The FAI Cup Finals at the Aviva Stadium yesterday produced two cracking games that sent a crowd of 17,573 home content that they had witnessed sporting drama of the highest order.
The Women’s final that opened proceedings saw Castlebar Celtic face a Raheny United side that had beaten them 9-2 in the League only two weeks previously. Raheny led twice with goals from Ciara Grant in the 37th and a penalty from Caroline Thorpe in the 85th minute; but there was no repeat of the one sided game and the women of the west came back twice with equalisers from two substitutes Emma Mullins in the 66th minute and Deirdre Doherty with the clock running down. An extra time own goal game the final edge to Raheny who now resume their Women’s National League battle with Peamount United in search of a double.
The Men’s final which followed was even more dramatic with another substitute Danny North scoring in the 76th and 83rd minutes before setting up the winner in the 94th. Drogheda had led from the first half and equalised in the 92nd minute but could not rise again after the final Sligo goal.
The crowd was lively throughout and while some might say that playing in front of a mostly empty stadium is self defeating they are wrong.
For the players and the fans the atmosphere of playing in the national stadium is one that will live long in the memory. The pricing of the tickets at €10 for adults and €5 for children pitches this as a game where costs are covered rather than profits made for the club but as with any cup match it is a financial bonus that helps in the longer term to secure fans of the future.
The clubs will have sold extra gear, delivered fresh dreams and brought their respective communities together for a day in the autumn sunshine and there is much to be gained from that.
RTE’s double header coverage of the games on national television is a tribute the the station’s ongoing commitment to support women’s sport and both finals feature ahead of the Premier League coverage in most of this morning’s online coverage at least on the nation’s national newspapers.
The clubs do not get a financial cut from the sale of tickets for the final but they do each receive prize money for getting this far. The ticket revenues cover the cost of opening up the stadium. It also presents sponsors with an opportunity to see their brand on the biggest stage and Volkswagen’s sponsorship of Sligo Rovers will have given an extra tickle on the basis that rival brand Ford are the tournament sponsors and had cars parked at each of the four corners of the stadium.
It is still likely that more will have travelled to England and Scotland this weekend to watch Premier League action in a variety of stadia but for those of Sligo, Drogheda, Raheny and Castelebar there was only one place to be and it showed that the League of Ireland can deliver quality and certainly drama to match the best.
The next soccer to take place in the stadium will be the international friendly against Latvia on November 15th , a likely first outing for new manager Martin O’Neill and assistant Roy Keane who will almost certainly be unveiled as replacements for Giovanni Trapattoni later today.
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