2022 Season Preview: Waterford

Manager: Ian Morris

Stadium: RSC

Players In: Yassine En-Neyah (Shelbourne), Kilian Cantwell (Athlone Town), Richard Taylor (Dagenham & Redbridge), Roland Idowu (Bohemians), Nigel Aris (Shrewsbury Town), Louis Britton (Bristol City – loan).

Players Out: John Martin (Dundalk), Kyle Cooke (Chippenham Town).

Extratime.ie Key Man: Junior Quitirna

The Blues did well to hold on to Quitirna over the winter and after seeing John Martin leave the RSC for Dundalk the gauntlet will be thrown to Quitirna and Patterson to provide the firepower for the Munster side.

Quitirna who can operate in any of the forward positions chipped in with six league goals in 16 appearances last season as Waterford lost out to UCD in the relegation play-off.

The Guinea-Bissau man impressed after joining Waterford in July last year. He scored a penalty on his debut to give his side a 1-0 away win over Finn Harps.

He came off the bench against Drogheda to score the winner in a 2-1 win at Head in The Game Park before the month was out.

Extratime.ie One to Watch: Roland Idowu



The 20-year-old found opportunities hard to come by at Bohemians last season, making just five Premier Division appearances in total for Keith Long’s side after joining from Cardiff City last August.

The former Southampton academy player made one FAI Cup appearance last season for the Gypsies, but he will be looking to kickstart his career back in Ireland in the First Division this season.

The Dubliner arrived at the RSC last month after Ian Morris’ side fended off interest from at home and abroad to secure his signature with the new boss praising Idowu’s strength and speed and eye for a goal.

The Irish underage international is definitely one to watch as he looks to kickstart his career and spearhead Waterford’s bid for an immediate return to the Premier Division.

Premier Division: 9th – Relegated via play-off

What might have been for the Blues. Had they not sacked Marc Bircham, might they have stayed up?



The former QPR midfielder was sacked by Waterford in dramatic circumstances just three days before their relegation playoff with UCD.

They appointed Ian Hendon for the do-or-die clash with the former Tottenham Hotspur defender becoming the club’s sixth manager in a year.

The RSC outfit began the season with Kevin Sheedy at the helm, but he was dismissed.

Bircham arrived with the club bottom of the Premier Division but was unable to keep his side away from the playoff zone after they failed to win any of their remaining five fixtures.

Waterford opened up their Premier Division campaign with an opening night defeat away to new boys Drogheda United. After a home defeat to Sligo, ten-man Waterford picked up their first win of the season away to Derry City.

The Blues lost their next three before picking up a crucial home win over Longford before back to back 3-0 losses were followed by a 7-0 drubbing at home to Drogheda.

In fact, the Munster side lost seven in a row before winning 3-1 at Oriel Park.

Results began to pick up as Waterford won five of their next six games as survival looked realistic, but it wasn’t to be after Bircham was dismissed in acrimonious circumstances.

FAI Cup: Semi-final

A late Georgie Kelly winner in the semi-final sent Dalymount into raptures and frustrated Bircham’s side who felt a number of refereeing decisions went against them on the night and that the Kelly goal was offside.

Waterford overcame Athlone Town in a pulsating first round encounter, winning 4-2 on penalties after the sides couldn’t be separated after extra-time with the score at 4-4.

The second round was much more straight forward as they pumped Kilnamanagh 4-1 at home.

The quarter-final was another thriller in Belfield as Waterford edged UCD 3-2 at the Bowl.

What to expect this season:

Ian Morris arrives at the helm with two First Division promotions under his belt with Shelbourne and he will be expected to navigate Waterford back to the top flight at the first time of asking.

There is undoubted quality in the squad with Quitirna, Patterson, Nolan, Power and O’Keeffe while Anthony Wordsworth has signed on boasting a wealth of experience in the English Football League.

Waterford were arguably a bizarre managerial sacking away from survival last season and with much of the squad remaining at the club for the promotion push, they will be expected to deliver.

First Game:

Waterford travel to Athlone Town as they open their First Division campaign on Friday night (kick-off 7.45pm).

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