FAI Cup semi-finals:Twenty three years on from their last appearance in a Ford FAI Cup semi-final, UCD could hardly claim to specialise in the knock-out side of the game. With the help of young striker Conor Sammon, though, they've done better than most on that front this season and head into this Sunday's meeting with Longford Town still hoping to repeat their unlikely triumph of 1984.

Fractionally ahead of schedule, perhaps, the 20-year-old striker has come of age with the students this year. His 11 goals is a decent return for a side not renowned for its prolific frontmen but what's more remarkable is that five of those have come in cup competitions, with four proving to be match winners.

His form has attracted interest from a couple of English clubs. Stoke City's people have been along to Belfield to watch him on a handful of occasions, while Dennis Wise has been tracking his progress since coming to see Mark Quigley play against the students only to be more impressed by the former Malahide United man.

"Definitely," says Sammon with enthusiasm when asked if he would fancy trying his luck away. "I think every young player in the League of Ireland or anywhere wants to play at as high a level as they can. England would definitely be a step in the right direction but we'll see how it goes."

In the meantime, he is kept busy by day working with Bank of Ireland and by night making a name for himself on the football circuit here.

The 60th-minute goal he scored to put holders Derry City out of the cup in the last round has certainly helped to get him noticed, with a Player-of-the-Round award following as well as the promise of much greater rewards if he can repeat the trick on Sunday afternoon.

"It's always nice to get a personal award," he says, "but the important thing that night was that we got the win. I was just pleased to get the goal to help us get through.

"They (Derry) are a great cup team as they showed again this year in the League Cup but we always had faith in our own ability that we could go up there and win. And we still believe we can win the Cup."

In the league, he accepts, UCD have fallen a little short of their targets but they have still done well enough to defy the club's most vehement or, for that matter, patronising critics.

"It almost offends us when people say we should just be happy to stay up," he says. "We are a team of young players, we know that, but we feel we have got enough quality to do more than just stay in the league.

"But sometimes we don't get the credit we feel we deserve and that drives us on. It motivates us to go out and prove people wrong and show what we can do."

On a personal front the motivation seems to be working rather nicely with, after years passed unnoticed at Sutton, Malahide and Cherry Orchard, his recent international debut for the Irish under-21s was just the latest sign that he is doing something right.

"It's gone well personally," he says with a hint of embarrassment. "As a team we would like to be higher up the table but I think an extra year has given me more experience and, physically, I've got a bit bigger. You just get a bit wiser too. I've learned from the games I have played in and they have stood me in good stead."

The prospect of an appearance in a cup final would round the season off nicely now, he says. "I used to support Shels. I went to some of their Cup finals. To play in one would just be unbelievable."