History repeating for Westport United?

A little bit of history repeating?


Westport Utd could meet old foes if they win on Sunday

Comment
Neill O'Neill

NOBODY from Westport United is looking beyond Sunday’s FAI Junior Cup round six tie against Freebooters of Kilkenny in the Sports Park. But a few eyebrows were raised last week when the round seven draw was made in Dublin, and the chatter among supporters has been ongoing since.
Should Westport successfully negotiate what is an extremely rare consecutive home game in this most prestigious of junior football tournaments on Sunday, then they will likely have to make the trip to north Dublin to play Sheriff  YC. Sound familiar?
The two sides met last year at the same last 16 stage, with Sheriff running out 4-1 winners in the end, but the game was tight at half time and lessons will no doubt have been learnt from that experience. Like Westport, Sheriff will be in action next weekend, but will be fancied to see off Tramore of Waterford, who beat Whitechurch 4-1 last Sunday. The round seven matches have been fixed for the weekend of February 7/8.
The major talking point in recent days has again been the playing surface. Sheriff play their home matches on an artificial (Astroturf) pitch, which if you are used to it, gives you an immense advantage over a visiting club.
The pace and bounce of the ball is notoriously different, and the tempo of the game is invariably increased. It is not something you will get used to in 90 minutes, or even with a warm-up match or two. None of the Westport players would fear playing Sheriff in the Sports Park, while playing them on grass in Dublin would not be an issue.
One comment made in recent days was that the final wouldn’t be played on an artificial surface, so why should a last 16 game be less important? The Mayo News put this to the Football Association of Ireland and asked for clarity on the use of artificial pitches in junior football. An FAI spokesperson responded that the pitch Sheriff use is UEFA-approved and can therefore be used for any game, competitive or otherwise, approved by UEFA or affiliated bodies.
The FAI spokesperson also pointed out that artificial pitches are used widely across Europe in major tournaments, including in the Airtricity League, and that the Republic of Ireland have played some competitive qualifying matches on artificial surfaces in recent years. We will all recall the Euro 2012 qualifier against Russia in Moscow at the Luzhniki Stadium in 2011, a memorable draw on an artificial surface, when Richard Dunne gave perhaps the best performance of his career.
However, long before this, UEFA had ordered that the 2008 European Champions League final, hosted in the same stadium, must take place on grass, so a temporary natural grass field was installed just for the final. UEFA stressed that artificial turf should only be considered an option where climatic conditions necessitate, something unlikely to be the case in north Dublin any time soon.
While it’s clearly advantageous for Sheriff to be among the only clubs in Ireland playing competitive football week in week out on an artificial pitch, it also has to be stated that they are a fine football side. In fact, their proud record has seen them installed as favourites to win the competition at a price of 5/2 with Paddy Power, ahead of last year’s winners St Michael’s of Tipperary, who remain in the tournament and are second favourites at 3/1. Anyone who fancies a flutter on Westport will find them available at odds of 20/1.

Fixture
FAI JUNIOR CUP ROUND 6
WESTPORT UTD v FREEBOOTERS

SUNDAY, JANUARY 25
2PM AT THE SPORTS PARK