Credit:
Longford Town -v- Shamrock Rovers
- Deniese O'Flaherty
- Thu, Aug 26 2010
Longford Town manager Tony Cousins will renew old acquaintances with his former club Shamrock Rovers on Friday night when the Dublin side travel to Flancare Park to take on the Town in the last 16 of the FAI Cup (kick-off 8pm).
Since the draw was made the main focus for the Town was the league with all talk of the cup banned from the dressing room. Now Cousins thoughts are firmly on Rovers and he’s looking forward to the game.
“There has been great excitement leading up to the game. Rovers are on a crest of a wave at the moment. There are expectations there for them to go and win the trophy, after being knocked out of the league cup. The fans will be expecting them to win the FAI Cup. That’s pressure on them coming down to us. I said to the lads that we’ll enjoy the build- up. It’s away from the league. We’ll prepare ourselves for the game and go out and enjoy it and give it a good lash,” he told extratime.ie
Town go into this game as underdogs and it’s a tag their boss is happy with. They will be out to cause a major upset and in the cup anything can happen. Town have nothing to lose, the pressure is all on Rovers. Cousins said, “We’re going into the game as a team that’s improving but nobody is expecting anything. We’ll expect in our own dressing-room. At the end of the day we are going out to win the game. We know it’s going to be a mammoth task. At the end of the day it’s probably like Rovers playing Juventus for us. But on the night anything can happen.”
The league may be the main priority for Shamrock Rovers but they would also like an extended run in the FAI Cup. Town will be up for this game and Rovers manager Michael O’Neill is aware of that. He said, “This is a game we must approach properly. Longford have a young side and
they will be keen to prove themselves and make an impression in a game like this. This is the Cup, and with the final in the Aviva this year, everyone wants to be there. So we must make sure we do everything properly on the night, and if we do, we can get the win.”
Although Rovers are expected to come through this game with ease O’Neill is wary of the threat the Town will pose. “Tony (Cousins) has had to build from the bottom up at Longford, and because of that they are a young, mainly inexperienced side. But with that comes a lot of pace, which we will have to deal with on the night. There are always surprises in the Cup, and we’ll have to do our best to make sure we’re not one of them,” said the Rovers boss.
Longford Town
Injured: Craig Mooney, Thomas Hyland
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Shamrock Rovers
Injured: Pat Sullivan
Doubtful: Dan Murray, Tommy Stewart
Suspended: None
Referee: Richie Winter (Dublin)
Boylesports odds: Longford Town 9/1 Shamrock Rovers 1/3 Draw 11/4
extratime.ie prediction: Shamrock Rovers to advance to the quarter- finals.
About Deniese O'Flaherty
Deniese O'Flaherty has yet to write anything about themselves but click on the bio link to view all past work.