Can Derry City make it a repeat of 2022 FAI Cup Final?
The Candystripes face Drogheda United in the 2024 final at the Aviva Stadium (kick off 3 pm).
Around 30,000 City fans are expected to travel from the city to Dublin by bus, car and train hoping their team can win a piece of silverware in the 2024 season.
City have a superior league position during the League of Ireland Premier Division campaign will see them go into the game as favourites.
But the Drogs will be confident of causing an upset in the showpiece occasion of the season.
Derry City spent most of the 2024 season in second place chasing leaders and eventual winners Shelbourne.
That was until a poor end to the campaign saw them win one of their last eight and twice after June, leading to a drop to fourth place.
Drogheda United spent the majority of this year in the ninth spot they ultimately occupied at season’s end.
A blip during June and July saw neighbours Dundalk leapfrog them but one defeat in nine through late summer and early autumn means they will have the chance to compete for a Premier Division place in a play-off next week.
There is a gap of five places in the league table for the 2024 FAI Cup final opponents.
The last time there was a bigger gap of league places between a pair of cup finalists was in 2011 when First Division Shelbourne made it to the second Aviva Stadium final in 2011 to face Sligo Rovers.
Only two other times in the summer era (since 2003) has there been a gap bigger than five places, in 2009 and 2007.
Something that doesn’t suggest a cup final upset this Sunday is the record of both team this season against teams at the other end of the table.
Derry City averaged 1.85 points per game against bottom half sides compared to 1.12 against top half sides. They lost just three of the 20 games, and all were close with a 2-1 scoreline away from home.
City have proved capable of beating all types of opponents in the cup so far.
On their way to four wins by an aggregate 8-0 they have overcome top teams like St. Pat’s and Shelbourne, a Bohemians side to struggled in the league and the best the First Division has to offer in Cork City.
It gives them the chance to be just the fifth team ever to win the FAI cup without conceding a goal all tournament. A clean sheet with a win would see them follow Sligo Rovers in 2010, Shamrock Rovers in 1968, Dundalk in 1958 and Athlone Town in 1924 as the only teams to achieve this.
As they were eliminated on penalties in 2023 after a scoreless draw with eventual winners St. Pat’s, Ruaidhri Higgins men have not actually conceded for 721 minutes of cup football.
They have played 11 games without losing in the FAI cup (excluding penalties) going back to a second-round loss to Finn Harps in 2021.
2024 has been a year of close competition and surprising outcomes.
Shelbourne won the league despite starting out as big outsiders, both promoted teams competed for European qualification and the dominant team of the 2010s, Dundalk, dropped out of the top flight.
The unpredictable nature of this season and recent results suggest that it is possible for Drogheda to overcome the odds.
But as no side has won the FAI Cup with a league ranking as low as theirs since 2009, it would still be a remarkable achievement.
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