Soccer

UCD in the mood to exploit home advantage and upset Bohemians in FAI Cup quarter-final

Dundalk faithful come to the aid of basement club in financial trouble with €16,000 to help pay players’ wages

UCD veteran Ronan Finn in action against Ruairí Keating of Cork City. Photograph: Morgan Treacy/Inpho
Paul Buttner
Fri Sept 13 2024 - 06:00

Back where his career began with UCD almost 20 years ago, Ronan Finn, a two-time FAI Cup winner during his multimedalled career, is enjoying his latest venture in the competition ahead of Bohemians’ visit to the UCD Bowl for Friday night’s most intriguing quarter-final.

It’s a surprise pairing after the First Division playoff contenders won 2-0 away to a then-in-form Sligo Rovers in the last round.

Though they had beaten arch-rivals Shamrock Rovers in their first outing in the cup, Bohemians had to scrape through on penalties against Kerry.

“We’re good and we’re young and growing and have got better over the course of the season as our results have shown,” said UCD captain Finn, who, at 36, is close to twice the age of some of his team-mates.

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“But Bohs’ budget, they’ll be favourites. We’ll prepare as we always do and I’ll be looking forward to the game.”

Though Alan Reynolds’s Bohemians sit eighth in the top flight, they have enjoyed a resurgence of late, beating Rovers again in the league, while deserving of victory in each of two drawn games with leaders Shelbourne.

“I think they are better than their league form,” agreed ex-Shamrock Rovers and Dundalk midfielder Finn, who returned to UCD this year to do a master’s in Sports Management.

“They are quite comfortable on the ball, quite comfortable in possession and maybe just haven’t got results. I’m hoping that won’t change [tonight].”

Ahead of Friday night’s Premier Division action, Shamrock Rovers’ protest regarding the eligibility of Bohemians’ Dawson Devoy to play against them in that second-round cup match was rejected on Thursday by an independent appeals committee as they prepare to get their tenuous title retention aspirations back on track when Sligo Rovers visit Tallaght Stadium.

Dundalk’s Daryl Horgan: 'To see people going out of their way to help out is an absolute credit to the fans and the players really appreciate it.' Photograph: Morgan Treacy/Inpho

Bottom-of-the-table Dundalk travel to Waterford with the Louth club under a cloud regarding its future.

Players’ wages were late being paid as owner Brian Ainscough confirmed earlier in the week that the club is in financial difficulty and faces a big challenge to make it to the end of the season. A GoFundMe set up by fans has since raised €16,000.

“It’s been a really, really difficult two weeks for everyone,” said winger Daryl Horgan. “The situation with the wages has been far from ideal, but that has been sorted for the meantime and we have a massive game [tonight].

“It’s been hard for everybody, especially for our fans who love the club, but their response has been unbelievable, as you can see with the GoFundMe that was set up.

“To see people going out of their way to help out is an absolute credit to the fans and the players really appreciate it.

“It’s a huge plus to have that backing because we know they love the club and that this is the last thing anyone in Dundalk wants to see happen.

“You go out every Friday night wanting to win a game of football, but after all that has gone on this week, I think it would mean a bit more in Waterford.

“People have put their hands in their pocket and it shows the real community element that exists in Dundalk, and at all League of Ireland football clubs.

“We’ll have to see what happens … but at the minute we need everyone to stick together, fans, players, staff, everyone and three points would be a big way of bringing us all together.”

Friday night’s fixtures (7.45)

FAI Cup quarter-finals: Athlone Town v Drogheda United; UCD v Bohemians; Wexford v Treaty United.

Premier Division: Waterford v Dundalk; Shamrock Rovers v Sligo Rovers, 8pm

First Division: Finn Harps v Longford Town; Kerry v Cork City.