FAI CUP FINAL/Longford Town v Waterford United: With its usual eye for a publicity own goal, the Football Association of Ireland managed to steal the limelight from its own showpiece domestic club final over the past few days.
A glance at the association's formbook may suggest that's no great shock. The upshot is as Longford Town and Waterford United continued to prepare for tomorrow's Carlsberg-sponsored cup final at Lansdowne Road yesterday there was as much speculation over who'll lead out the dignitaries prior to the game as who'll cart away the silverware when it's over.
Longford, though they'd scarcely admit it, will start as favourites. Their league form has again been erratic this season and the fact they lack a really prolific striker has left them struggling to convert strong performances into victories on more than one occasion.
Still, they have a strength about them that makes them very hard to beat and, with so many having been regulars in cup finals of one sort or another over the past couple of years, an experience that's likely to stand to them against a young and less proven Waterford United side.
A year ago Alan Mathews's players saved their best in this competition for the final where, after a relatively straightforward path to Lansdowne Road, Longford surprised St Patrick's Athletic by producing more football ability than mere fighting spirit when it mattered.
At the back they displayed their usual resilience under pressure but it was the way they used the space available to them when in possession and closed it down when they weren't that proved the decisive difference between themselves and the Dubliners on the day.
Having come through a much tougher run of matches to reach this year's final they should be even better able for the occasion now and while the suspended Barry Ferguson will be missed from the centre of defence Matthews has some strong options available to him when he sits down to finalise his starting line-up.
Two wins and a draw in the last three league games might suggest there is still, even at this stage, room for a bit of a shake-up ahead of a game that represents Longford's only chance of qualifying for Europe again next season.
The reality, though, is the team's form since the start of August has been very strong with nine wins and three draws in all competitions prior to the first of those to meetings with Pat Dolan's men a couple of weeks back and so Matthews will stick with almost all of the group that were centrally involved in that run.
Ferguson's absence means Graham Gartland and Seán Dillon are likely to partner each other in the centre of defence while Paul Keegan's form of late, most notably in the semi-final replay win over Drogheda United, is set to earn him a start in attack at the expense of Eric Lavine.
Central midfield, however, looks harder to call with Matthews expected to start with Dean Fitzgerald alongside John Martin, Alan Kirby or Vinny Perth. Kirby has performed consistently well out on the right while Perth appears to have suffered something of a dip in form of late which may just be enough to hand Martin a start in the middle. However, with both sides expecting something of a battle in there the former UCD midfielder may be considered just a little lightweight for the demands of this particular contest and so he and Kirby may switch places.
Waterford United player-manager Alan Reynolds, meanwhile, must wait for final decisions to be made on his two injury worries before deciding on either his line-up or tactical approach. As he pondered the matter yesterday he sounded a good deal more upbeat about Pat Purcell's chances of featuring from the outset than John Frost's.
Missing out would be a terrible blow for the United skipper who has had a difficult season due to injury problems and has waited a long time for the club to feature on a stage like this. His absence would also be likely to heavily influence to the game especially if Purcell, who came through Tuesday's game with Cork without any great problem after a three-week lay-off, is given the all clear to play.
Like his opposite number the United boss is tight lipped about what he will do on the day. Having adopted a 3-5-2 line-up in the past it could be he will be tempted to play all three of his centre backs while packing midfield in the hope of smothering Longford in the middle of the pitch.
Reynolds himself will lead United's challenge in that department and if his side does manage to get the upper hand Matthews might at some point opt for a reshuffle that includes a switch for Alan Murphy, a man who can certainly mix it when required, from right back to central midfield.
Also crucial to Waterford's chances will be the performance of the team's front two with Daryl Murphy and, most likely, Willie Bruton, needing to unsettle a particularly well-organised defence in a way that several well-regarded strike forces have failed to over the course of the season.
It's not all that hard to see the whole thing being settled by a single set-piece goal but it should still be an intriguing encounter between a Longford side built solidly from the back and a Waterford one that has more in common with the Flancare Park outfit in their rather more adventurous Stephen Kenny days.
Whoever comes out on top, though, the good news is that for an hour and three quarters at least, football rather than a feud will be centre stage.
PROBABLE LINE-UPS
LONGFORD TOWN: O'Brien; Murphy, Dillon, Gartland, Prunty; Kirby, Martin, Fitzgerald, Barrett; Baker, Keegan.
WATERFORD UNITED: Connor; Breen, Whelehan, Purcell; Carey, Reynolds, Mulcahy, Clifford Waters; D Murphy, Bruton.
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