The Cup overflows in North-west

IT’S the big one in the north-west this evening as cup holders Derry City face local rivals Finn Harps in front of an expected sell-out 5,000 crowd at Finn Park in the 3rd Round of the FAI Ford Cup (kick off 7.45pm).

And looking to prevent Derry gain a belated kick-start to their season will be a man who helped bring the trophy back to the Brandywell last year. Harps boss Paul Hegarty was the assistant manager at Derry when they beat St Pat’s in last season’s thrilling final but, as far as he is concerned, that’s all academic since he threw in his lot with the First Division side.

“It means nothing because I’m employed by Finn Harps now,” he says. “I’m a Donegal man too. It’s a big occasion for me but ultimately it’s about the players. All the pressure is on Derry because they’re the cup holders, but we think that if we play to our full potential we can win.

“We’re expecting a fantastic atmosphere. It’s great for football to have these nights and it should be a good game because both Derry and ourselves like to pass the ball.”

The romance of the cup will also be in evidence at Flancare Park where Longford Town play host to Donegal non-leaguers Fanad United (ko 7.45pm). Although recent results have shown that there’s league life left in Longford yet, for this game they find themselves in the unaccustomed position of being red hot favourites. Back to back winners in 2003 and 2004, it’s no surprise that Longford have a special love affair with the competition.

Says manager Alan Mathews: “Our real focus is staying in the league but it’s great if you can add a good cup run to that. I think the romance of the cup has probably gone in England. But here it’s still a great opportunity. And for us it helps keep our season alive. We’re bottom of the table but that’s parked for a week. So there’s an extra bit of buzz about it.”

Fanad boss Ollie Horgan knows that his side will need to upset the odds to qualify for the quarter-finals.

“We’re missing a few key players and that will make it difficult,” he admits. “The fact that we are not in season will always work against non-league sides. Our last competitive game was the second round (when Fanad beat St John Bosco 1-0) and we’re only back in training a few weeks.”

Tomorrow will see another David v Goliath contest when Bohemians travel to Gannon Park — the ground used by the senior Irish team for training — to take on Malahide United (kick off 12pm, all ticket). Asked what lesson they learned when going out of the Cup against Pats last year, Malahide boss Bobby Browne quips: “To bring the pitch in about ten yards each side.” In more serious vein, he says that he values the FAI Cup as a good test for his Metropolitan Cup winners, four or five of whom he feels are good enough to move up to the league.

“It’s a chance for them to show their wares,” he says. “We like to get the ball down and move it around ourselves but the difference is that we’re up against a full-time team who are training every day. The key is to be brave enough to have a go. So we’ll look to press them high up the park but I don’t want to stifle my players either. It’s about getting the balance right on the day.”

Bohs manager Sean Connor, who knows the splendid Gannon Park surface well from a previous visit with Sligo, says that his team will take nothing for granted.

“If you don’t turn up and work hard then any team can beat you,” he opines. “What you get with the non-league teams and the underdogs is that they will work extra hard because it’s a big game for them. And the longer they stay in the game, the more they have to fight for. So you need to get a goal as quickly as possible and get control of the game. If you do that, it can take away some of the sting but, having said that, football history is littered with cup shocks.”