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1944 -2022: Former Blues goalkeeper Peter Thomas dies

1944 -2022: Former Blues goalkeeper Peter Thomas dies
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Former Waterford goalkeeper and manager Peter Thomas has passed away.

Thomas had five spells playing for the Blues in his career. He first came to Waterford in 1967 on loan from his hometown club Coventry.

He played 193 games in his first spell at the club which lasted from '67 to 1975, before making the switch to Washington Diplomats in America. That trend would continue throughout his career whereby he would return to Waterford for a season or two before heading back stateside where he would play with Utah Golden Spikers, Las Vegas Quicksilvers and Sacramento Gold.

Returning to Waterford in 1978, Thomas remained at the club for four more years where he would play 114 times.

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He was man of the match in the victorious Cup final of 1980 when Waterford beat St Pats by a goal to nil. It had taken two cup final appearances ('68 & '72) before he finally got his hands on a winning medal.  His heroics on the day will never be forgotten as the Blues picked up their second and most recent FAI CUP.

Boasting 599 appearances over 16 seasons, Thomas' tally of games will be hard to match for years to come.

Matt Keane has broken down his list of appearances and honours which span a 19-year career.

55 Shield games
28 League Cup games
52 FAI Cup matches
23 Other senior national Cup matches (mainly Top Four trophy, also City Cup,  President's Cup)
21 Munster Senior Cup games
28 European & cross-border matches: 13 European Cup
6 Cup Winners Cup
6 Texaco Cup
2 Blaxnit Trophy
1 Tyler Cup
Scored 1 goal, direct from a clearance against St Pat's in the 1973/74 season.
Blues honours won: 5 League titles (1967/68, 68/69, 69/70, 71/72, 72/73), 1 FAI Cup (79/80), 1 League of Ireland Shield (68/69), 1 Texaco Cup (74/75), 5 Top Four Cups (67/68, 68,69, 69/70, 70/71, 72/73), 1 President's Cup (73/74), 3 Munster Cups (66/67, 75/76, 80/81)
Famously did not win an inaugural League Cup medal, as he missed the final through injury, replaced by Peter Bryan.

Thomas played twice for the Republic of Ireland - against Poland and Brazil.

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A poll in 2020 saw him named as the best goalkeeper ever to play League of Ireland football.

He also had a stint as manager of Tramore AFC, where he lived until he passed away last night.

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam

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