News round-up: With the added bonus of a lucrative Setanta Cup spot once again on offer for the winners, the eircom League Cup draw, which was conducted last night, today commands more respect and attention than it once might have.
In days gone by the stronger teams would, to a man, field weakened sides in a bid to blood young players. And although many youngsters still get their chance in the competition, the Setanta carrot and improved prize fund has made clubs sit up and respect a tournament once seen as a chore.
"You’d be a fool not to want to do well in the League cup," says Shamrock Rovers manager Pat Scully. "First Division clubs like ourselves will want to do well because it takes a very special team to win the FAI Cup and this, perhaps, might be seen as a more realistic prospect for many sides.
"The Setanta Cup spot is also a great incentive to do well. Cross-border competition seems to be the way football in this country is going so although promotion is our big aim, we’ll certainly be giving the League Cup everything we have."
Holders Derry City, who beat UCD in a dramatic final in Belfield last season, receive a bye to the second round - along with Cork City, Shelbourne and Drogheda - owing to their European commitments and heavier schedule.
The competition, as it did last year, adopts a straight forward knockout format from start to finish. The 22 league clubs are joined by the Kerry and Mayo leagues and divided into four pools of six teams.
All pools, constructed geographically, will have two first round fixtures and two byes. After round one, the four remaining teams in each pool will be drawn into two pairings in an open draw within that pool.
The only all Premier Division tie of the opening round is the clash between Bray Wanderers and St Patrick’s Athletic. The Kerry League open at home to Kilkenny while Mayo travel to Longford Town.
All games will be played midweek with the first round scheduled for the week commencing April 3rd and the second beginning the week of May 8th.
The quarter-finals and semi-finals are decided by open draw and will be played midweek on the week’s commencing July 3rd and August 7th respectively.
The final, for which the winners receive €15,000 and the runners-up €7,500 is scheduled for September 18th. The two losing semi-finalists will secure €2,500 each.
Elsewhere, Sligo Rovers manager Sean Connor was last night fined €1,200 for comments he made in the media which were deemed critical of a league referee.
Some €1,000 of the fine has, however, been suspended until the end of the season on the proviso he makes no similar comments during the campaign which begins this weekend.
One rule change adopted last October stipulated that league clubs or, indeed, persons associated with one can face Board of Control charges for derogatory comments in the media.
The Management Committee has written to all 22 league clubs reminding its players and officials that critical comments against match officials will not be tolerated this season.
Finally, a number of players initially suspended for upcoming competitive games following red cards during pre-season will instead serve their ban in non-competitive matches.
Shelbourne duo Greg O'Halloran and David Crawley, Chris Turner of Sligo Rovers, Dublin City's Stuart Malcolm and Waterford United pair Darren Young and Jimmy Fyffe were all facing competitive suspensions but are now free for their clubs following an FAI ruling last night.
League Cup 2006
Pool A
Cobh Ramblers v Waterford United
Kerry League v Kilkenny City
Byes: Cork City & Limerick
Pool B
Athlone Town v Bohemians
Dundalk v UCD
Byes: Drogheda United & Monaghan United
Pool C
Finn Harps v Galway United
Longford Town v Mayo League
Byes: Derry City & Sligo Rovers
Pool D
Dublin City v Kildare County
Bray Wanderers v St. Patrick's Athletic
Byes: Shamrock Rovers & Shelbourne
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