Burns' first Derry goal wins FAI Cup with late strike at Aviva
Darragh Burns scored his first goal for Derry City at the Aviva Stadium on 8 November 2026, his low drive on 69 minutes breaking the deadlock against Waterford and securing the club's seventh FAI Cup. The 24-year-old had been due to be substituted before firing home.
Burns, who joined the club in July, said he was relieved to contribute after a wait for his first goal. "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."
On the move that decided the final, Burns described how he created the chance. "I hadn't had a shot yet in the game, just checked in on left, fake shot, went again and it hit the net," he said, his low strike proving enough against a spirited Waterford side.
Candystripes captain Michael Duffy, who has now won the FAI Cup five times — twice with Dundalk and three times with his hometown club — called the victory his best moment in football. "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."
Duffy reflected on a difficult season that included managerial change and an underwhelming first half of the campaign. He acknowledged Derry "weren't good enough" in the first six months of the season after finishing fifth in the Premier Division and following manager Tiernan Lynch's departure in August, but praised the group's recovery. "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.
Burns also commented on the club's difficult year and the value of the cup success. "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," he said.
The victory also brings qualification for the Europa League in 2027-28; on that point Duffy said: "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."
