The Shamrock Rovers

manager, Pat Fenlon, has led calls for the reintroduction of neutral venues for the FAI Ford Cup semi-finals despite his side last night getting a home draw in the last four of the competition.

Rovers, winners of the cup a record 24 times, will host Derry City, while St Patrick's Athletic will also have home advantage, against Finn Harps, the only First Division side still in the cup. The semi-finals will take place on Sunday, October 5th, with both live on RTÉ 2 television. The St Patrick's Athletic v Finn Harps tie will kick off at 1.45pm, followed by the Rovers/Derry game at 3.55pm.

“We’re delighted to be at home,” said Fenlon. “But I’ve said this before: once you get to the semis, I don’t think there should be any home ties. I think it’s very unfair on teams.

“It should be a neutral venue, but we’re delighted to be at home as it gives us a slight advantage . . . [But] we know it’s going to be a tough tie.”

Derry manager Peter Hutton concurred with Fenlon. "When it's a semi-final I would agree with a neutral venue in the sense it can create that atmosphere, with both sets of fans travelling away to a game," he said. "We would have liked a home draw, but we just have to get on with it."

Finn Harps, who won the trophy for the only time 40 years ago, got the worst draw possible, according to their manager, Ollie Horgan. “That was the last one we wanted,” said Horgan of having to travel to Richmond Park. “Of course, we’ll make it as hard as we can.”

Naturally pleased to have been drawn at home to the lowest-ranked team still in the cup, St Patrick's boss Liam Buckley offered a word of caution. "We'll give them their utmost respect. Sporting Fingal, may I remind you, won it from the First Division a few years back," he said, not needing to remind anyone that it was he who led that team to success.