FAI CUP FINAL
Derry City v Shelbourne, Sunday November 13, Aviva Stadium 3pm.
TV
Live coverage on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player from 2.15pm.
RADIO
Live commentary on RTÉ Radio 1, with coverage starting on Saturday Sport from 2pm.
ONLINE
Live tracker on RTÉ.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app. Updates and match footage on RTÉ Soccer Twitter and RTÉ Sport Facebook.
WEATHER
An unseasonably mild day is forecast for Sunday. Far from being the coldest day on the soccer calendar, which it usually feels, the Cup final will be played in a positively balmy 15c. Skies will be overcast however and there is the strong possibility of showers.
THE FAI'S SHOWPIECE SHOWDOWN
Derry City and Shelbourne will go head-to-head in the 2022 Extra.ie FAI Cup final, with both sides looking to round off what have been successful seasons with silverware.
The Candystripes go into the final as the favourites, having forced Shamrock Rovers into a Premier Division title race when, at one stage, that didn’t look likely.
Ruaidhrí Higgins’ men may have fallen short and suffered a considerable drop in form after they mathematically conceded the title at the end of October but they were still able to secure the runners-up place in the league, albeit on goal difference following a final-day defeat to Dundalk.
Derry limped over the finish line, without a win their final four games, and their last victory actually came in the FAI Cup semi-final in mid October when a 2-1 win over Treaty United ensured their spot in the final. However, having enjoyed two weeks of rest and recuperation Higgins will hope that his side can finish the season on a high.
For Shelbourne, a season in which they cemented their place in the top flight following promotion last year represents a successful return. Damien Duff’s youthful side were never in any real danger of going back down to the First Division and they produced some notable results over the course of the campaign.
Duff will be looking for more consistency next season and the side mature together but knows that his side have a great opportunity to turn a solid season into a great one with a win on Sunday
There’s been little to choose between the sides in head-to-head this season. Shels came out on top in the first meeting between the teams in April, winning 2-1 at the Brandywell, while an injury-time goal from Ryan Graydon gave Derry a 1-0 at Tolka Park in August.
The most recent meeting between the teams came in the middle of October and the result – a 1-1 draw – perhaps points to another tight game at the Aviva.
DERRY DEALING WITH DIALLO DISAPPOINTMENT
Derry’s disappointing end to the season was compounded in the closing stages of their 1-0 defeat to Dundalk when Sadou Diallo was shown a straight red card in the early stages of the game at the Brandywell.
A 19th-minute incident involving Diallo and Robbie McCourt saw both players sent off, but for Diallo it means that is suspended for Sunday’s final.
Diallo’s absence is not just a blow for him personally but one for the Candystripes overall as the former Manchester City youth player has impressed in the heart of the Derry midfield since joining them on an 18-month deal in July.
The fact that it was the first red card of Diallo’s career makes it all the harder for him to take, but Derry boss Higgins is confident that the player will learn from this incident.
"Football is full of ups and downs and this will be a big down for him," Higgins said. "He’s had a great impact since he's come here and it will be extremely disappointing for him.
"There's no point going in and roaring and shouting at him when he's already hurting and heartbroken by it. It's a harsh lesson which he'll have to learn from."
Despite having to rejig things in midfield, Higgins is confident that his side will be able to cope. "It’s not ideal that’s for sure but we find a way," he added.
"We’re coming into the biggest week of the season and it’s something to get really excited about. We have enough in our dressing room to go and win the cup."
"We have players who have really good experience at this level and it’s brilliant as a manager to have that experience, Michael Duffy scored a cup final goal, Patrick McEleney scored a cup final goal, and it’s great to have those players taking the pitch on Sunday.
"We have a mixture of good experience and a real core of emerging players and normally on days like this it’s one of that crop that come to the fore and make a real name for themselves."
DUFF CHASING 'PINNACLE’ OF HIS CAREER
Shelbourne boss Damien Duff has more medals in his sock drawer than most footballers could ever dream of with two Premier League titles and two EFL Cup wins under his belt as a player, but the former Chelsea star insists that an FAI Cup win as manager world eclipse all that.
Having initially dipped his toe into management with Shamrock Rovers and then Republic of Ireland youth teams, before stints as a coach with Celtic and then the Ireland senior team, Duff is quietly impressing in his first role in senior management with Shels.
Having enjoyed most of his success as a player under Jose Mourinho’s tutelage, Duff shows occasional glimpses of his old manager’s ‘everyone’s against us’ approach as he attempts to galvanise his young squad.
Duff’s ‘little old Shels’ post-match interview in the wake of his side’s 1-0 semi-final victory over Waterford left people scratching their heads slightly when he insisted that ‘everyone hates us’ but there’s no questioning the progress of his Shelbourne side over the course of the season.
The 43-year-old is just over a year into his job and having ensured that Shels finished the league in midtable respectability, he’s eager to add to his considerable medal haul.
"It'll be the absolute pinnacle of my sporting life because it's so out of the comfort zone, you could say, being a manager," he told RTÉ Sport.
"All I never knew was football, so to lead out the guys on Sunday, there'll be no prouder guy in Ireland.
"It's an absolute spectacle of the League of Ireland. The league is finished, it's played a week later at the national stadium, near-on full, it doesn't get any better than that."
