Setanta Cup Preview

Hot on the heels of the opening night of league action our Setanta Cup representatives find themselves pitched back into competitive battle with the first leg of the competition’s Quarter-Finals taking place tonight (Monday), 5th March.

There are four ties taking place tonight with both Shamrock Rovers and Sligo Rovers playing at home, while Derry City and Bohemians face away ties against their Irish League opponents.

Shamrock Rovers v Cliftonville  (Kick-off 7.45pm)

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The Hoops will be without Killian Brennan who is suspended for the game while Ciaran Kilduff is out with a metatarsal injury and Conor McCormack misses out with an ankle problem. On the up side, Daryl kavanagh will be available having sat out the league opener through suspension and Gary McCabe returns having overcome the thigh injury that kept him out of the win against Drogheda United.

“It’s the first home game of the season, so it is a big one for us”, said Rovers boss Stephen Kenny. “We will treat Cliftonville with respect; they got a very good result against St Pat’s in knocking them out of the competition, so we know we’ll face a tough test. But we want to win the tie over the two rounds, so winning the home tie is important and that is our aim tomorrow night.”

Sligo Rovers v Glentoran  (Kick-off 7.45pm)

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New Sligo boss Ian Baraclough gets his first taste of Setanta Cup competition as his side face Glentoran, conquerers of Bray Wanderers in the first round. He is likely to be without full back Iarfhlaith Davoren and Raffaele Cretaro who are both major injury doubts, while Pascal Millien is still unavailable as the club await a work permit for the Haitian star.

“The manner of the result on Friday could be a great platform for this game.”, said Baraclough after his side poached a late equaliser against Shelbourne in their opening league fixture on Friday night.

“I’m looking forward to taking charge of a game in The Showgrounds for the first time. We’ve worked with the players over the weekend to firstly get over Friday’s game and then get ready for Glentoran. Any cup competition we are involved in - we’ll be looking to win it. Glentoran will provide us another test and it’s a busy time for us in the first few weeks of the season but it’s something we’re relishing.”

Linfield v Derry City  (Kick-off 7.30pm)

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Derry City will have to plan without Kevin Derry and ex-Wolves winger Brian McGroary as they head east to face Irish League side Linfield at Windsor Park. They will also be without striker Rory Paterson who is unavailable due to an arrangement made when Paterson shelved his loan period at the Belfast club to sign a permanent deal at the Brandywell.

Mark Farren is expected to step in for Paterson while Derry boss, Declan Devine, might also give some game time to some of the younger players in his squad.

Linfield find themselves sitting pretty at the top of the Irish League as they enter this tie, and they also progressed to the semi-finals of the Irish Cup at the weekend when they defeated Coagh United 2-0 in the quarter-finals.

Crusaders v Bohemians  (Kick-off 7.45pm)

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Aaron Callaghan returns to one of his old stomping grounds as the Bohemians boss brings his side to Crusaders and it will be Bohs’ third successive game north of the border. Having beaten Portadown in the previous round, and lost narrowly to Derry City in the opening round of league fixtures, Callaghan will be hoping his players are well acclimatised to the northern air.

Callaghan will definitely be without Dave Mulcahy, who is expected to be out for a couple of weeks, while Keith Ward, John O’Connor, Daniel Joyce and Owen Heary all face fitness tests having picked up knocks against Derry.

“It was one of the best clubs I have been at in my career and I don't say that lightly”, said Callaghan in reference to his time at Crusaders. “There are a lot of good people at the club. The support is fantastic. It's a friendly and warm club and I have great memories of my time there. I know some of their current players and they are in some respects a better side than Portadown. They have been playing on the plastic pitch which may be an advantage to them, though we have been training on a plastic pitch too."