First Division sides upset Premier Division Sides in quarters of FAI Cup

What a weekend it was in the quarterfinal stage of the 2022 Extra.ie FAI Cup. There were plenty of great storylines going into this round of the oldest football competition in Ireland.

One storyline that caught the attention of many was that there was two League of Ireland First Division sides still alive at this stage of the competition. Those First Division clubs were Treaty United and Waterford FC and they were in this round with six Premier Division sides.

On Friday, Treaty United faced UCD, while Waterford hosted, the perennial powerhouse, Dundalk FC. Then on Sunday, Shelbourne and Bohemians squared off and the last match of this round featured Shamrock Rovers at Derry City.

First Division clubs upset Premier Division sides in the quarterfinals of the 2022 FAI Cup

In an outstanding quarterfinal round of the FAI Cup, both Treaty and Waterford won their ties to advance to the semifinals.

Treaty demolished UCD by a 4-1 scoreline, which included scoring the first four goals of the match. UCD was able to score a consolation goal in the final 10 minutes of the match. This was an outstanding result from Treaty United, who are mid-table in the First Division.

Waterford had a much closer game in their “cupset.” Dundalk scored 11 minutes into the match to take a 1-0 lead, but Waterford did not quit. In the final 15 minutes of the first half, Waterford scored twice to take a surprising 2-1 lead into the dressing room.

In the 65th minute, Waterford increased their lead to two  with a world class goal from Phoenix Patterson and then they played some terrific defense the rest of the match.

Dundalk were able to add one back in the 92nd minute to make the score 3-2, but it was too little too late from The Lilywhites. Waterford held on for the remainder of injury time to pull off an incredible 3-2 victory.

All Premier Division quarterfinals

Sunday’s quarterfinal matchups that featured only Premier clubs were fun to watch. In the first game, Shelbourne thrashed Bohemians 3-0 at Tolka Park. Shelbourne was clearly the better side and ran riot over Bohemians to get a much deserved spot in the semifinals.

The second game featured the two clubs at the top of the Premier Division table and did not fail to disappoint. It played out as many expected, it was a close contest and the tie required extra time to be decided but Derry City prevailed as they scored twice in the additional half hour to win 3-1.

The draw for the semifinals was conducted after the Shamrock Rovers/Derry City match. Waterford will host Shelbourne and, in the other semifinal, Treaty will be on the road against Derry City. The fixtures are scheduled to be played the weekend of Oct. 16.