FAI Cup Preview: St. Patrick's Athletic -v- Shamrock Rovers

ST. PATRICK'S ATHLETIC

After suffering their first home defeat of the season at the hands of league leaders Dundalk last Friday evening, St. Pat’s will be aiming to start the defence of their Irish Daily Mail FAI Cup with a victory in a Dublin derby against Shamrock Rovers at Richmond Park (kick off 7:45pm in Richmond Park).

Despite playing more than 50 minutes of last Friday’s fixture with ten men after Kenny Browne received a red card, Liam Buckley’s side showed great character to battle hard, forcing Dundalk 'keeper Gary Rogers into a number of fine saves.

Speaking to the Exratime.ie after the Dundalk defeat, Saint boss Buckley explained that while his side battled well they did not produce the quality that he expects.

“We scrapped okay,” said Buckley. “I just expect better quality from the group that we have, we need to work harder.”

Although Friday’s result did not not go the way of the Saints, Buckley was pleased to see Christy Fagan return to the Saints side after spending over a month on the sidelines with a knee problem.

“He’s been off for about four or five weeks and he only trained the day before the game. We just took a punt on trying him. We got an hour out of him so hopefully we can push him on next week (against Rovers).”

The striker himself spoke to stpatsfc.com ahead of Friday’s game. "We know it'll be tough against Rovers,” said Fagan. “Having played against them in March and watching the recent game, it's clear they're a very strong team. They're very strong in defence and that shows in that they're unbeaten in the league so far."

"However we know from last year what the cup can be like so we'll be going out to try and win the game. There's no point looking ahead or thinking about anything other than this game so we'll focus on trying to play well and get the win come full time on Friday night."

If St. Pat's are to advance beyond the second round, Buckley is aware that a performance from his side is key to the result. Having waited 54 years to win the cup, Pat’s want to hang onto it a bit longer.

“We need to make sure we perform well," said Buckley. "It would be nice to retain the cup team. Teams do retain it; we’ve seen Sligo doing it in recent years.”

SHAMROCK ROVERS

Shamrock Rovers head into Friday’s second round FAI Cup clash with St. Pat’s chasing their first FAI Cup title in 28 seasons. Pat Fenlon’s side will be aiming to stretch their unbeaten run to 17 games.

Despite Rovers being on that great unbeaten run, they have failed to collect the victory on seven occasions, a concern that sees them currently ten points adrift of Dundalk in the SSE Airtricity League table.

Last Friday, the Hoops were left disappointed when they were forced to settle for a 0-0 draw on their travels when they made the trip to Turner’s Cross to play Cork City.

To add to Pat Fenlon’s distress, it was confirmed this week that striker Danny North will miss the next three to four months with a knee injury.

With the absence of North, the visitors will hope that Michael Drennan, the club’s top scorer with seven goals, can find his scoring boots again and end a run of four games without a goal.

"I'm very much looking forward to this year's Cup campaign getting underway,” said Pat Fenlon ahead of the Dublin derby in Richmond Park against St. Pat’s.

“I don't need to explain how much this competition means to Shamrock Rovers, especially to the fans. Both sides will see this game as a tough test, and it is certainly the tie of the round.

“It should have a big crowd, a good atmosphere and we'll be going out with the sole aim of being in the next round come 9.30pm on Friday night."

Referee: Paul McLaughlin

MATCH STATS

The sides have clashed on two previous occasions this season; a scoreless 0-0 draw in their most recent clash at Richmond Park while on the opening night of the season, Rovers defeated Pat’s 1-0 in Tallaght Stadium.

The Hoops defeated the Saints when the sides last met in this competition. That was a 2-0 win for Rovers in the 2013 quarter-final replay at Richmond Park.

This is the seventh season the clubs have been paired together in a cup competition, the sides also meet in the semi final of the EA Sports Cup. The clubs are clashing for the 250th time in all competitions in Friday's cup game.

BETTING

St. Pat’s 8/5; Draw 21/10; Shamrock Rovers 7/4.

PREDICTION

2-1 away win for Shamrock Rovers.

St. Patrick’s Athletic

Injured: None.
Doubtful: Ger O’Brien.
Suspended: Greg Bolger.

Shamrock Rovers

Injured: Danny North.
Doubtful: None.
Suspended: None.