Drogheda aim to deliver on expectations

FAI Cup semi-final preview / Drogheda Utd v Bray Wanderers: A couple of cup successes over the years might not mark Bray Wanderers out as one of the Irish game's big boys but as they travel to Drogheda tomorrow for the second semi-final of this year's Carlsberg-sponsored competition they are keenly aware it is a good deal more than United, for all their current ambition, have ever managed in senior football.

Heavy spending has brought with it the burden of expectation for Paul Doolin who admits his drastically reshaped side could do with going one better than last year's semi-final defeat after a season in which they have shown themselves incapable of producing the anticipated improvement in the league.

Wanderers, though, have been this way before with several of Pat Devlin's men having been involved in the side that won this competition six years ago and that, reckons their well-seasoned coach, could well prove the difference tomorrow afternoon.

"I think they'll be hungry, there's no doubt about that" says Devlin. "They've spent a lot of money while we've had to sell our best players but as a team they've won nothing and while Paul won a lot of stuff as a player he hasn't managed anything yet as a manager so they'll want it all right.

"But we're the ones who have got the experience," he observes, "and in one-off games like this that can count for a lot. We have a few of the lads that were involved when we last won the competition and we seem to have a bit of a way with the cup, some clubs are just like that, look at Longford over the last few seasons, so we'll go up there looking to provide them with a few surprises."

Devlin says he has a full squad to choose from ahead of the game while Doolin is without Paul Keegan (suspended) as well as Keith Fahey and Jason Gavin (both of whom are suspended). Simon Webb looks set to be fit enough to feature, however, something that will add to the pool of experience that has been greatly expanded since the team lost at this stage of the competition 12 months ago.

"I don't think many people realised that we didn't have a single player that had played in a semi-final when we took on Longford last season," says Doolin.

"It's different now, though, we feel we're a better team even if there maybe hasn't been the improvement that we would have hoped for in the league.

"We know only too well that we haven't won anything, though, and we want to put that right. There's people who have given a lot of support to the club and we want to give something back, the supporters are overdue a bit of success and we're desperate to give it to them. There's a great buzz about the town and it would be even better if we could make it to the final."

Going into such a big game as favourites is, in itself, a somewhat novel experience for everyone up at Drogheda but it's not something that Doolin feels remotely inclined to shy away from.

"People have given us the tag of favourites and that's fine with me. Some people would prefer the safety net of being underdogs but that's not the way I look at it.

"My view is that people expect us to win and we should live up to that expectation."

It's not, needless to say, an expectation that Wanderers skipper Jody Lynch shares although the 29-year-old concedes the record so far this season favours the home side.

"When I look back at the games the first thing that strikes me is we haven't beaten them," he says.

"We had a tough draw in the first round of matches and they've beaten us fairly comfortably twice since then. We had injury problems the last time, though, and this is a cup semi-final. That'll make a bit of a difference . . . we'll be throwing absolutely everything at them this time."

Drogheda Utd v Bray Wanderers United Park, 3.30

On TV: RTE2