Treaty United Face Mammoth Derry Challenge in Historic Match

Treaty United will play the biggest match in their short history on Sunday afternoon as they take on Derry City at the Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium (2pm) in the FAI Cup semi-final. It is the second FAI Cup semi-final that the club have competed in after the senior women’s team were defeated by Cork City in 2020. The game will be live on RTE 2 on Sunday and provides good exposure for the club.

Tommy Barrett’s side reached the last four of the competition by beating Usher Celtic 5-0, Maynooth University 0-3 and most impressively, overcoming Premier Division UCD 4-1 at the Markets Field. They have been handed the toughest possible draw due to distance of travel and the quality of opposition with Derry currently sitting in 2nd place in the topflight and just five points behind Shamrock Rovers. Derry also produced a superb performance to beat Shamrock Rovers 3-1 in the quarter-final and Treaty can expect a raucous atmosphere in the north.

Treaty will be without the services of striker Dean George on Sunday as he remains sidelined with medial ligament damage. George will be a loss to the Limerick outfit as he has scored 12 goals in all competitions this season and made an impact both on the left of a front three and as the central striker. The Dubliner is also one of only two players to previously play in a semi-final with the other being Conor Winn. However, both men were on the end of heavy defeats in those outings and will be hoping for better luck on Sunday.

First-team coach Brian O’Callaghan is the only man to possess an FAI Cup winners medal which was earned during his time with Cork in a 1-0 victory in the decider in 2007 over Longford Town. O’Callaghan is emphasising that Treaty will hope to enjoy the occasion but are being encouraged to treat it like any other game.

“Tommy is keeping the lads grounded as it is still another 90 minutes. Obviously, it is a big occasion, but it is another 90 minutes that we have to play. We feel confident and we have had a good week’s training.”

O’Callaghan, Barrett and co have a couple of tough decisions on Sunday with the goalkeeping situation causing a lot of debate. Conor Winn has played in all FAI Cup games to date, but Jack Brady has been the goalkeeper of choice for the vast majority of Treaty’s league games this season. Winn started the game against Waterford last week with some believing that it was a warm-up game for the Galway native before the semi-final. It will be interesting to see who lines out as number one on Sunday.

The wide areas have always been hotly contested for the last two seasons but in recent weeks George and Willie Armshaw have nailed down their starting berths. The exciting front three completed by the in-form Enda Curran has been broken up by the injury to George with Steven Christopher starting on the left against Waterford. However, the dominance that both Waterford full-backs enjoyed against Treaty’s wingers is a cause for concern for Barrett and could lead to Matt Keane being called upon due to his defensive stability.

With the likes of Michael Duffy and Ryan Graydon on the wings for Derry on Sunday, Treaty full-backs Marc Ludden and Ben O’Riordan will need plenty of protection. Curran will lead the line on Sunday with the midfield likely to comprise of captain Jack Lynch, Lee Devitt and Mark Walsh with solidity and resilience being the name of the game for Treaty on Sunday. The ever-reliable duo of Sean Guerins and Callum McNamara will once again form the central defensive partnership.

Although a totally different entity and a totally different era, one of Limerick senior soccer’s best achievements occurred at the Brandywell in 2002 when a Noel O’Connor led Limerick FC were the unlikely winners of the League Cup following a victory over Derry City on penalties following a 2-2 draw on aggregate.

A similar performance full of determination and heart is almost a given with this Treaty side but they will face an in-form Derry side who will be huge favourites going into the tie. On the positive note, Will Patching is suspended for the hosts but with the likes of Duffy, McEleney, McGonigale and Akintunde among the ranks, it will still be a huge ask.

Captain Jack Lynch is raring to go and is well aware of the challenge facing his teammates but is hoping they relish the occasion to play against top quality opposition.

You are going to get better by playing against better players. I have had the chance to play against a couple of them before and it’s given me ideas on how to improve my game. Michael Duffy and Patrick McEleney are two of the best players in the league and you can add in Will Patching and Cameron Dummigan.

There is also a lot that we can learn from those lads. At the same time, we will give them the respect they deserve but we are not going to overdo it either. It’s up to us to get in their faces and make it uncomfortable for them.”

Adrian Finnin and Noel O’Connor previewed the big tie on this week’s episode of the Soccer Scene. To watch the full episode, see below.