Blues march on in FAI Cup thanks to late, late Amond strike
Waterford FC's John Mahon heads clear under pressure during the Club Orange FAI Men's Cup clash with Cobh Ramblers.
Cometh the hour, cometh the man. Padraig Amond showed why he remains one of the league’s most lethal finishers as his dramatic 93rd-minute strike saw Waterford FC come from behind to overcome a battling Cobh Ramblers outfit and book their place in the next round of the Club Orange FAI Cup.
With extra-time looming after substitute Evan McLaughlin had cancelled out Jordan Adeyemi’s early opener, Amond popped up in the right place at the right time to send the RSC faithful home happy.
The tie was less than three minutes old when Cobh stunned the home crowd by taking the lead. Rhys Gourdie played the ball down the left channel for Luka Le Bervet, who flicked it into the path of Adeyemi. His low 25-yard effort took a deflection off Hayden Cann, wrong-footing Arlo Doherty and finding the net.
Cobh nearly doubled their advantage on 18 minutes. Gourdie caused all sorts of problems down the left flank, beating both Trae Coyle and Jessie Dempsey before delivering a dangerous cross into the six-yard box, but Rhys Kelly-Noonan was unable to apply the finishing touch.
Will Johnson thought he had equalised two minutes later when he headed home, only for the effort to be ruled out for an infringement in the area. Cobh continued to threaten and almost capitalised again when Gourdie’s cross struck goalscorer Adeyemi after a clearance from John Mahon, with the ball eventually landing safely in Doherty’s hands.
Le Bervet then delivered another inviting cross from the left on the half-hour mark, picking out Kai O’Neill at the back post, but the winger could not keep his header on target as the First Division side continued to carve open the Waterford defence.
The Blues’ first meaningful opportunity arrived on 37 minutes when Conan Noonan’s free-kick found Cann, whose knockdown fell kindly for Johnson, but the midfielder’s free header lacked the power to trouble Timothy Martin.
Three minutes later, another Noonan set-piece created danger. Jorgen Voilas nodded the ball into Johnson’s path, but his left-footed effort failed to test the Cobh goalkeeper.
Amond came close to levelling on 55 minutes when he peeled away to the back post to meet a Noonan corner. The veteran striker drilled the ball back across goal, but it narrowly evaded both Jordan Houston and Cann.
Cobh goalkeeper Timothy Martin produced a stunning save to preserve his side’s lead on 71 minutes. McLaughlin’s superb pass released Benny Couto down the left and the wing-back arrowed a shot towards the far corner, only for Martin to make an excellent flying stop.
The Ramblers keeper was called into action again six minutes later. Johnson slipped McLaughlin through on goal and the midfielder looked certain to score, but Martin got down brilliantly to keep out his powerful effort.
The pressure finally told on 78 minutes. Houston found space on the right before sending over a cross that was only partially cleared by Brendan Frahill. The ball fell kindly for McLaughlin, who rifled a left-footed strike into the roof of the net to bring Waterford level.
Martin’s heroics continued five minutes later when Voilas’ effort was blocked into the path of Dean McMenamy. The substitute unleashed a thunderous 25-yard drive, but the inspired netminder somehow tipped the ball around the post.
There was one final twist in the third minute of added time as Waterford grabbed a winner their second-half dominance richly deserved. Couto’s free-kick was flicked on by Cann into the path of Amond, who made no mistake, powering home from close range to seal a dramatic victory and send the Blues into the next round.
Doherty; Houston, Mahon, Cann, Dempsey (Couto 61); Coyle (McLaughlin 61), Heeney (McMenamy 61), Johnson, Voilas; Noonan, Amond.
Martin; Linehan (O'Donovan 90), Frahill, Griffin, Gourdie, O'Neill (Galvin 90), Adeyemi (Adenopo 74), Kelly-Noonan, Carroll (McCormick 88), Griffin, Le Bervet.
Kevin O'Sullivan (Cork).
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