THERE isn't much in their Harp Lager FAI Cup history to suggest that Garda can survive tomorrow afternoon's visit of National League first division leaders Drogheda United.

When simply getting your squad together for the annual team photo requires as much juggling of shifts, favours and rest days as it does at this club, though, getting this far in the competition starts to look all the more an impressive achievement in itself.

Founded in 1960 Garda are making their fourth appearance at this stage of the competition, all of them in the last 11 years, although for a side based largely around the capital city's law enforcers, this latest success hasn't been attained without at least a hint of illegality in In fact, the team's presence this weekend's first round owes as much to the negotiating skills of Gus Keating as it does to his players abilities on the pitch for, having mistakenly played the ineligible Davey O'Brien in a 4-0 win over Mervue United in the last round, it was only their manager's fast talking in Merrion Square that earned his side a second chance to progress legitimately.

"We were begging for our lives after that all right," says Keating now, "but in the end, when they made us replay the match, we drew with them down there and beat them well in the replay so it worked out well enough for us in the end.

"The whole thing was strange because I didn't realise that he was ineligible but it turned out that there was a player on the Mervue side who had a brother on Irish Distillers, the team he had played for a couple of weeks earlier, so it all came out quick enough that way."

Mervue's appeal might have proven more rewarding for the Connacht side if they had sent a representative along to the bearing but as it was to turn out, there is little doubt but that it is the better of the two teams that will play host to Drogheda United tomorrow.

Garda arc, as one might expect, a big team but they have left few doubts about their ability to play ball during a long unbeaten sequence in the league this season. There is no shortage of goals either, with their front men, Podge Hearne and Derek Mulhall, having already picked up 31 between them since the summer.

"Podge is a terrific prospect," says Keating, "he was the top scorer in the Leinster League Premier Division last season and we were relegated.

If we can get the ball up to him and Derek, then we just might pull off something," he says.

The speed of United's youngsters remains a worry for Keating, who was himself a player with the club when they, made their first appearance in, the Seni& Cup in front of more than 13,000 at the Brandywell back in 1986.

That day is fondly remembered, by everyone at Garda even if the northerners did win the game 5-0, an there is considerable pride at having been the first club from the south to play a cup match in the city. Since then, the club have managed a first round draw with Shelbourne before going out in the replay at Harold's Cross and a 3-0 defeat at the hands of St Patrick's Athletic. "Hopefully it will go a bit better for us this time but at least it's nice to get a game at our home this time," says Keating.

Not all of his squad are members of the force but the club's rules ensure that the majority are, with no more than seven non members allowed in the first team panel and no more than five permitted to be on the pitch at any one time.

The upshot is that every training session depends on a great deal of good will in stations around the city while the club is constantly scouting about Templemore to see what new talent has found its way into uniform.

"We have a few contacts down there who keep an eye on the new recruits and we get a lot of co operation up here at local level so there generally aren't any problems. Training, can be a problem and we've tried everything with that, moving to the day time and whatever but it doesn't seem to make any difference. Everybody always gets off for games, though, which is just as well because there's only 17 in the squad."

Of those, three are doubtful for tomorrow's game, with Dublin footballer Jack Sheedy suffering from a cracked rib, Glenn Millar (there is, apparently, no joke about it; that he hasn't heard) recovering from a hamstring and Brendan Carberry down with bronchitis - none of which exactly marks the way clearly towards tomorrow's encounter at Westmanstown providing one of the first round's upsets.

"Winning," as Keating points out, "becomes a habit" and it's one that his side have fallen into since finding themselves back in the first division of the Leinster League this season. And even if their opponents have displayed something of a penchant for it themselves of late, this still looks to be the club's best chance to date of making it through to the second round.