First Derry goal worth the wait for final hero Burns

Published2 hours ago

Derry City's FAI Cup hero Darragh Burns said there is "nowhere better" to get his first goal for the club than at the Aviva Stadium in a final.

Burns' low drive on 69 minutes broke the deadlock for the Candystripes against a spirited Waterford and was enough to secure the club's seventh FAI Cup victory.

The 24-year-old was set to be substituted before he fired home and was relieved to contribute with his first goal since arriving at the club in July.

"I saw the substitutions getting going and I said to myself 'please just produce something' and it went in the back of the net so I'm over the moon," he told BBC Sport NI's Odhran Crumley.

"It took me longer than I expected to score my first goal, but nowhere better to get it than at the Aviva in the cup final. I dreamt of it last night and it's come true today.

"I hadn't had a shot yet in the game, just checked in on left, fake shot, went again and it hit the net.

"It's been a difficult year for the club, but we would have taken your hand off for this at the start of the season, so delighted."

Derry City secure FAI Cup with narrow Waterford win

Derry City secure FAI Cup with narrow Waterford win

'Best feeling in football' for captain Duffy

Candystripes captain Michael Duffy has now won the FAI Cup five times, twice with Dundalk and three times with his hometown club but said this latest triumph was his best moment in football.

He added that captaining Derry to silverware for the first time left him "lost for words" at the final whistle.

"That tops it off for me, it's the best feeling I've had in football," he said.

"The final whistle got me big time, I didn't know what to do or where to go. Just so, so happy getting my hands on that trophy. I've been thinking about it for the last week to be honest, so unbelievable feeling, something I'll never forget."

While acknowledging that Derry, who finished fifth in the Premier Division after a tumultuous campaign that saw manager Tiernan Lynch depart in August, "weren't good enough" in the first six months of the season, Duffy was delighted they regrouped and finished on a high with a trophy that also brings qualification for the Europa League in 2027-28.

"Mark [Connolly] has been brilliant for us and we knew we could make this happen and we went and done that. We go into next year on a massive high," he added.

"I didn't even think about that [Europa League] but it's another plus and the club is going in the right direction with a lot of exciting things."

Related topics

Irish Football

Northern Ireland Sport