Cup specialist returns centre stage

FAI Cup Final Emmet Malone talks to Shamrock Rovers defender Greg Costello, who has had his injury problems, as he prepares to play in his sixth FAI Cup final

Their club may not be the regular fixtures that they once were at this stage of the competition but in the likes of Greg Costello, Pat Scully and Tony O'Dowd, Shamrock Rovers certainly have men who know a bit about getting through the domestic game's biggest day out of the year.

None, though, is more surprised to find himself in line for another appearance in a final than Costello whose medal-winning days looked to have ended prematurely along with his career at Shelbourne.

For almost 18 months the 32-year-old Rovers right back struggled with injury during his previous spell at Tolka Park and when his contract ran out the continuing uncertainty over his future led manager Dermot Keely to cut his losses and let the Dubliner go.

"Of course I was disappointed," recalls the defender now, "but to be fair it's not something that I could have fallen out with either Dermot or Ollie (Byrne) over. It had gone on for a long time and the club's a business too so I suppose if I'd been in their position I'd have done exactly the same thing."

Ironically, Costello appeared to be on the mend by then having just had an operation aimed at sorting out a pelvic problem that had taken more than a year to even properly identify.

The cure had involved a step into the unknown, not just for him but also for the surgeon who was performing the particular operation for the very first time.

"He had a bit of figuring out to do on it," he says, "but the reality was that there was no gamble involved from my point of view because as it was I wasn't going to be able to play again."

Even then there were doubts about whether he would play national league football again and it wasn't until he was asked by Pat Byrne to come down to Kilkenny City that his path back became clear. Byrne departed soon after and having played a handful of games for Joe McGrath, Costello moved on too, linking up with current Rovers boss Liam Buckley for the first time at Athlone.

"He's a lovely footballer," says Buckley, "his distribution is excellent, he's a great passer of the ball and he's strong in the tackle. Basically he's a very good defender and he's done very well for me, at Athlone and this season with Rovers."

Buckley's continuing admiration is particularly important just now as Costello's contract expires at the end of this season and his future in the game, he insists, will almost certainly be determined by the manager's decision on whether to offer him another deal.

"I'd love to keep going for another couple of years," he says, "but to be honest I'd see whatever time I have left in the game being at Rovers and if it was decided, for whatever reason, not to offer me a new deal then I think I'd be inclined to call it a day."

It's hard to see Buckley allowing one of the club's most naturally talented players to simply slip away but then it would be that bit harder if the defender, much more the FAI Cup specialist than the club he plays for these days, was associated with bringing some silverware back to a club that has not won anything in a very long time.

"It would be fantastic," he says, "and I think everybody who follows the club expects it. And then there's the fact that everybody around the club is looking to get us out to Tallaght at the start of next season. It's all taken a fair bit longer than anybody anticipated but it would be a big help, I think, in terms of persuading the neutrals to start coming along and watching the side, if we were to go out there as cup holders and with European football to look forward to.

"But even from a personal point of view it would be terrific to win a fourth cup (this will be his sixth appearance in a final and he has scored in two of them) because it's a very special experience."

For now, he adds, being a part of it all will be a welcome first step for a concussion picked up in last week's draw with Bohemians has left a slight question mark over his inclusion in Buckley's starting line-up.

"I think I'll be fine," he insists, "but there's a lot of competition for places at the club now, fellas who are good enough to play in the team and are just waiting for their chance to come along."

Having spent far too much time looking on from the sidelines during the past few years, though, Costello won't be easily shifted now that Rovers are finally back playing on a stage he knows much better than most.