Brujos the man to beat in Cork

Sligo Rovers goalkeeper Nicky Brujos will be hoping to maintain the sort of form that made him the first unanimous choice for the Opel/Irish Soccer Writers player of the month in the history of the award when he takes the field in the FAI Cup quarterfinal against Cork City at Turner's Cross tomorrow afternoon.

It's more than a month since the 35-year-old from Philadelphia has conceded a goal and he'll be glad if he can extend the run in what will be the biggest game of the season so far for Nicky Reid's formidable side from the north west.

"I try not to take any notice of how it's going for me because when people start talking about runs or records it just tends to put pressure on you but I'm certainly thrilled with the way things are going," says Brujos who, along with other members of the team was bringing the League Cup trophy around schools and hospitals in the town yesterday.

The American, who has been employed by the club as commercial manager for the past couple of years, is enjoying himself all the more because the latest run of success is so unexpected. When Reid signed a full-time professional from across the water at the start of the season, he says "I thought I wouldn't get the chance again but then, after the surprise of being called up again, the last couple of months have just been fantastic.

"There's a real spirit in the team now, though," he says. "I've been getting a lot of the credit over the past week but for a good while now the lads playing in front of me have been terrific. For a few years it seems some of the players who were coming over here knew they were only going to be at the club for a short time and so they never really seemed to have the stomach for it.

"That's changed with this lot. The likes of Neil Ogden, Steve Jones and Lee Thew have been great and there's a good mixture with the local players like Padraig Moran and Ian Lynch. We have the basis of a very strong team here and while Cork are a good side who'll make a real battle of it, we'll be going down there with a lot of confidence.

It would be astonishing if it were any other way, for Sligo have gone 16 matches unbeaten in all competitions now, a stark contrast with Cork's home record of late. Dave Barry's side have not won at home since beating Kilkenny by a single goal back in November and their top scorer, Colin O'Brien, has not found the net for them since that game.

Nevertheless, City are likely to be lifted by the backing of another big crowd at Turner's Cross and Jason Kabia - likely to start again after coming on as a substitute in the game against Derry - will be desperate to rediscover his own scoring touch which abandoned him in the early weeks of the campaign.

The southerners are not alone in their goal drought as Finn Harps manager Charlie McGeever points out with regard to Jonathon Speak's return from injury. "I was talking to him about it the other day," he says "and he was making the point that he really hasn't lost any ground at all in the scoring charts in the six weeks he's been out because everybody seems to have dried up."

Speak may return to action in tomorrow's quarter-final against UCD at Belfield Park but McGeever has a hunch that the goal which decides what promises to be a tightly fought contest will come from another quarter. "I've a gut feeling," he says "that Davie Dowling will get a goal and if our last two meetings (a 1-0 win for Harps and a draw in Dublin) are anything to go by, that should be enough to win us the game."

In the midlands, meanwhile, Athlone Town are expecting their biggest crowd in several seasons for tonight's game with Longford Town. Michael O'Connor includes a lot of players who made their names at St Mel's Park in his panel for the game with the likes of Conor Frawley, Anthony Keenan and Frank Darby all expected to play.

"There's a lot of excitement about it," says O'Connor "because there are so many links between the two teams and it's a great opportunity for one of us to get through to the semi-finals."

O'Connor is realistic enough about his side's limitations, remarking that "we're not such a great team and they're not a great team but we'll give it everything on the night and if we get through, then nobody else in this competition is going to have an easy game against us because there isn't a group of players in the league that works harder for each other as a team."

Liam Buckley, whose side are third from bottom in the league, finds his team in the unlikely position of starting as favourites in a cup quarter-final but, even after the win over Shamrock Rovers, he knows that tonight's contest will be just as tough. "The fact is that we've won one, drawn one and lost one against them this season and with that sort of record you don't get carried away with talk of the semi-finals. It'll be a battle on the night but we've prepared well and if we play as well as we can, then we'll be all right."

A record crowd for the modern-day era will cram into Windsor Park this afternoon for the Irish League Premier Division meeting between Linfield and Glentoran, both of whom are in the running not only for the championship but the Cup as well.