Derry City secure FAI Cup with narrow Waterford win

Derry City ended a season full of twists and turns with a silver lining in the form of the FAI Cup after a 1-0 win over Waterford in the final at Aviva Stadium. Graham Coughlan's side were not able to take advantage of a one-sided first half and were made to pay when a composed finish from Darragh Burns on 69 minutes broke the deadlock and proved to be the winner. It has been a turbulent campaign for the Candystripes with managerial mayhem, James McClean's return to the club not going as planned and inconsistent form. However, interim manager Mark Connolly has steadied the ship since he took over on an interim basis in August, with the final win securing European football for next season and ending their four-year wait for silverware. Burns second-half strike seals FAI Cup Like many cup finals, it was a cagey start to the decider, with Stephen McMullan forced to make his first save on 14 minutes to gather Michael Duffy's effort from the edge of the box. Derry stopper Brian Maher was then called into action when he tipped Benardo Couto goal-bound free-kick onto crossbar. The Candystripes thought they had scored the opener on 29 minutes when Duffy fired home after nice build-up play, but the winger was offside. As the half progressed, Waterford's confidence grew and they began to dominate possession with Conan Noonan's shot easily held by Maher. Waterford's set-pieces caused the Derry defence problems and they should have opened the scoring after the Candystripes failed to clear a long throw in, but Tommy Lonergan uncharacteristically headed wide from point-blank range. Coughlan's side also dominated after the restart with Noonan's shot from a tight angle only able to find the side netting before Kevin Long headed just wide of the left-hand post. However, Waterford were made to pay for not taking their chances when Derry went ahead as Burns gained possession at the edge of the box, slipped the ball onto his left foot and fired low into the bottom corner for his first goal for the club. The game opened up after Derry's goal with Noah Mawene's low shot drifting narrowly wide before, at the other end, Kevin Dos Santos shot off target. It was a valiant performance from the Blues, who were in their first cup final since 2004, but they could not find a way past Maher before the full-time whistle, meaning that red and white ribbons will adorn this year's FAI Cup for a seventh time.