Setanta Cup Draw

gimmick

http://www.setanta.com/content/setanta/ie/cms.nsf/systemcontent/newsarticle?open&articleid=9390855e9baa12c2802570d500648e8a&

Group 1:
Cork City
Drogheda
Dungannon Swifts
Portadown

Group 2:
Linfield
Glentoran
Shelbourne
Derry City

I would have prefered Shels to Drogs, other than that, happy enough. City owe Drogs and Ports one. Dont know anything about Dungannon. I think City and Drogs will progress here,

The other group looks alot tougher, and I wont even try to call it. All those teams would have had thoughts of progress. Shels certainly owe Linfield one.

Steve_o

Its hard to see City and Drogheda not finishing in the top 2 of the group!

Slash/ED

Group two will certinaly be interesting...

KdjaCL

Derry vs Linfield the future depends on what happens there off the pitch more so than on it.


Good draw might actually watch a game this time


kdjac

MrJoeSoap

Three trips north for the Shels wagon. Definitely think Cork got the easier draw, you can crucify me now for saying it but you got the lowest placed eL team and avoided last years Setanta Cup winners (Linfield) and last seasons Irish League Winners (Glens).

Fixtures

Group A (Portadown, Cork City, Drogheda United, Dungannon Swifts)

Monday, February 20: Portadown v Cork City, Drogheda United v Dungannon Swifts

Monday, February 27: Cork City v Drogheda United, Dungannon Swifts v Portadown

Monday, March 6: Portadown v Drogheda United, Cork City v Dungannon Swifts

Tuesday, March 14: Dungannon Swifts v Cork City, Drogheda United v Portadown

Tuesday, March 21: Cork City v Portadown, Dungannon Swifts v Drogheda United

Monday, March 27: Drogheda United v Cork City, Portadown v Dungannon Swifts


Group B (Linfield, Derry City, Shelbourne, Glentoran)

Monday, February 20: Linfield v Derry City, Shelbourne v Glentoran

Tuesday, February 28: Derry City v Shelbourne, Glentoran v Linfield

Monday, March 13: Linfield v Shelbourne, Derry City v Glentoran

Monday, March 20: Shelbourne v Linfield, Glentoran v Derry City

Monday, March 27: Derry City v Linfield, Glentoran v Shelbourne

Monday, April 3: Shelbourne v Derry City, Linfield v Glentoran

applehunter

Group 2 looks very competitive. Some great games to whet the appetite. Derry vs Linfield:v:

All four teams are excellent

Cork City and Drogheda certainly look on paper to have the easier route to the semi's.

blu_sonic

I think shels might have some trouble getting out of their group, i hope the go on to meet (and loose to) drogs in the final

Big Ears

Looks like the makings of a great tournament .

jank

Looking forward to next season already :0

Pigman II

Pity they couldn't have moved the schedule to suit the EL sides a bit more. On the fitness alone I have to predict another win for the IL.

Roar

I wouldn't be all that confident of the City and Drogs coming out of that group, they'll lack match fitness and wont be as competitive as they should be.

Also Rico saying that he's going to use it as a pre-season tournament and give everyone a game to get them fit..

anyone else not really give a crap about this competition?

DaveH

eh! €150k to win Setanta Cup?? Plus your up against better players!! I dont really believe Rico there, although the tournament is on far too early for LOI teams.

I saw on the NI boards that the NI teams wouldnt be interested in the competition last year as it was too late in there season. Then you had

1.Roy Coyle resting 5 players in a league game, because they were playing shels on the Tuesday in setanta.
2.David Jeffreys going all out to win the competition.

That kinda attitude from Rico, is probably the reason why Cork have only won 2 league championships.

Its like people who go in a road race and say Im only going to jog this. As Eamonn Coughlan said, Once you put your toe to the line and the gun goes....run hard and fast because you've entered a race.

mchurl

nice draw for cork and drogs. certainly group 2 is the more intriguing. you cant reall pick the two to come out from it

Roar

DaveH wrote:

That kinda attitude from Rico, is probably the reason why Cork have only won 2 league championships.

which is what exactly? The attitude that he'd rather have a whole pre-season to get his players ready for the upcoming league, cup and Champions League campaign?

I doubt this is the attitued which is the reason why "cork have only won 2 league championships", it's an attidtude of a man who wants to protect his players from injury by not having them play competitive games when they'll only be 3/4 match fit

MrJoeSoap

They could begin their pre-season a couple of weeks earlier, not really fair I know but...

Roar

^^

thats another option i suppose, but drogs and city only finished their season last week, and the City players only get five weeks off before going straight back into pre-season after the new year.

Töpher

Shelbourne fans will have at least 3 trips to Northern Ireland on Monday/Tuesday nights. What genius thought of using weekday nights! :eek: If I have a job by then i'll be fired from it for requesting so much time off! Same applies for Cork fans really, 2 trips from on extreme end of the country to the other, with work on the day of the game, and the day after!

Roar

Einst&#252 wrote: »

Shelbourne fans will have at least 3 trips to Northern Ireland on Monday/Tuesday nights. What genius thought of using weekday nights! :eek: If I have a job by then i'll be fired from it for requesting so much time off! Same applies for Cork fans really, 2 trips from on extreme end of the country to the other, with work on the day of the game, and the day after!

i hear ya, trying to get to portadown on a tuesday night was a nigthmare! i had to work on wednesday morning after 7-8 hours on a coach after the game!

gimmick

Just a few days to go now until the big kick off.

Cork City could be without Mick Devine though an injury picked up last night in Galway, and his replacement - Mark McNulty is suspended for the game as he is suspended, for being sent off against the same opposition in Ports' 0-2 win at The Cross last May.

MrJoeSoap

Who's the third choice keeper so?

Töpher

Harrington, is it? The (now 42?) year old GK coach?