Saturday, November 13, 2010

FAI Cup Final

Sligo Rovers are playing in the FAI Cup Final tomorrow. First FAI Cup Final in the new Aviva Stadium and tickets are cheap - 10 euro. Weather forecast seems favourable and there is talk of a possible attendance of 25,000, 10,000 of whom should be Sligo Rovers supporters. We were in the final last year as well but got beaten by Sporting Fingal on a very windy wet day in Tallaght Stadium.

The opponents are the resurgent Shamrock Rovers - Shams to us - who are looking for the double having won the league. Sligo Rovers are assured of European football having finished third in the league.

The Irish Times had a feature on Wednesday about the Sligo Rovers v Shamrock Rovers cup final in Dalymount in 1978. Giles and Dunphy were playing. I can't remember that one, must have missed it. I can vividly remember the Easter Sunday of 1977 when Sligo Rovers beat Shams in the Showgrounds to win the League for the first time in 4o years. They haven't won it since.

Eamonn Sweeney's There's Only One Red Army is a great read for Sligo Rovers followers. He has many other books, including at least one novel and a recently published book on the 70s and 80s, to his credit.

2 comments:

Peter Goulding said...

Hi Michael, I'm sure all neutrals will be up for Sligo. I remember the 78 final only hazily. Remember Carpenter allowing loads of additional time at the end of the first half to allow Rovers to score.

Michael Farry said...

Rovers? You must mean Shams, Peter.