Waterford FC put the league to bed for a week with the FAI Cup taking centre stage this weekend.
The Blues will be hoping to keep up their good form in the competition, having reached the semi-finals twice in the past three seasons.
Nine finals have been graced by Waterford, with the first appearance stretching back as far as 1936 when they won the first of their two titles, with the 1980 success being the most recent feather in the cap.
On Friday evening they face Donegal junior side Cockhill Celtic at the RSC in the second round of the cup.
While the Inishowen league side are not playing at the same level as the Blues in the LOI Premier, they've gotten enough tastes of the top level to be prepared for Friday night.
"They have played League Of Ireland sides over the last couple of seasons," says Blues Head Coach Keith Long.
"We have some footage. They were involved in a cup final [FAI Junior Cup] in Galway against Gorey Rangers and we have some information on the players, so we have as much as we can on the opposition, yes of course, it can be difficult because we don't play in the same league. They come from a junior league setup and listen, it's a big day out for them. They'll be ready to perform, they'll be coming down looking forward to playing on the RSC pitch."
Long expects a well-disciplined and organised team who will likely play up to the standard they are faced with, saying his team's job will be to outwork them and hopefully bring their Premier Division quality to the fore.
His side are heavy favorites with the bookmakers owing to the obvious gulf between the sides and added to the home advantage for the Blues, it's hard to see any cup shock coming on Suirside on Friday evening.
Sam Sargeant is a doubt for the game while Christie Pattisson, Rowan McDonald & Kyle White remain injured.
Barry Baggley is continuing his return to training, while Connor Evans & Gbemi Arubi have overcome knocks to be available for selection.
While some bodies are still on the physios table, and while this is just the first round of the cup, Long says they will be going full bore in their efforts to make it to the next round.
"We're taking the competition very very serious. We're taking the opposition [Cockhill Celtic] very very serious, so we'll have a strong side out. The team that we select will hopefully be prepared, ready to perform and put on a good display.
