Longford hope it goes true to form

FAI Cup final/Cork City v Longford Town:Uniquely, perhaps, for a team just relegated going into a cup final against opposition that finished comfortably in the top half of the table, Longford Town will head for the RDS tomorrow hoping that league form doesn't go out the window.

Alan Mathews's side may not have managed the sequence of results required to overcome the handicap of a six-point penalty imposed early in the campaign for financial and administrative problems, but their run-in was better than City's, with 11 points taken from their last six games compared to the seven earned by the Munster side.

The challenge for players who are expected to go their separate ways once tomorrow's Ford-sponsored FAI Cup final is out of the way is to lift themselves one last time and find a way of beating a side from which they failed to take a point during the league.

Having beaten both Bohemians and St Patrick's Athletic over the latter half of the season, they have confidence within the squad that they are more than a match for a decent side on their day.

City, though, have grounds for optimism themselves after putting at least two goals past their rivals in each of their previous three meetings this year.

For City, in particular, the game is of critical importance, with places in both the Setanta and Uefa Cups up for grabs.

There is also opportunity to make amends for two years ago when, two weeks after lifting the league title, Damien Richardson's men were beaten by Drogheda United in a game they were favourites to win.

The bookies expect them to triumph this time as well and, while the manager isn't taking anything for granted, Richardson expects his side to be hungrier than ever this time around.

"Success can never satisfy you but failure is the best motivation of all," he says. "We know what we didn't do last time and it's up to us to rectify it now."

City will travel without either of their first-choice full backs. Darragh Ryan remains a long-term absentee while an attempt to have the suspension of Neal Horgan (and Longford's Gary Deegan) put back to next season was turned down yesterday.

Cillian Lordan is expected to benefit from Horgan's absence but there are question marks about several other positions, with John O'Flynn (groin), Brian O'Callaghan (hamstring) and Liam Kearney (calf) doubtful.

O'Callaghan fared best in training yesterday, coming through the entire session, while O'Flynn featured for part of it and Kearney was rested entirely.

Richardson said afterwards that if the situation were clearer one way or the other he would name his team today but that, if necessary, he might wait to decide the fitness of the players in question until shortly before kick-off tomorrow.

Gareth Farrelly, Colin Healy and Joe Gamble look sure to start and, if Kearney misses out, then the choice of the fourth midfielder is likely to depend on whether O'Flynn is fit. If he is then Leon McSweeney may start out wide while if the striker is confined to a place on the bench then McSweeney may start alongside Denis Behan up front.

Longford are likely to make one change to the side that beat UCD 1-0 in the semi-final a month or so ago although there will also be a substantial positional reshuffle. Kevin Doherty will return to partner Damien Brennan in the central defence with Sean Prunty moving to left back and Mark Rutherford to the left of midfield. That, in turn, is expected to allow Robbie Martin to replace Deegan in the centre.

Given the form of the league's top scorer, Dave Mooney, and the fact that their back four conceded just once in their last five league and cup games, a third cup success for Longford in five years would be no great shock. But in this competition, of course, recent league form has been known to go out the window.

TEAMS (probable)

CORK CITY: Devine; Lordan, Murray, Kelly, Woods; Softic, Healy, Gamble, Farrelly; McSweeney, Behan.

LONGFORD TOWN: Kelly; Sullivan, Brennan, Doherty, Prunty; Duffy, Doyle, Martin, Rutherford; Baker, Mooney.