Cup mix contains multiple attractions

IT'S JUST like the old days, before the advent of floodlights and saturation TV coverage. Friday floodlit fare may be the way forward, but this weekend's FAI Harp Lager Cup, first round, takes a poignant step back in time, with 11 of the ties down for tomorrow - nine of them kicking off simultaneously, in time-honoured tradition, at 2.15.

So much crammed into one afternoon and so much hinging on the outcomes. Entire seasons in some instances, most notably in the case of Cup specialists Shamrock Rovers, 24 times winners, who face their moment of truth against Shelbourne.

This is one of two all-Premier division ties, with the Louth derby to be resolved, perhaps, at the second attempt tomorrow evening. But there is a little bit of everything, ranging from those high profile ties, to a couple of all-junior clashes, and incorporating a Premier division v junior club tie in the shape of TEK United v Cork City.

Unquestionably, the plum pairing is Rovers and Shelbourne. Not much at stake here, save Rovers' season and perhaps Ray Treacy's reign. And that's for starters. There is also the old Ringsend rivalry and a bitter off-field feud dating back to the court case centring on the transfers of Stephen Geoghegan and Alan Byrne from Rovers to Shelbourne (as a result of which, Shelbourne's directors decline to avail of Rovers' hospitality). Not much at stake at all.

If the players and the fans aren't up for this one, they never will be. Remarkably, these teams haven't met in the Cup since Rovers won the semi-final replay of 1984. It would make a great final, but as Ray Treacy says: "It will make a great first round tie. So much hinges on it, more so from our point of view given they're still third in the table. It's a huge, make-or-break game for us."

Tradition is with Rovers, and Damien Richardson, the Shelbourne manager, concedes it's a help to his former club. Form, however, is with Shelbourne, as are recent trends, which have also seen Sligo, Dundalk, Derry and Bohemians become the dominant Cup influences.

If an outsider is to make an impact, then UCD may be positioned to do something, but, in the long run, you sense there's one major trophy in the offing for the rejuvenated Saints - St Patrick's of Inchicore.