Whole new ball game goes down well with Linfield

Setanta Cup finla countdown: Gavin Cummiskey on the Northern side's enthusiasm for the Setanta Cup ahead of the finale tomorrow evening

Stay in your living-room after the FA Cup is handed out because the first Setanta Cup final arrives later tomorrow evening.

The decider between Shelbourne and Linfield brings together two neighbouring leagues in a quietly historic event engineered by the fledgling sports station.

Now, before those against the mere idea of an All-Ireland league start to complain, consider the reaction of the Linfield camp to the new venture.

In the last two months they have glimpsed the benefits of Eircom League clubs' decision to embrace professionalism. The financial pitfalls have also come on to their radar but playing against fitter, stronger players has forced them to raise their own standards.

"In the first game at Longford, the first 25 minutes was a real shock (due to) the pace it was played at and it took us a while to adapt," said Linfield player Darren Murphy.

"We have actually done a wee bit more training in between, I know it was the end of a long hard season, but we have had to step it up."

There was another minor surprise, as Murphy explained: "Also the ball was a major difference. We never saw the ball until we took the pitch at Longford and this ball came out; we play with a brick up North but we have trained with it ever since."

What have Shelbourne taken from the whole experience? Pat Fenlon describes the open style of football adopted by Northern teams as refreshing, but a poor preparation for Europe.

"It is a bit different down here, I think," he said in reference to the domestic league. "Teams are more cagey and reluctant to come out and play against you, they make it difficult for you.

"I expect an open game tomorrow. There is a good surface, two good sides, so it should be a decent match. I know the way Linfield play and I don't think it's in them to come here and sit back."

With a north-south finale, Setanta Sports are the real winners in this inaugural year, as even those who have shown little interest to date will be tempted to cast an eye over such a unique duel.

Once Saturday is done and dusted, all parties involved will sit down to iron out the issues of next season with scheduling and potential expansion on the table.

"We will meet with the respective bodies shortly to review the first year," said Setanta soccer editor Tim Tuomey, "but overall, it has been a success. The two groups went down to the wire and there has been some very good games with three-all draws and plenty of controversy."

Expanding from six teams looks like a non-runner for next year as the investment of €1.6 million over four years has been agreed, while Glentoran, Portadown and Linfield have already qualified again. Anyway, more teams means less prize money with participation in the group stages alone seeing a guaranteed €30,000 for Cork City, Longford Town, Glentoran and Portadown.

At present, the Setanta Cup begins just before the National League and as the Irish League finishes up leaving little room to manoeuvre.

A switch would be advantageous if teams were competing in Europe post Christmas.

For now, though, let's see how tomorrow pans out.