FAI CUP FINAL 2026 COUNTDOWN: From the depths of despair to Aviva ambition
Pádraig Amond celebrates scoring a goal Photo: ©INPHO/Tom O'Hanlon
On 18 May 2026, we found ourselves 14 games into the season, 10 points adrift of safety behind Drogheda United and Sligo Rovers, and still without a win. Relegation looked inevitable, and almost everyone had written our season off. If you had told even the most die-hard Waterford supporter that, come November, the club could be on the cusp of something very special, they would have found it hard to believe.
“The harder you work, the luckier you get.” It is one of my favourite quotes, and it perfectly sums up how our season has unfolded since then.
Graham Coughlan came in as manager and training stepped up a huge notch. We ran, fought and ran some more, doing everything possible to claw our way back into the mix and save ourselves.
That first win finally came against Drogheda when a late penalty was awarded and Tommy Lonergan dispatched it to give us our first three points of the season.
Those early months were incredibly difficult. Every game seemed to bring another setback and, when you are searching for that first win, the pressure can become overwhelming. We all felt it.
That is why that night was so important. Graham told us on his first day that we could save our season. He believed in us from the moment he spoke to us. We set small targets, with the first being to get that elusive win. Once we achieved it, we immediately moved on to the next objective.
That early success was huge for us and, from that point on, we rode the crest of a wave. Every player, member of staff and supporter played their part. We went from a team that looked doomed to one capable of competing with anyone in the league.
Avoiding relegation was always our priority, but when the FAI Cup rolled around in mid-July, it presented another opportunity. We were in good form in the league and, to be honest, at the time we would probably have preferred to keep playing league games and building momentum as we tried to close the gap.
We got through the early cup rounds and suddenly we were only a couple of games away from a final, with the chance to make the season memorable on two fronts. We continued our good league form and never took our eye off the ball. One game at a time became our mantra, and it kept us moving forward.
Training was the toughest part of the week because of how hard we were working. Friday night games almost felt like a release, even though we knew they would be anything but easy.
The semi-final at Dalymount Park was a special night as we reached our first FAI Cup final in 22 years. It could have been easy to lose focus after that victory, but with a manager like Graham Coughlan, there was never any danger of that happening.
On 18 May, we had just a 1.1 per cent chance of avoiding relegation. Fast forward to last Friday night and Mission Impossible had been completed, and in some style. Over the final 20 games of the season, we lost only four times, with Bohemians the only side to collect more points than us during that period.
Hard work has got us to this point, and on Sunday I will be one of the proudest people in the Aviva Stadium leading this group of players onto the pitch.
It is a very special group. We are close, we believe in one another and we are all pulling in the same direction.
The thought of winning the FAI Cup is incredibly special. Waterford last won this trophy in 1980 and bringing it back to the club after all these years would mean everything to the players, supporters and everyone who has worked so hard behind the scenes.
This season has been about refusing to give up. We have gone from the depths of despair to standing on the brink of something extraordinary. Whatever happens on Sunday, I am immensely proud of what this group has achieved.
But we are not travelling to Dublin just to enjoy the occasion.
The occasion is there for our supporters and families to enjoy, but we are going there to compete, to give everything we have and, hopefully, to bring the cup home to Waterford.
We believe.
And we know the whole city believes with us.
Up the Blues.
