Originally Posted by sparkey
EVERY day this week is like Groundhog Day for Longford Town defender Sean Dillon but, on the brink of a second successive FAI Carlsberg Cup win, there is little fear that the monotony will grate on the 21-year-old Dubliner or his team-mates.
Manager Alan Mathews has exactly replicated the build-up to their inaugural senior trophy success last season against St Patrick's Athletic same suits, same training regime, same hotel. Same everything. The absence of originality may dull the novelty but Dillon, for one, is unmoved.
"I think it's great, although I would have preferred if we didn't lose our last league match before the final, as we did last year," smiled the U-21 international. "I'm a little bit superstitious anyway so I prefer it like this.
"It's still going to be a great week and a great day and we'll enjoy it as much as last year. But the fact that there'll be no surprises is a good thing. It means we can concentrate on our performance and that's the most important thing."
However, one notable difference is the sudden jolt the squad received a fortnight ago when it emerged that suspension would rule their inspirational captain, Barry Ferguson, out of the final.
The Dubliner has been omitted from Longford's last two matches as Mathews attempts to familiarise his defence with each other and the absence of such a key component of his side has clearly jarred his sympathetic team-mates.
"I'm just gutted for him," says Dillon, nominally a full-back, but likely to continue as Ferguson's deputy this Sunday against Waterford United. "I haven't been even able to talk about it with him, because what do you say?
"But you have to learn how to deal with it. We've been without him for the last couple of games. It was a huge shock to the system. If I'm picked to play instead of Barry, I'd like to think I can approach it as I would any other game. But he's a huge loss for us, as anyone who saw his performance in the replay win in Drogheda can testify."
Seemingly buoyed by his experience at the World Youth Championships in the United Arab Emirates last season and his subsequent debut for Ireland's U21s in Poland earlier this year, Dillon has emerged as a significant component in Longford's well-drilled back-line.
And, unusually for a player who hasn't scored in two seasons, he has added goalscoring to his repertoire. He has scored five in all competitions, notably a scintillating long-range strike to set his side on the way to a League Cup final win against Bohemians this summer and an equally stunning effort to win that semi-final replay.
"I've been moved across the defence quite a bit this season," he explains. "I think that more than anything has given me the confidence to try things. You try to do things in matches that you've been practising in training and sometimes it's paid off for me this year."
Retaining the Cup will also offer his side a chance to try to crack Europe once more, following this season's defeat to FC Vaduz in the UEFA Cup. "Most of that team played in the recent 2-2 draw with Portugal and I think a lot of people realise that they were a good team," adds the Clondalkin student.
"But we're not thinking that far ahead. Both teams are going to come out fighting on Sunday because we both want to win for different reasons. Waterford are a very strong side but we've got here the hard way this season. We desperately want to win this again."
Come Sunday evening, Dillon will gladly embrace a sense of deja vu.
David Kelly
