Charlie from the Stands: The magic of the cup again!

They say there is a magic to Cup football. It gives teams out of contention for titles something to excite their fans with. It presents minnows with a chance to take on the biggest clubs in the country. And my oh my, does it bring some upsets – just look at last week.

The latest casualties were Waterford and Sligo Rovers, the Premier Division’s most free-flowing, goal-scoring teams this season and two teams that have FAI Cup pedigree, having won seven between them.

Waterford will be kicking themselves for not taking advantage of a home draw against a First Division side.

They would have fancied their chances of making it to the final, considering Keith Long’s high-risk playing style. But his side were bettered all over the park by Athlone Town, losing in extra-time 3-2, with a last gasp Peter McGregor winner. Athlone will take huge confidence going into the next round from this result, knowing that they knocked out one of the top dogs in the Premier Division.

The game will be remembered however for more outrageous officiating - for what looked like a clear goal (check out X for the pictures).

Now, before you get me started, VAR should not be considered but I do like the idea of another official or if possible, some form of goal-line technology. Technology in football should only be used if its quick, efficient and precise, something we might delve into later in the season.

As the in-form team in the league, Sligo would have thought a home draw to UCD was ideal. Little did they know that William O’Connor’s men had other ideas. Sligo didn’t approach this fixture differently to recent weeks, starting the game with eight of their usual starting XI.

They lost both Nando Pijnaker and Ollie Denham early on, which undoubtedly played a part, but UCD were worth their win. The result sees the Students advance and Sligo left to focus now on the run-in and securing European football. The injuries to the defensive duo will also present an opportunity for local Aileach lad, Gareth McElroy, who has been knocking on the door since returning from injury himself. Sligo now travel to Drogheda on Friday night with what looks like a weakened defence - not a place you want to visit when Drogheda are finally looking like getting their act together.

Other ties saw Drogheda and Treaty have their own competition to see who could score more in the third-round matches against Wilton United (Cork) and Pike Rovers (Limerick), respectively. Drogheda scoring nine goals without reply will be exactly what Kevin Doherty would have wanted.

I know people will say sure that Wilton United are a junior side and there was a gulf in quality, but these teams live for these ties. Trust me, I have played in competitive fixtures against junior clubs and First Division a number of times and it’s not as easy as it looks on paper. Cast your minds back to the 2001/2002 League Cup Final in the Brandywell, when Limerick FC - bottom of the first division at the time - beat us on penalties.

That match will always be reminder to me that you have to be quick to put your hand up when the manager asks who wants to hit a penalty, otherwise you might not get a chance to hit. That particular day, two players put their hand up – they must have been pointing to the Northern Lights because there was no danger of them ever hitting a penalty again after their showing that night. I won't name names but one was a left-footed winger with red hair, and the other was 4’2, busy right-back.

The next round of the FAI Cup has thrown more brilliant fixtures together, with the quarter-final draw meaning we are guaranteed one First Division side in the semi-finals, with Wexford at home to Treaty United. We see the massively under-performing Bohemians drawn away to UCD, in a game that will be a must-win for Alan Reynolds. For their late heroics against Waterford, Athlone Town have been handed a home draw against free-scoring Drogheda United – a tie which captures the imagination. I backed Drogheda to go deep in the FAI Cup last year, maybe I was a year early.

But make no bones about it, the tie of the round will be at the Brandywell, as Derry City and Shelbourne go head-to-head on 15 September. It begs the question, will this cup game and the tie between sides on 1 November determine where both the League and FAI Cup are going this year?

The FAI Cup Final is the best day of the year, and one that everyone wants to be involved in. Optimistically, I might have a scan at the hotels that weekend online...

Lame move

You may have seen Shamrock Rovers hitting out at RTE, this week with the national broadcaster opting not to cover their tie with PAOK tonight (Thursday). Instead, the flaming galah Alf Stewart will be making his comeback on Home and Away as the Hoops aim to prolong their European adventures this season.

In all seriousness, I feel that picking on RTE is a lame move. Considering Shamrock Rovers aren't exactly in the title race, RTE will be following both Shelbourne and Derry City come the run in, and with Premier Sports having the rights to the group stages matches in Europe, Rovers’ threat of banning RTE doesn’t exactly carry much leverage in the short term.

Long term, we will see, but for now, you would feel that their focus would be better on the pitch than on the screen.

For me, this tells you more about Shamrock Rovers right now then our National Broadcasters appetite to show LOI football. A few weeks ago, we had Rovers take legal action against the FAI when Bohemians beat them fair and square in the FAI Cup - with the case being thrown out not once, but twice by the FAI. And now, we have this pathetic threat to RTE. It just shows when Shamrock Rovers aren't getting their way, it's someone else's fault - smoke and mirrors. You would be forgiven for thinking that perhaps it is part of a bigger master plan to create an internal siege mentality that filters down to the players and gives them extra motivation to push on – maybe, just maybe.

What’s interesting though is that the tie wasn’t picked up elsewhere.

Now a young, agile private company like Virgin Media should really step in and seize this opportunity to cozy up to Shamrock Rovers and the FAI, and show both legs of the PAOK vs Rovers games. Think about the 10,000 Shamrock Rovers fans that will be at the return leg, their expat fan base and the other 10,000+ passive fans that would watch it. Then add in the other LOI fans that would normally go to games at the weekend (numbers that have exceeded 500,000) tuning in, and surely the viewership numbers would be well into the 100,000+ range.

Not a bad number to go to your commercial partners with. But again, this would only make sense to a broadcaster with little or no red tape.

I want to end this week's article with a tribute to first and foremost a wonderful man - Charlie Large, I first meet Charlie while pulling pints in Harry's Restaurant back in the day. After he finished winding me up, I found out how much he dedicated his life to Derry City and many other local sports. My condolences to Esterina and the entire family and friends.

They don’t make them like Charlie anymore.