St Patrick’s Athletic, the reigning champions, were knocked out of the FAI Cup on their first attempt to defend the title, following a harsh 3-0 defeat to Derry City at the Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium. Authorised by Stephen Kenny, the team suffered a sobering defeat to Derry, a team that was looking for redemption following its disappointing exit from the Uefa Conference League. The match was decided in the second half when Derry took control, despite failing to convert a 47th-minute penalty when St Patrick’s defender, Axel Sjoberg, had caused a foul against Paul McMullan.
Despite the missed opportunity, Derry rallied and took the lead after four minutes. A pass from Ben Doherty set up Michael Duffy, who scored the first goal. The lead increased seven minutes later with a strong header coming from Danny Mullen. The game was effectively over at 67 minutes when Duffy doubled his tally, turning Adam O’Reilly’s pass into a goal.
Over at Carlisle Grounds, Premier Division frontrunners Shelbourne had a challenging afternoon despite an early goal from Sean Boyd signaling an easy sail against Bray Wanderers. Damien Duff’s team looked lost in the second half, squeezing out an unimpressive 1-0 victory. The narrow escape was evident when the Wanderers’ Max Murphy nearly scored a late-minute goal.
Interestingly, the kick-off was delayed for a quarter of an hour because of a crowded congregation at the gates. Nevertheless, Shelbourne, with eight rotated players, dominated in the Bray half since the match began, and deservedly went upfront in the first quarter. It started with new recruit, Rayhaan Tulloch, taking advantage of John O’Sullivan’s run to create space. Boyd, who had a face mask due to a previous injury, perfectly timed Tulloch’s pass to score an opening goal.
After the interval, Bray proved to be the stronger side with Guillermo Almirall testing Healy and Ben Feeney missing a chance from Murphy’s corner kick. Even though Evan Caffrey managed a near miss for Shelbourne, the relentless pressure from Bray didn’t result in an equalizing goal.
In other matches, Sligo Rovers continued their impressive performance, securing a 3-0 victory against Cobh Wanderers, a non-division team, at the Showgrounds. Additionally, First Division contenders UCD and Wexford advanced in the competition, overcoming non-division rivals.