Setanta Cup Final

[Fair_play_boy]

The final of the SC is now guaranteed to be an Irish League side against an EL team, after Linfield won tonight.
Good for the competition, IMO. Even better if it is CCFC. :p

[Counting Crow]

Linfield vs. City at Tolka...............Mmmmmmmm, nice! :D ;)

[A face]

We still have to stuff Ports on Monday though .... 2 nil and away we go !!

Do have what it takes ??

Can you sing for 90 minutes ??

If so then you are needed at a Turners Cross near you !!

Be there ..... or ..... look, no arguments ... just be there !! :p

[thecorner]

We still have to stuff Ports on Monday though .... 2 nil and away we go !!



no team has won by 2 or more goals yet in the setanta cup :eek:

[paudie]

Monday will be a huge game for the team.

We'll be expected to win by the 2 goals but Portadown are no mugs so we'll have to earn it.

If we don't all the doubters (and Shels fans)will be able to say City can't do it when the chips are down.

The club really needs some silverware this season to progress and we have a great opportunity to get to a final.

[Troy.McClure]

In a lot of ways, this match is like a final, it should have a huge crowd and great atmosphere.


no team has won by 2 or more goals yet in the setanta cu
Didnt Longford loose thier first match to Glentoran 3-1? I might be wrong. Hopefully the ports players will still be hung over from thier Cup win anyway :p

[fosterdollar]

I might be wrong.
And you are.

[Wiseguy]

Glens beat us 2-1 in the Oval.Having played the 2 best sides from the North IMO they would alright down here.Both side were good attacking sides but they just couldn't defend to save their lives.I think City will beat Ports by 2 goals and go on to win the competition but Linfield or Glentoran should not be underestimated.

[patsh]

Glens beat us 2-1 in the Oval.Having played the 2 best sides from the North IMO they would alright down here.Both side were good attacking sides but they just couldn't defend to save their lives.I think City will beat Ports by 2 goals and go on to win the competition but Linfield or Glentoran should not be underestimated.
I'm not trying to be overcritical here, but Longford were rubbish last night.
Digger seemed to be the main creative and attacking option at times!
To see Matthews on the sideline continually telling the team to hoof it up the field was shocking......

I reckon which ever eL team gets to the final will win it. Linfield weren't bad,but I don't think they are up to City or $hels standard.

[Rebal Boy]

I think City should beat Ports by 2 goals or more. There will be a massive crowd to cheer on City and Ports have nothing to play for only pride. Keep our fingers crossed anyway. We have Waterford to deal with first on Friday. COME ON CITY!

[Gerrit]

If Shels doesn't reach the final, I'll be in Tolka cheering Linfield. Not to **** off Cork people, I already stated before here that I like Linfield and that they were my best ersatz to a Shels victory... That post dated from long before it was known LFC would reach the final.

And it's not nice to have only one final leg in the ROI. To avoid political turns, why no second leg in Belfast ??

[Buile Shuibhne]

Some scenarios & stats from the eL office:

Scenarios:

If Cork City beat Portadown by two goals or more they will win the group.

A one-goal winning margin, provided it's by a scoreline of 4-3 or better, will also see them through to the final. This is due to Shelbourne's currently superior goal difference (plus one to Cork City's zero), goals scored total (five to Cork City's two) and better fair play record (11 disciplinary points to Cork City's 12 - eight yellow, one red for Shelbourne; nine yellow, one red Cork)

Under tournament regulations, where teams finish level on points for first place, the following criteria are employed in sequence to decide the winner:

* Greater goal difference
* Most goals scored
* Direct match results
* Best fair play record (1 point for each yellow card and 3 for each red card received by players)
* Drawing of lots

Therefore, for example, a 3-2 win for Cork City would see them finish level on points, goal difference and goals scored with Shelbourne. As their head-to-head results are identical (one 1-0 home win each), the fair play record would decide the group winners - with Shelbourne taking top spot as their fair play record obviously can't be bettered by Cork.

Similarly, if Cork City draw with or lose to Portadown or only win either 1-0 or 2-1, then Shelbourne will win the group outright

-o-

Statistics/Interesting facts

Goals per game:
Group One: 3.0 (12 goals in four games); Group Two: 2.2 (11 goals in five games); Tournament: 2.55 (23 goals in nine games)

Wins/Draws
Of the nine games played, there have been seven wins and two draws (four wins in Group One; three wins and two draws in group Two). Of the six 'north v south' matches, southern clubs have won three, drawn two and lost one.

Away Wins
Shelbourne's win over Portadown in Shamrock Park is the only one to date.

Winning Margins
There has yet to be a winning margin of more than one goal in any match.

Man of the Match Awards
Shelbourne's Wesley Hoolahan became the first player from an away team to receive the Setanta Sports Man of the Match award (v Portadown).

Leading Scorers
Seventeen players in total have scored so far. Fourteen have one goal each, there has been one own goal and Richie Baker, Jason Byrne (both Shelbourne) Michael Halliday (Glentoran), Gary Hamilton (Portadown) and Stephen Paisley (Longford Town) are the joint leading scorers with two each.

Penalties
One (unconverted) penalty has been awarded (for Linfield v Glentoran)

Goal Times
Over two-thrids (16) of the 23 goals scored have come in the second half of matches, compared with seven in the first-half. Of those second-half goals, seven have come in the first 15 minutes after the break and six in the last 15 minutes (including five in the last 10 minutes). Three goals have been scored in the first and last 15 minutes of the first half and between 61 and 75 minutes of the second half respectively. Just one goal has been scored between 16 and 30 minutes of the first half of any match to date.

Interestingly, 11 of the 16 second-half goals have been scored by northern clubs while five of the seven first-half goals have been scored by southern teams. The only goal for a southern club scored in the last 15 minutes of any match is Stephen Paisley's last-minute winner for Longford Town v Glentoran. Northern clubs have scored 13 goals in total; southern clubs nine goals.

Yellow/Red Cards
A total of 31 yellow cards have been issued (3.44 per game) while there have been four sendings-off (0.5 per game).

[A face]

And what about the goal that never was .... surely that deserves a mention !!

[thecorner]

And what about the goal that never was .... surely that deserves a mention !!

$H£L$ are filth

[Ricky]

Lads
I don't want to tempt fate, but can anyone confirm the final date?
I've seen May 21st (English FA cup day)
or May 25th (Champs league final day)
Surely any of these dates would affect the viewing figures for the above TV games.

[Peadar]

I don't want to tempt fate, but can anyone confirm the final date?



Saturday, May 21 2005
K.O. 19:30

www.FAI.ie (http://www.fai.ie/competition.asp?hlid=248251)

[Ricky]

Thanks Peadar.
Couldn't find it on the Setanta site!
I'd still prefer if it was on in the afternoon though.

[Peadar]

I'd still prefer if it was on in the afternoon though.

No point clashing with the English FA Cup.

[Ricky]

Like we did for the last FAI cup final V Shels I seem to remember.
Wouldn't bother me, but I can see how Setanta may be concerned.
(329 viewers instead 651)

[Peadar]

Like we did for the last FAI cup final V Shels I seem to remember.

From memory, the drawn game was on the same day as the English FA Cup and the replay was on the same day as the Scottish FA Cup but both of our games had evening kick off times and therefore didn't clash.
Arsenal won the English FA Cup and Celtic won the cup in Scotland so we were better off not clashing with those teams.

[OneRedArmy]

Wins/Draws
Of the nine games played, there have been seven wins and two draws (four wins in Group One; three wins and two draws in group Two). Of the six 'north v south' matches, southern clubs have won three, drawn two and lost one.

Does not compute!!!! If Longford were beat by both the Glens and Linfield away then surely its won two, drawn two, lost two...... :confused:

[fosterdollar]

There were 8 IL / eL matches.

[OneRedArmy]

There were 8 IL / eL matches.

Well spotted or more correctly, there will be 8, after Cork v Portadown.

So after SEVEN inter-league games played EL has:
won 3 (Longford v Linfield, Longford v Glentoran, Portadown v Shels)
drawn 2 (Portadown v Cork, Shels v Portadown)
lost 2 (Glentoran v Longford, Linfield v Longford).

A win for Cork against Portdown would indicate the EL is marginally better than the IL but hardly totally dominant.

[Ricky]

From memory, the drawn game was on the same day as the English FA Cup and the replay was on the same day as the Scottish FA Cup but both of our games had evening kick off times and therefore didn't clash.
Arsenal won the English FA Cup and Celtic won the cup in Scotland so we were better off not clashing with those teams.

I think the replay was on Sunday afternoon but hey... who's counting.
It's just that I love the up and down in one day on the choo-choo type of thing, it brings back fond memories of the early nineties when all the games were on the Sunday.

[Peadar]

I think the replay was on Sunday afternoon but hey... who's counting.


We beat Shels in the replay on the Saturday evening, in Dalymount Park.
Derek scored from a header.
Paul McGrath's Testimonial Dinner was in the Burlington the same night.

[Soko]

If Shels doesn't reach the final, I'll be in Tolka cheering Linfield. Not to **** off Cork people, I already stated before here that I like Linfield and that they were my best ersatz to a Shels victory... That post dated from long before it was known LFC would reach the final.

And it's not nice to have only one final leg in the ROI. To avoid political turns, why no second leg in Belfast ??



Your well within yur rights to support Linfield as a non Irish national but I'd be very careful where and how you do it.


Belfast is closer to Dublin than Cork so Maybe we should move the final to Wexford or possibly the Isle of Man?

[Ricky]

We beat Shels in the replay on the Saturday evening, in Dalymount Park.
Derek scored from a header.
Paul McGrath's Testimonial Dinner was in the Burlington the same night.

The oul brain aint what it used to be..

[Peadar]

The oul brain aint what it used to be..


Too many headed goals, that'll be what it is. :)

[yan]

if city do get to the final, it will be a great weekend for those stopping off in thurles on the sunday for yet another win over waterford :D :D

[Peadar]

it will be a great weekend for those stopping off in thurles

What game did I stop off at coming back from the FAI Cup final?
That was a great weekend as well.
Saw a few City heads around the town as well. :)

[Fair_play_boy]

. . . the following criteria are employed in sequence to decide the winner:

* Blah, blah, blah etc
* Drawing of lots
:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

[Wolfhound]

Peader, it was NHL final v w'ford ...a good omen!

[kevincronin2000]

City should still charter a train to tolka to support Linfield or Glentoran. ;)

I hate Shelbourne
I Hate Dublin
I Hate dublin refs

[higgins]

If we don't all the doubters (and Shels fans)will be able to say City can't do it when the chips are down.


City cant do it when the chips are down :D

[Éanna]

City cant do it when the chips are down :D
Thats part of being a city fan- we always fall at the final hurdle. :mad:

[higgins]

Nothing to do with Rico???

He was like a lunatic last night ... no wonder he wasnt making any changes that he should have made, he was too worked up to understand what was going on. He lost it last night....