Fixtures threat

The postponement of last night's clash between Dundalk and Swilly Rovers may only be the first blow dealt to the weekend cup schedule by the weather, with all but a handful of ties now subject to a referee's inspection over the next 24 hours.

The Oriel Park match has now been rescheduled for 3.15 p.m. on Sunday, but if the rain continues to fall, there are serious doubts about whether this tie, and a large number of the other games, will be played this weekend at all.

All three of this evening's matches are subject to confirmation with Dalymount and the Regional Sports Centre due to be checked at 9.00 a.m. and United Park to be inspected at noon.

Elsewhere, the game between Cobh Wanderers and Galway is thought to be very doubtful, as is tomorrow evening's clash between Kilkenny City and UCD. In fact, only the games due to take place in the north east look like going ahead, with officials from Finn Harps, Derry, Fanad and Sligo all confident that their games will start as planned.

"They seem to have escaped the worst of it up there, but just about everywhere else has been affected by a lot of rain over the last 24 hours," said FAI competition's secretary Aidan Gallagher. "We're still hoping that a lot of the games will be played before the weekend is out, but a great deal will depend now on the amount of rain over the rest of the weekend and at the moment, the forecast is very mixed, so it's difficult to know exactly what to expect."