FAI CUP FINAL 2026 COUNTDOWN: Time is nigh to rewrite the history books
Brian Gardner celebrates the goal that won the Blues the 1980 FAI Cup Final.
When you mention the name Brian Gardner on the streets of Waterford, you’ll always be brought back to that famous day five years before I was born when his powerful header found the back of the St Patrick’s Athletic net that ultimately saw Waterford FC land a second ever FAI Senior Challenge Cup title on April 20, 1980.
Gardner is a hero to the people of Waterford and rightly so. Forty-six years later, the man who arrived on Suirside following his release from Preston North End still holds the memory of that treasured day in his head like it was only yesterday. However, as Waterford prepare to face Derry City in Sunday’s FAI Cup Final, the Blues legend hopes a new hero can emerge and write their own chapter in club history.
"I'm really looking forward to supporting Waterford on Sunday at the Aviva Stadium," said Gardner. "It's a special occasion for everyone connected with the club, but especially the players because they're the ones with the opportunity to make history.
"I'm just hoping one of them can become the next hero. It's been 46 years since Waterford last lifted the cup and that's a long wait. It would be fantastic to see this group end that run and create memories that supporters will talk about for generations, just like people still talk about 1980."
It’s just one of those things that won’t go away, similar to the goal that Ray Houghton scored for Ireland against England at Euro ’88 or the one he netted against Italy at the 1994 World Cup. They are moments that supporters never forget.
I’m sure Brian is told every time he comes back to Waterford about where the person he is talking to was when his 22nd-minute goal at Dalymount Park beat St Pat’s goalkeeper Jim Grace, with many still proudly boasting that they were behind the goal when he scored. Even my own father tells me he was!
Recalling the 1980 FAI Cup Final from his home in recent weeks, Gardner said: “I think that from the outset I should say that reaching the final in 1980 seemed like a natural progression for the team as we certainly evolved over the previous three years.
“We had reached the cup semi-final in 1978 against the great Johnny Giles’ Shamrock Rovers team before losing the 1979 final against Dundalk and then the following year we eventually managed to get our hands on the biggest prize of them all.
“When I look back on things, I had just come over from Preston North End in 1978 after I was released by Nobby Stiles. To reach the cup semi-final that year was fantastic and I think it gave me a great insight into the passion that the club and the people of Waterford had for the cup.
“By the time the second cup final came around in 1980 we had played in the previous three semi-finals and the previous final, so I was fully aware that when the cup matches came around there was a different type of atmosphere around the town.
“There’s no point saying otherwise, but the final in 1979 was a huge and bitter disappointment for us all. We had beaten Shamrock Rovers in an epic semi-final at Dalymount Park. It was a performance that was a massive improvement on anything that we had shown up to then.
“Looking back over 46 years later, I think we put such a massive effort into that game that we reached our peak. While you couldn’t underestimate the challenge of a great Dundalk team in the final, I have to be honest when I say that we didn’t deserve anything out of the game.
“I always felt that Dundalk scored the most important goal in the final, the first one, and we never recovered from that. I think it could be said that the final we won in 1980 was something similar where we scored first and that was massive.”
“In the 1980 cup run, I was lucky enough to score against Thurles Town in the fourth round where we entered the competition and I ended up scoring the only goal against Athlone Town in the quarter-final so I was on a bit of a run. Our semi-final replay win over Limerick was unbelievable and I’ll never forget that game at Milltown.
“The build-up to the final against St Pat’s was amazing,” continued the match-winner. “I suppose there was a buzz of expectation in the county while I think the excitement was at fever pitch in the city. I think you could feel the confidence in the whole squad going into the final because of the manner of the win in the semi-final.
“We had improved the squad from the year before and I think we had the belief that we had built something special. The final itself was an unbelievable day and an even better night. We decided to keep things as normal as we could.
“I still remember travelling up to Dublin on the morning of the game and just hoping that we didn’t have the same outcome as the previous year.
“I’ll make no apologies for saying this, but if we were feeling nerves on the day they were magnified a million times by the amount of supporters travelling up to Dublin in their thousands in cars and buses with scarves and flags everywhere.
“The build-up to the game was tense because there was this great sense of belief around the team and I think that was amongst the fans as well. When we came out of the tunnel and saw the support we had, well it was just unbelievable. I’ll never forget that moment, well until the next moment of course.”
“That goal. Well, I’m asked the whole time about it. It’s special and means a lot to me but I’ll be honest, and this isn’t to sound modest, that goal in the 22nd minute meant more to me for the people of Waterford, the club and the players I played with as they had waited so long and we had gone close.
“I don’t mind recapping with you now since you weren’t even born. We all had our positions on the field for attacking free-kicks and corners. My position was to cover the area by the back post in case anything was overhit or the ball was flicked on from the near post.
“I was in the same general position for the winning goal against Athlone in the quarter-final where the ball hit the face of the bar from an inswinging corner and I knocked the ball in at the back post, but this was all about the delivery.
“Larry Murray, on the day of the final, had a brilliant game on the right wing, constantly beating his full-back and in the 22nd minute, when he was fouled, referee Kevin O’Sullivan awarded a free-kick.
“We just clicked into autopilot and picked up our normal positions. I remember what happened next as if it was yesterday. The free-kick from Larry, the pace on the ball, me attacking the ball and heading it towards the far post, the curve on the ball as it bent in towards the goal and then the noise of the supporters as the ball nestled in the net. It’s emotional when you look back on it 46 years later.
“When we restarted, the thing that came into my head was that I just hoped that we got a second goal which would have secured the game for us, but it didn’t come. As the game went on I think we got more and more nervous, but it all came good in the end. The elation and celebrations were special.”
“The homecoming and everything that came around winning the cup final was special for us all. It was raw emotion if I’m honest. I remember the scenes in the dressing room and to see how much it meant to people was amazing.
“Coming over the bridge in Waterford is a memory that will be forever etched in my mind. I know people speak about the goal and have praised me. I’m humbled when I look back on it, but after that memorable day who would have thought it would be 46 years and counting before Waterford got the opportunity to bring the trophy back across the bridge.
“I have family in Waterford and I have been back many times to support the club in various promotional ventures, either through the supporters’ club or WLR, so I am quite a regular visitor. It never fails to amaze me that after all these years this game still holds so many memories for the supporters who were there.
“It’s still the focus of most conversations I have with people from Waterford old enough to have been there and while I have a few other career highlights, like playing for my boyhood club Preston and reaching three cup finals including Galway’s in 1985, nothing beats 1980.
“I feel very honoured to have been a small part of the club’s history. It is very humbling to speak to people about how much the day meant to them and the special memories and stories they all have. To have a special place in the club’s history, to be mentioned alongside some of the greatest players, is a massive honour for me.
“The Waterford people and the club have a very special place in my heart and you know what they say: ‘Once a Blue, always a Blue.’” Brian Gardner will always be remembered as the man who helped bring the famous FAI Cup back across the bridge. Now, as Waterford prepare for another date with destiny, he hopes somebody in blue can produce their own defining moment and etch their name into club folklore on Sunday.
