Championship rivals Shelbourne and Bohemians were last night handed what look like straightforward tickets to the last four of this year's Harp Lager FAI Cup when both were drawn against non-league opposition for next week's quarter-final stage of the competition.

While Shelbourne, who visit Bluebell United, were drawn away to a non-league club for the second round in succession, Bohemians will take on the competition's other remaining intermediate club, St Mochta's, at Dalymount Park where the visiting club's joint manager concedes things are likely to prove a little tricky.

"I was up there a couple of Fridays ago when they played Shelbourne and we'll get another chance to see them before going there so nobody will have to tell us how tough a draw it is," said Eamon Balfe last night. "But then we played them in a pre-season friendly, it was because it was our 50th year, and even though it was early in the build up to the season it gave us an idea of what we can expect." And the result of the friendly? "They beat us, that's all I'll say," chuckles Balfe.

"It's great draw for us, though," he adds. "We would have been hoping to get either themselves or Shelbourne at home, but to get to go to Dalymount is marvellous. Obviously, we'd be hoping to go there and cause a big surprise. But whatever happens we'll enjoy ourselves." Holders Bray, meanwhile, will head to Buckley Park for the fifth of what will now be at least six games against Kilkenny City this season. "We'll be sick of the sight of each other," said Wanderers' boss Pat Devlin, whose side has won three of the four meetings so far but lost the only one away by five goals to one.

"It's another away draw, but we have no complaints," he remarked. "They've been good to us so far. We've been to Derry and to Fairview already and they didn't prove too much of a problem for us." Also hitting the road again in the next round will be Don O'Riordan and his Galway United side. They've been drawn against last year's beaten finalists Finn Harps for the third successive year and O'Riordan is hoping that this will be a case of "third time lucky".

"We actually beat them up there just after Christmas when we came from one down," he says. "That was a very important result for us, a huge boost which I'm sure is something that Gavin (Dykes) will be keenly aware of but then he's probably happy enough that they've been drawn at home."

The Draw

Bluebell United v Shelbourne

Bohemians v St Mochta's

Finn Harps v Galway United

Kilkenny City v Bray Wanderers

Ties to played during the week ending March 5th