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FAI Cup final: Drogheda United v Derry City - All you need to know

Updated / Saturday, 9 Nov 2024 14:03
Drogheda United and Derry City come face to face in the FAI Cup final
Drogheda United and Derry City come face to face in the FAI Cup final

FAI CUP FINAL

Drogheda United v Derry City, Aviva Stadium, 3:00pm

TV/PLAYER

The game will be broadcast on RTE 2 and the RTE Player; coverage starting at 2pm.

ONLINE

A live blog can be followed on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app.

RADIO

Listen to live commentary on Sunday Sport with RTÉ Radio 1.

CURTAIN CLOSING AFTER ENTERTAINING SEASON

The FAI Cup final traditionally brings down the curtain on the League of Ireland season, however, this year there remains some unfinished business both domestically and on the European front.

Kevin Doherty and Ruaidhrí Higgins in opposite dugouts this weekend

The make up of next season's Premier and First Divisions are yet to be fully confirmed as Cup finalists Drogheda United must still fight for their place at the top table when they face Bray Wanderers next weekend in the Promotion/Relegation play-off.

On top of that, outgoing champions Shamrock Rovers have three more games to play in the UEFA Conference League, and judging by the way their league phase campaign has started, the Hoops' season may yet continue into New Year.

But the final still focuses the attention of the Irish football family and it will be a real celebration on Sunday with the final European place up for grabs after Derry City missed out on a top-three finish in the Premier Division.

RECORD CROWD POTENTIAL AT LANSDOWNE ROAD

Last year's Cup final attracted a record crowd

The FAI Cup final has been attracting more and more to the end of season spectacular since returning to the Dublin 4 venue, and while last year's record attendance of 43,881 might be a stretch for two non Dublin sides, ticket sales are already showing that there is real interest in the event.

Latest figure from the FAI reveal that over 38,000 tickets are now sold with Derry City hoping for a seventh Cup victory while Drogheda United are on the hunt for just their second ever.

The Drogheda United section is almost sold out, while limited tickets remain in Derry City and neutral sections.

Drogheda reached the final following a dramatic 3-2 win over Wexford when an injury-time Adam Foley goal saw them reach the Aviva for the first time since 2013.

Derry got their after their stunning 2-0 win over Bohemians at Dalymount Park thanks to a Michael Duffy double and appear on the big stage once more after their 2022 triumph.

JEKYLL AND HYDE DERRY - WHICH TEAM SHOWS UP?

Just two years ago, Derry absolutely smashed Shelbourne in the Cup final, winning 4-0 at a canter to claim the trophy.

It was predicted that Ruaidhrí Higgins' side would take that winning feeling and bring it into their league challenge the following season, in line with how Shamrock Rovers used the 2019 Cup victory to springboard them to unprecedented success over the subsequent four seasons.

Derry City won the Cup last in 2022

To their credit, they matched Shamrock Rovers for a large chunk of the 2023 season, however, they were unable to stop the Hoops from making it four in a row with a seven point gap in the end leaving Stephen Bradley's side comfortable winners.

The Hoops failed to show up for the first half of the current campaign, and while Shelbourne got off to a flyer, all eyes were on Derry to reel them in and take the title.

And with Shelbourne floundering in the final run of fixtures, the Candystripes found themselves with a great chance to assert their dominance in the final stretch as home games against Sligo Rovers and Bohemians offered them a chance to put real pressure at the top.

They won neither and faced the ignominy of not even having skin in the game on the final day of the season when Shelbourne came to town needing a win to secure the title.

Derry still had a chance to finish third in the table and claim a European place, albeit dependent on St Patrick's Athletic's result in Sligo, however, they were unable to get up for the game and had to watch on as Shelbourne - the team that they hammered just two years ago - celebrated the title on their home turf.

The Candystripes are in danger of being labelled a "cup team" as a result of consecutive failed campaigns, and there may be an element of consolation prize with Sunday's finale.

DROGHEDA PROMISING SEASON COULD END WITH NOTHING

A more competitive Premier Division was one of the suggestions to the fact that teams were taking points off each other, and Drogheda, to their credit, looked to be hanging in with the mid-table bunch, staying well clear of the automatic relegation place.

However, they were unable to hold onto the coattails of Bohemians in eighth place and the Dublin side had a bit to spare in the end, leaving Drogheda in the play-off position.

The Cup final comes with their future still in limbo, and they surely would have liked to have decided their fate one way or another ahead of the Aviva encounter.

Kevin Doherty's side have had a relatively straightforward path to the final, beating a poor Dundalk side, non-league Wilton United and Athlone Town, before setting up a semi-final decider against another lower league side, Wexford.

And their fading league form appeared to be a factor in the first half of the semi as they were second best to James Keddy's side, losing 1-0 at the break.

Drogheda turned things around in the second half to come out on top in what turned out to be a five-goal thriller and they will be hoping to take that momentum into Sunday's decider.

They will go into this game as underdogs against a much-fancied Derry side, and if they fail to show up, things might prove even tougher next weekend as they play out their season against the Seagulls with their Premier Division status on the line.

HEAD-TO-HEAD

Despite the 21 points and five places between the sides at the end of this year's league campaign, there was not as much to separate the two teams when they went head-to-head. Aside from Derry's 5-1 victory at the Ryan McBride Brandywell, the other three games were closer affairs with both sides enjoying 2-1 victories, while the remaining league fixture ended 2-2.

HISTORY CORNER

The Derry treble winning team of 1989

Derry City already have six FAI Cups to their name, more than any other club has managed in the time since their arrival into the League of Ireland in 1985. The first triumph came in the unforgettable treble winning season of 1988-89, Felix Healy scoring the only goal in the replay against Cork City.

Healy was manager when they won the Cup for the second time, making up for a crushing last-day disappointment in the league by beating Shels 2-1. Further Cup success arrived in 2002 and then in the last-ever Cup final in the old Lansdowne Road in 2006, when Stephen Kenny's side pipped St Pat's 4-3 in a thriller after extra-time.

Extra-time was required again in 2012, Strabane's Rory Patterson slipping home the winner in a Cup final which saw four second half goals. Finally, two years ago, they regained the crown - years ending in '2' have tended in Derry Cup successes - with that emphatic 4-0 demolition of Shels in a one-sided final.

Drogheda United lifted the Cup in 2005

Drogheda's Cup history is rather less storied, though they've reached four finals, losing two deciders in the 70s, to Limerick and Bohemians respectively.

Glory arrived in 2005 as Drogs dispatched Cork City in Lansdowne - denying them the double in the process - second half goals from Gavin Whelan and Declan O'Brien powering them to victory.

TEAM NEWS

TBC

MANAGER QUOTES

Derry City boss Ruaidhrí Higgins: "When you get to a cup final, there's always a huge responsibility to win. There's pressure to win. That's human nature, that's why we're in the game. I'd rather be going to Dublin on Sunday than not, that's for sure.

"If you look at the route that we've had to take to get to the final, I can't ever remember a more difficult route for a team. The players deserve so much credit. We've scored eight goals in the four games and conceded none against really, really good opposition, some of the best teams in the country.

"If we play well and win it we will have absolutely deserved to win it. St Pat's, away to Cork, Shelbourne - league champions - and away to Bohemians in Dalymount Park.

Drogheda United boss Kevin Doherty: "I don't think if you were a manager in the league and you were at the Cup final last year in particular, with the crowd and that, you couldn't but think 'God, I wish that was me, I wish that was our team and our club'.

"I remember looking across at Jon Daly and Declan Devine and thinking 'God, I'd love that to be me.' And lucky enough, it is this year.

"But it's not about me, it's about the players and the staff and making sure that everybody is prepared for it.

"Maintaining league status was ultimately our goal at the start of the season but the FAI Cup is a special day for everybody's family and friends. For the players right now, it's just about preparing and trying to go and win it."

Watch the FAI Cup final, Derry City v Drogheda United, on Sunday from 2pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on RTÉ.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app and listen to live commentary on Sunday Sport with RTÉ Radio 1.

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