| Tasty cup tie with Shams tomorrow night |
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| Friday, 06 June 2008 | |
 IF it resembles even 50 per cent of last season’s meeting then next
Saturday’s FAI Ford Cup showdown between Sligo Rovers and Shamrock
Rovers, two famous clubs who share one of the FAI League of Ireland’s
longstanding rivalries, will be a veritable humdinger.Preview courtesy of The Sligo Weekender In June of last year the clubs met in the same competition at Tolka Park - the Dublin venue that hosts Saturday’s clash, which has a 7.30pm start - and Sligo Rovers won 3-2 thanks to a brace of goals from Fahrudin Kuduzovic and one from Matthew Judge. This pair ended up last season’s leading scorers, with 26 goals between them, and they are the top scorers in The Showgrounds so far this term - each with four goals. Sligo Rovers first team manager Paul Cook, who returns to the dug-out for this game having just completed a four-match touchline ban, is obviously relishing the Bit O’Red’s impending FAI Ford Cup odyssey, given the potential excitement such a game (the only all-Premier Division fixture of the 16 third round ties) could generate. Cook pledged to pick his strongest side possible and, as is the norm, his players will be committed to playing attractive, attacking football, as those who have watched Sligo Rovers this season - at home and away - will readily testify. “Hopefully it will be a great game,” Cook commented, “myself, [assistant manager] Gerry Carr and the lads will be going all out to win the game.” “It is pleasing that people know how much we try to win games.” The FAI Ford Cup is, for many clubs, a welcome distraction from the weekly stress that is the FAI eircom League of Ireland Premier Division. However enticing a lengthy run in the FAI Ford Cup proves, Cook knows that it is the bread-and-butter of the Premier Division that matters, especially with the bottom three facing relegation at the end of the season. AdTech Ad “Ask any manager at any club and they will tell you that success is judged on the club’s position in the league.” “Even if we won the FAI [Ford] Cup and the team finished 11th [in the Premier Division] the club would be entitled to sack me,” he opinioned. “But, don’t get me wrong, we want to win it [the FAI Ford Cup] and we will be trying our best to do that along with continuing our efforts to finish as high as we can in the Premier Division.” His selection choices should be enchanced next weekend with the return of Danny Ventre (from suspension) and the availability of both Maura Almeida and Steve Feeney, who missed recent games due to injury and illness respectively. Fit again winger Sean Doherty is another who expands the side’s attacking options. Striker Romuald Boco is still absent due to his international commitments with Benin which places extra responsibility on current leading scorers Matthew Judge and Fahrudin Kuduzovic. Meanwhile, with the July transfer window fast approaching, Cook and Carr are anxious to add a striker and a central midfielder to their pool of players although financial contraints will, as usual, dictate potential targets. However, Cook stressed that he is delighted with how the club’s management committee fully backed his pre-season acquisitions and that only players who can improve the squad will be drafted to The Showgrounds. |
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