General
- Saturday July 22nd, 2023 @ 15:23
Match Preview: Longford Vs Saints
Jon Daly's men will travel to the midlands to face Longford Town in their opening FAI Cup tie on Sunday, July 23rd.
The game will kick-off at 6pm on Sunday in Bishopsgate with St Pat's looking to continue their excellent domestic form so far this season.
The Saints have a strong record in the FAI Cup - they are four-time winners of the competition, with the most recent success being a penalty-shootout victory against Dublin rivals Bohemians in 2021.
History points to the Saints in this fixture as they have a strong record against Longford Town. In the last ten meetings between the sides, they are unbeaten, having won eight and drawn just two.
The last time St Pat's visited Bishopsgate was a league game in October 2021 in which they ran out 4-1 winners.
St Pat's have enjoyed great success in the league this season. They are currently sitting in second place in the Premier Division, just four points off top spot with 11 games to play.
Jon Daly's side have also scored the joint-most goals in the league this year, hitting the net 47 times in their 25 games. Chris Forrester leads the scoring charts with 11 goals, which is also the joint-highest of any player in the league.
DALY: "The Cup is huge for this club"
Saints' manager Jon Daly will be taking charge of his side in the FAI Cup for the first time on Sunday and he is excited at the prospect of another good run in the competition:
"It's a tie we're looking forward to. The Cup is a big part of your overall season, so it's important to do your homework (on the opposition). You can't underestimate any team. We know that (Longford) have got good players.
It's a huge game on Sunday. It's an opportunity to go on a Cup run. There are players in the changing room who have won the Cup. They have that memory and know how big the Cup is for this club.
We're in a good position in the league and we have the Cup ties coming in now, so we have plenty of opportunities to make sure we are there or thereabouts come the end of the season."
TEAM NEWS
Club captain Joe Redmond continues his recovery from a hamstring injury and hopes to be available soon. Tom Grivosti (knee ACL) and Axel Sjoberg (hamstring) will miss out. New signing Kian Leavy is also out of the game but hopes to be back in the coming weeks.
TICKETS
There are expected to be 600 travelling Saints fans. At the time of writing, there are just 20 away tickets left - these are available to purchase on the Longford Town website.
UPDATES
As always, updates can be found on the Official St Pat's FC App - available now on both the App Store and Play Store.
Updates will also be available across all the club's social media channels.
