Joey O’Brien’s Shelbourne set to kick start their 2026 League of Ireland campaign in the RSC
Waterford finished 2025 on a high, surviving the drop to the First Division Promotion/Relegation Playoff against Bray Wanderers in their opponents home ground Tolka Park.
All be it this relief, securing their Premier Division status, The Blues will be wanting to improve their unappealing 9th place finish, in which they they trailed to teams such as Sligo Rovers and Galway United whom both had spells during the season that made it seem as if they would possibly be facing the drop.
Shelbourne on the other hand had another season to be proud of. Following the shock departure of manager Damien Duff. Joey O’Brien took over and managed to secure a 3rd place finish, giving the club the opportunity to potentially go back-to-back in qualification for the league phase of the UEFA Conference League.
Key Information:
Kick off: 19:45, Friday February 6th
Where to Watch: LOI TV
Betting Odds: Waterford @11/5, Draw @11/5, Shelbourne @23/20
Referee: Lucas Keeting
Team News:
Both teams have all players available for their season-opener on Friday Night.
Waterford will have key attacking signings such Evan McLaughlin, Conor Carty and returning Conan Noonan ready to fly out the gates.
While, Shelbourne will have their record-breaking signing Odhran Casey and Rodrigo Freitas prepared to show themselves to the SFC faithful in league conditions.
Despite rumors late in the winter window, both Harry Wood and Mipo Odubeko will remain at Tolka Park till at least July.
Conan Noonan photographed by Cian Kelly
Key Statistics:
Although The Blues finished 9th, they finished the 5th top scorers in the league with 43 goals, only 5 behind Shelbourne whom finished 6 places higher than them.
On the other hand, the Munster side conceded the joint-most goals alongside Cork City with 60 goals, averaging out at 1.7 goals conceded per game.
Shelbourne were runners-up in terms of ball possession averaging out at 57.8%, only behind the Champions Shamrock Rovers.
Key Players:
Waterford will have a lot of new faces on display at the RSC on Friday, but the player Shelbourne will have to do most homework on will definitely be two familiar faces in Pádraig Ámond and Conan Noonan.
The attacking pair are probably the reason the Blues had any chance of possibly escaping the Playoff spot last year, with Ámond securing the League’s Top-Scorer, winning it for his second year running in 2025.
As for Shelbourne, it will be hard to look past Kerr McInroy in midfield. The Scott is absolutely key to the way Joey O’Brien’s team wants to play, keeping the ball exceptionally well and popping up with a goal every now and again. If the 25 year-old is firing like he did last season, it will definitely help in Shelbourne’s ambitions for the season.
Previous Meetings:
26/9/25 – Shelbourne 2-1 Waterford
23/6/25 – Waterford 2-2 Shelbourne
5/5/25 – Shelbourne 0-1 Waterford
21/2/25 – Waterford 0-1 Shelbourne