Cup final has promise to be a great
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Next Sunday’s Ford FAI Cup final is already promising to be a classic and, in a way, perfect redemption for the previous occasion players from the league took to the field at the Aviva.
While there is no point going into the ins and outs of that disheartening hammering against Man United back in the summer, the battle of the Rovers has enough promise to go down as one of the better finals in recent years.
Thankfully, the ground won’t look too empty as two of the best supported sides in the league are expected to bring a big crowd – at the moment an attendance of over 20,000 is predicted and we should be thankful it’s not lesser supported sides contesting the first final back at Lansdowne Road.
The dwarf-like north stand at the D4 venue is already going to be full of vociferous Shamrock Rovers fans, with the Hoops set to sell a second batch of tickets after their original allocation was sold out, and tickets have also been flying out the hatches in Sligo where Paul Cook’s side go in search of their second cup of the season.
Whatever happens, one bunch of Rovers will have a double to their name while the other will just be content with the efforts they have to show for a lengthy season which has seen the Dubliners take the league title on goal difference and Sligo capture the EA Sports Cup.
Indeed, a couple of thousand neutrals are expected to tag along too to witness what should be a memorable occasion. It promises a lot and thankfully, for once I hope I don’t jinx this, we can say that there is nothing to detract from the spectacle with six days to go.
One far from outlandish, though brash, prediction I’m willing to make is that the atmosphere next Sunday will far exceed anything that has been whisked up in the ground so far. But then again, isn’t that the problem of modern stadia?
Whereas the uncannily Emirates-like Aviva stadium has looked soulless for the most part in both codes, the argument can also be made that international football rarely stirs the same passion as any club game around the world.
It will be a tough game to predict – though the league champions will probably be slight favourites – so the only bet I’m willing to wager is that both fans of the Bit O’Red and the Hoops will muster up a lot more noise than the stadium has been used to thus far; with the exception of the inane crooning of Michael Bublé, of course.
While there is no point going into the ins and outs of that disheartening hammering against Man United back in the summer, the battle of the Rovers has enough promise to go down as one of the better finals in recent years.
Thankfully, the ground won’t look too empty as two of the best supported sides in the league are expected to bring a big crowd – at the moment an attendance of over 20,000 is predicted and we should be thankful it’s not lesser supported sides contesting the first final back at Lansdowne Road.
The dwarf-like north stand at the D4 venue is already going to be full of vociferous Shamrock Rovers fans, with the Hoops set to sell a second batch of tickets after their original allocation was sold out, and tickets have also been flying out the hatches in Sligo where Paul Cook’s side go in search of their second cup of the season.
Whatever happens, one bunch of Rovers will have a double to their name while the other will just be content with the efforts they have to show for a lengthy season which has seen the Dubliners take the league title on goal difference and Sligo capture the EA Sports Cup.
Indeed, a couple of thousand neutrals are expected to tag along too to witness what should be a memorable occasion. It promises a lot and thankfully, for once I hope I don’t jinx this, we can say that there is nothing to detract from the spectacle with six days to go.
One far from outlandish, though brash, prediction I’m willing to make is that the atmosphere next Sunday will far exceed anything that has been whisked up in the ground so far. But then again, isn’t that the problem of modern stadia?
Whereas the uncannily Emirates-like Aviva stadium has looked soulless for the most part in both codes, the argument can also be made that international football rarely stirs the same passion as any club game around the world.
It will be a tough game to predict – though the league champions will probably be slight favourites – so the only bet I’m willing to wager is that both fans of the Bit O’Red and the Hoops will muster up a lot more noise than the stadium has been used to thus far; with the exception of the inane crooning of Michael Bublé, of course.
About Alan Smith
Alan Smith works as a sub-editor for the Guardian newspaper in London. Originally from Cork, he freelances for several other newspapers and websites. Follow him on twitter @alansmith90. View Full Profile