WEEKEND PREVIEWS:JUST A few weeks ago, tonight's meeting in the Ford sponsored FAI Cup quarter-finals with Sporting Fingal looked likely to be a critical part of Shamrock Rovers' pursuit of the only piece of silverware they still had a serious chance of winning.
Since the draw was made, though, Michael O’Neill’s side have closed the gap on Bohemians at the top of the table to just one point and so, while the more optimistic fans will ponder the possibility of a double as they cross the city tonight, the rest may actually have come to view the encounter with Sporting Fingal as an unwelcome sideshow.
However, O’Neill maintains that both the break from the league and the availability of other targets at this stage of the season are welcome.
“We’ve had a great unbeaten run in the league so maybe it’s as well that we have a week away from trying to keep that up,” he says. “The cup is hugely important to this club, though, and we’ll be taking it very seriously.
“Everybody knows that Sporting Fingal have a Premier Division squad and I’m sure they’ll be looking to prove that. But we’ve had them watched a couple of times and we’ve had a look at the ground so we’ll certainly know what to expect as we head over there.”
The visitors are without Stephen Bradley and Paddy Kavanagh (both suspended) and Pat Sullivan (cup-tied) while there are major doubts about Darragh Maguire (calf) and Ian Bermingham (ankle), but O’Neill still has strong options in just about every area.
Liam Buckley, needless to say, is looking forward to the game more than most and having taken St Patrick’s Athletic to a replay in this competition last season, he’s hoping to go one better against the club where he enjoyed some good years as both a player and a manager.
“Obviously, I’ve a bit of history with them,” he says with a smile, “but I won’t give that too much thought when the players head out for the game. With Bohemians still to go to Tallaght, I think Rovers will go on and win the league now but we’ll be doing our best to make sure the cup run ends in Santry.”
Daniel Corcoran (groin) misses the game for the First Division outfit while Lorcan Fitzgerald (knee) is a doubt but, having had to cope without many of his more high-profile signings for spells earlier in the year, Buckley will have a close to full-strength squad to choose from.
Elsewhere, St Patrick’s Athletic head to Waterford knowing that the cup is very much their only hope of making it back into Europe next season. “It would be sad if we didn’t make it after the way we’ve done in the last two years,” says striker Mark Quigley, “and we’ll be giving it everything. But to be fair,” he adds, “I’d really like to win something because I haven’t done so far in my time with the club and nobody really knows who’ll be there next year.”
The Dubliners are without Declan O’Brien (cup-tied) while Jamie Harris (hamstring), Garreth O’Connor (knee) and Darragh Ryan (hip) are all doubts.
Their hosts have Paul McCarthy (groin) and David Grincell (broken wrist) both out as they look to add to their League Cup success over Shamrock Rovers.
Gareth Cronin has Neal McKenna suspended for the night’s other cup game, the meeting of Longford Town and Bray Wanderers at Flancare Park.
Bray are similarly down just one player with Chris Deans serving a one-match ban.
“We like to have more points on the board,” admits Cronin, “but the club has a great record in the cup in recent years and hopefully by the end of the night we’ll be in another semi-final.
In the league, Dundalk will be without Thomas Heary (suspended) while Michael Collins is a doubt with a back problem. Former assistant manager Joe Miller will, of course, also be absent with the Scot having quit earlier in the week.
Cork have Danny Murphy suspended while Kevin Long (knee) and Greg O’Halloran (back) are doubts.
