw successive chances narrowly missed. Kerr McInroy of Shels found himself in the Blues penalty area alone but had his volley safely dealt with by McMullan. This was just before Conan Noonan broke into space having his effort skim past the far post.
In the closing moments, the hosts thought they had won it. Tommy Lonergan nearly had a brace as he had his drilled effort was parried away by Speel in added time.
With the final whistle sounding, the Blues claimed their first point of the campaign in a hard fought encounter against a strong Shelbourne side. There will be much encouragement around the team following this as focus now shifts to a trip to Drogheda next Friday.
Waterford FC: Stephen McMullan (GK); Luke Heeney, John Mahon, Hayden Cann, Benny Couto; Cian Barrett (53′ Sam Glenfield), Evan McLaughlin (53′ Trae Coyle), Conan Noonan, Conor Carty (53′ Jorgen Voilas), Pádraig Amond, Tommy Lonergan.
Shelbourne FC: Wessel Speel (GK); Milan Mbeng (80′ Sean Gannon), Paddy Barrett (C), Odhrán Casey, Kameron Ledwidge; Jack Henry-Francis, Kerr McInroy, Harry Wood (80′ Maill Lundgren), Daniel Kelly (66′ Will Jarvis); Mipo Odubeko (83′ Sean Boyd), John Martin (66′ Rodrigo Freitas).
Attendance: 3,232
