Bit of needle adds spice to the big match

With two of the three best sides in the country very close to full strength, neither having to worry about earning a place in Europe for next season and the weather even showing signs of picking up, tomorrow's Harp Lager FAI Cup final has the makings of a memorable game.

There's even the obligatory bit of needle, courtesy of Roddy Collins who has, as always been treating the build up over the past few days as if it were to a super middleweight world title fight. In this case Ollie Byrne's alleged gloating over the recent return of on loan Richie Foran from Home Farm Fingal to Shelbourne is the crime that needs punishing, Collins's players his trusty avengers. (Collins had tried to sign Foran).

"He gloated down the phone down to me and after that I'm absolutely determined that we're going to win this," said Collins when asked about the game. "My gripe's not with Shelbourne, Dermot Keely or the Shelbourne players, it's with Ollie Byrne."

Never one to shy away from stirring it up in advance of a game, Collins added that Shelbourne had "bored everybody to tears for 33 games".

When asked about having to go to Tolka Park for the match he added that he was delighted with the venue remarking that "we're playing them in Ollie's beautiful stadium which is perfect because if I beat Shelbourne I want it to be at their place."

Given the difference between the two sides, though, it is a rather big "if". When the league eventually finished last week Shelbourne were 12 points ahead of their rivals and in their three meetings so far this season Shelbourne have won twice with the only Bohemians goal coming from the penalty spot.

Before the two clubs last met, in February at Dalymount with Bohemians badly needing to win to revive their championship hopes, Collins was outspoken too, voicing the opinion then that Shelbourne were a spent force and that his side were about to hurtle past them and on to the league. If gloating is a poor tactic ahead of such showdowns then so too is nailing your colours to the mast in quite such a definite way for there was considerable satisfaction in the visiting team's dressing room after they had earned their pretty comfortable 1-1 draw.

However, with spirits high within the Bohemians camp and the return of Mark Dempsey adding to the fight for starting places, Collins has the sort of hard decisions to make in advance of tomorrow's kick off that managers are always saying they relish.

And on this occasion Collins insists that he will select a starting line up that will surprise everybody.

In attack the goals have scarcely been flowing and there must be some temptation to call on the experience of Derek Swan for such a big occasion. Ray Kelly's remarkable run of goals in the competition so far, he has found the net in every round bagging five on the way to the final should, however, be enough to book him his place.

For Dermot Keely matters appear far more straightforward with James Keddy's pulled back muscle the only thing preventing the Shelbourne boss from naming his team well in advance of the start.

Keddy, says Keely, is expected to play and so the only doubt about the squad as a whole is whether Mark Hutchison, who returned to training on Thursday after cracking three ribs some weeks back will be fit enough to make the bench.

Keely has admitted that there were some problems in the aftermath of the team clinching the title and says that two senior players actually came to him to voice their concerns about the quality of the training sessions since the win in Waterford.

"But that's behind us now," he says. "This week the workrate has been fantastic and the league is out of everybody's minds. The lads know that that's done and dusted, Sunday's game is what's important now and it's important that we give it our best."

Possible Teams

SHELBOURNE: Williams; Heary, McCarthy, Scully, D Geoghegan; R Baker, Doolin, Fenlon, Keddy; D Baker, S Geoghegan.

BOHEMIANS: Dempsey; T O'Connor, Maher, John, Dempsey; Byrne, Caffrey, Hunt, G O'Connor; Crowe, Kelly.