It would have been hard to believe before the FAI Carlsberg Cup draw got under way at Citywest last night that a repeat of last year's final would be overshadowed in a programme of 16 ties. Before the cheers that had greeted Bohemians being handed a trip to Flancare Park in a couple of weeks time had really died down, though, an outpouring of glee and disbelief met the pairing of Cork City and Shamrock Rovers.
City, currently third in the premier division, will host Damien Richardson's league leaders on Sunday fortnight in what looks, by a good distance, the tie of the second round. There were others, however, that caught the eye, not least the other pair that will involve the elimination of a top side, Galway's trip to Oriel Park and Pat Devlin's third clash of the season with his friend and rival, Pat Dolan.
Rovers's championship form may well prove timely, for the club's hopes of ending the longest barren spell of its cup history were hardly enhanced by being handed a trip to Turner's Cross.
If Richardson was upset, though, he was hiding it well, with the former City boss predicting that the game would be "an outstanding and demanding tie for both clubs, a very special occasion for everybody involved".
Liam Murphy, for his part, was content with the home draw and the substantial gate that the game will undoubtedly bring. "Even at Turner's Cross it's a hard draw but there's worse and I'd prefer this any day to being away in Longford."
Being at home in Longford, needless to say, looks a good deal sweeter and for Stephen Kenny the news that Bohemians would be travelling for a repeat of the final won 1-0 at Tolka Park back in May was welcome indeed. "Our home form has actually been good so that was the most important factor, but this is the sort of game that will fill the place and it will create enough interest to ensure that the league game against them the week before is a big occasion too.
Kenny's main concern ahead of the game, though, is the availability of one the club's heroes of last season, goalkeeper Stephen O'Brien who, having been sent off against Dundalk recently, faces the prospect of missing the cup game through suspension.
Pete Mahon, on the other hand, is hopeful that the injury problems that have plagued his defence in recent weeks will be sorted out by the time it comes to start defending the cup.
"Playing them in the league the week before is probably something you could do without but we could have Avery John, Simon Webb and Brian Shelley all back by then which would be a big help ahead of a game like that."
St Patrick's Athletic are another side that will have to overcome a rival from the top flight if they are to inch towards April's final but Pat Dolan sounded happy enough after hearing the draw, observing that "clubs just have to take it on the chin whatever the draw hands them and, having gone since 1961 without winning the cup, everybody at the club will be desperate to do it this year because we all know how special it is for the fans."
FAI Cup debutants St Kevin's were one of four non-league teams left disappointed by a draw in which they were paired with fellow minnows from the junior and intermediate ranks. St Kevin's, a junior outfit from Whitehall through which Liam Brady, Damien Duff, Ian Harte and Steve Carr have all passed over the years, will face Rockmount, Cork.
