MAYNOOTH EARN PLUM DRAW AWAY TO HOLDERS
CORK City and Dundalk, finalists in the Irish Daily Mail FAI Cup for the last three years, have been given straightforward paths to the quarterfinals. Last night’s second round draw in RTE saw holders Cork paired at home against Intermediate Cup winners Maynooth University Town, while Dundalk will welcome First Division Finn Harps to Oriel Park. Non-league survivors CIE Ranch are the only one of six Dublin teams left in the competition with a home tie — they play UCD. The pick of the eight ties is Derry City against St Patrick’s Athletic at the Brandywell. The teams met in the finals of 2012 and 2014, winning once apiece. Drogheda United, who stunned Shamrock Rovers last Friday, have been rewarded with another home draw against Premier Division opponents, Waterford. Likewise, Longford Town’s reward for shocking Sligo Rovers at the Showgrounds, is a home tie against inform Shelbourne. All ties are to be played to a finish on the weekending August 26. No Cork City player is overdue a run in the famous competition more than Johnny Dunleavy, who cruelly missed the finals of 2016 and 2017 with knee damage. Just turned 27, the Ballybofey native made his first competitive start of the season in Sunday’s 5-1 romp over Home Farm to reach the last 16. Predictably, the defender was buzzing after a comeback which tested his selfbelief if not his humour — on Valentine’s Day he posted a pic of some crutches on Twitter with a quip about spending times with the ones you love ‘There was a couple of times when I was almost there and then there were setbacks, that’s just the nature of the beast. I spent a long time on my own working hard in the gym. ‘I sort of feel I owe it to myself to just enjoy it. I’m playing with a smile on my face, every minute that I’m on the pitch,’ he said. Where does the inherent optimism come from? ‘When I was younger, I was probably upbeat all the time, maybe to a fault,’ he said, while recognising the difficulties of trying to cope with a long-term injury. ‘You just have to accept that some days aren’t going to be good, that when you come in and can’t do what you wanted to do. You might go home or you’re watching the boys playing and it gets very tough. ‘I can totally understand when you hear people say they struggle with their head sometimes and about keeping going. ‘I definitely had points where I thought “am I going to get there?” and “is it all worth it?”, but thankfully I’ve come out the other side.’ IRISH DAILY MAIL FAI CUP 2ND ROUND DRAW: CIE Ranch v UCD, Cork City v Maynooth University Town, Derry City v St Patrick’s Athletic, Drogheda United v Waterford, Dundalk v Finn Harps, Galway United v Bohemians, Limerick v Cabinteely, Longford Town v Shelbourne. *All ties will be played on the week ending Sunday, August 26, with dates and kick-off times to be confirmed in due course
THE Europa League return between Rosenborg and Cork City on Thursday will be shown live on RTÉ2 (7.45pm).