Saints ready to exorcise cup demons, says O’Brien

When it comes to supporting St Patrick’s Athletic, and trying to make sense of the club’s vexed relationship with the FAI Cup, gallows humour has long-since become the default setting.

“They tell you not to enter it, that’s the kind of attitude they have,” says defender Ger O’Brien of the Inchicore side’s infamous 53-year wait for a follow-up to their 1961 triumph. “But listen, it’s great, you want to be at a club where there is pressure and there is pressure on us now.”

The reigning league champions might be about to surrender that title but, as hot favourites to overcome First Division Finn Harps in their FAI Ford Cup semi-final in Richmond Park on Sunday, Pats are once again just a game away from a big trip to the Aviva.