Shelbourne are off to the Aviva Stadium for the first time since 2011 after their 1-0 victory over Waterford in the semi-finals of the FAI Cup.
It was an early goal from Gavin Molloy that decided who will play Derry City next month in Dublin.
Despite the narrow victory for Damien Duff's team, it was a comfortable win for a team who last won a cup semi-final in 2018.
That was the semi-final of the Leinster Senior Cup, and the Reds defeated Bluebell United that night 3-0.
The Blues, who were defeated in last year’s Cup semi-final by eventual runners-up Bohemians, wanted to make their own bit of history on Sunday.
Their last day out at Lansdowne Road was in 2004 and the last time they played in any final was in the Munster Senior Cup in 2013.
The 4,952 people inside the RSC knew the history and Waterford drew from their energy. An early advance into the Shelbourne half led to Phoenix Patterson picking out Darragh Power. The attack minded full-back put a low cross into the box and Brendan Clarke scooped this up with ease.
The Blues retreated into a tight 4-5-1 shape after this with Raul Uche acting as the sole man up top. Shelbourne enjoyed the ball when they had it and they had their first shot on goal in the 11th minute through Sean Boyd.
The striker, who has four goals so far in this season’s FAI Cup, had to watch as his off the shoulder attempt bobbed narrowly wide. Two other opportunities fell his away after this and each one was blocked by Alex Baptiste.
Then, Mattie Smith collected a pass in the centre of the pitch and ran five yards. The midfielder spotted a run into the area by Molloy and he sent the ball straight to the full-back. Molloy put the ball across the face of goal with the inside of his left boot and Shelbourne took an early lead.
Shelbourne relaxed with the goal, and they should have doubled their advantage when Boyd found himself one on one with Paul Martin. The goalkeeper was able to put this out for a corner, and in a succession of set pieces, Luke Byrne hit the post with a ball in from JJ Lunney.
Damien Duff’s team continued to dominate at the RSC and another chance came from Shane Farrell collecting a low cross by John Ross Wilson, and this was blocked by Baptiste.
Waterford, who went into the game with memories of last year’s semi-final defeat to Bohemians fresh in their heads, had a strong start to the second the half but they repeatedly failed to get a shot on target.
Phoenix Patterson ran the show on the left flank and he combined well with Shane Griffin and Raul Uche. The closest they went during this spell was a clever turn by Griffin on the edge of the area, and the ball was taken from him just before he could attempt a shot.
An in-swinging free-kick from Patterson was the first time that Clarke was really tested, and this was tipped out for a corner.
The Blues had a late penalty appeal for a handball turned down and seconds later the whistle went, sending Shelbourne through to the final.
Waterford: Paul Martin; Darragh Power, Niall O’Keeffe, Alex Baptiste, Shane Griffin (Richard Taylor 70), Raul Uche, Junior Quitirna, Tunmise Sobowale, Roland Idowu (Yassine En-Neyah 18), Killian Cantwell, Phoenix Patterson.
Shelbourne: Brendan Clarke; John Ross Wilson, Shane Griffin, JJ Lunney (Aodh Dervin 88), Mark Coyle, Sean Boyd, Mattie Smith, Shane Farrell (Jack Moylan 61), Gavin Molloy, Luke Byrne, Stephan Negru.
Referee: Rob Hennessy
