The Blues return back to the RSC this Friday evening, welcoming early league leaders Bohemians for our latest SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division clash of the 2026 season, and we have everything you need to know ahead of kick-off.
Waterford FC vs Bohemian FC
SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division
Friday 6th March 2026
The RSC, Waterford
7:45pm
WATERFORD FC
The Blues are back on home territory this weekend after last Friday’s trip to the Ryan McBride Bride Brandywell Stadium where Derry City defeated the Blues with the aid of two second-half injury-time goals.
The Blues have drawn both home games to date in 2026, kicking off the season at home to Shelbourne (1-1), before a scoreless clash against Sligo Rovers a fortnight ago.
Jon Daly’s men have two points to their name ahead of Friday’s game, looking secure our first win of the campaign.
BOHEMIAN FC
Alan Reynolds’ side make the journey to the RSC tomorrow looking to continue their strong start to the 2026 season against the Blues on Friday.
The Phibsborough outfit sit at the top of the Premier Division table after four games, with ten points to their name from their first four games.
A 0-0 opening day draw against st. Patrick’s Athletic has been followed up with three consecutive wins against Sligo Rovers, Derry City & most recently Shamrock Rovers, as they look to continue that form this Friday evening.
WATERFORD FC TEAM NEWS
Jon Daly has no new injury concerns to contend with after last weekend’s clash in Derry. Finlay Armstrong remains absent through injury, whilst Arlo Doherty continues his recovery from his hamstring injury picked up prior to the start of the season.
Will Johnson & Jordan Houston are continuing to build up their fitness, having signed for the Blues before the end of the Winter transfer window.
JON DALY’S THOUGHTS
“There was a lot to take from last Friday night [in Derry]. We have to look at the negatives also too – when you go 2-0 up you have to manage the game better and we have to come away from the game with something regardless of the team or venue. The Brandywell is a tough place to go, and I don’t think you’ll see too many teams put themselves in a situation like we did last week with a two-goal lead.
We want to make sure we’re difficult to beat at home, and we feel we should have won at least one of our home games so far this season, so we’re obviously still looking for that first victory, so hopefully that will come Friday night.
Bohs are a different problem for us in terms of the way the play and with the players they have at their disposal in their squad they have which has built into a really good squad over the years and they’ve added to it again. They’ve started the season really well, but we’ve analysed them and looked at ways where we can hurt them. We’re aware of where they can open us up, and we know it will be a tough game, but it’s one where we’re excited to get back to the RSC and get that first win.”
STEPHEN MCMULLAN’S THOUGHTS
“We took the positives from last week after a good performance, and we’ll look to take it into Friday. We had a good result against Shelbourne at home on the opening night of the season, so we’re full of confidence going into tomorrow nights game against Bohs. We’re getting better game by game, so we need to keep focusing on our performances and then the results will come.”
(Image credit: Sportsfile)
