Thrilling matchups in 2022 Extra.ie FAI Cup Quarterfinals
The quarterfinal round of the 2022 Extra.ie FAI (Football Association of Ireland) Cup is ahead of us this weekend with two matches on Friday and two matches on Sunday.
There are still many storylines as we head into the business end of the cup. Out of the eight teams remaining, six of those are in the League of Ireland Premier Division while the other two clubs compete in the First Division (the second tier of Irish football).
A preview of the 2022 FAI Cup quarterfinal matchups
It should be a great weekend of football in the FAI Cup and it will be interesting to see if the two First Division sides can cause upsets to advance to the semifinals.
Waterford FC v Dundalk FC- Friday 19:45 IST, Waterford Regional Sports Centre
Waterford FC has had an interesting route into the quarterfinals. In the first round, the First Division side went on the road and beat Premier Division side and 2021 FAI Cup champions St. Patrick’s Athletic 3-2. Waterford then easily beat Leinster senior side Malahide United 6-0.
Coming into the third round of this competition, all Dundalk FC has faced is First Division sides. In the first round, Dundalk crushed Longford Town 4-0, but the second round provided a much closer game for Dundalk. They needed extra time to defeat Wexford 3-2 to advance to the quarterfinals.
Treaty United v UCD– Friday 19:45 IST, Markets Field
This quarterfinal tie puts a mid-table side in the First Division, Treaty United, hosting a club in a relegation battle in the Premier Division, UCD.
En route to the final 16, Treaty United has not forced any upsets, rather they were the favorites in both of their prior FAI Cup games. In the prior two rounds, they beat sides in the Leinster Senior League, which is the third division in the Ireland Football pyramid.
Just like Treaty, UCD has yet to play a Premier Division side en route to this matchup. In the first round, they beat fourth division side, Cockhill Celtic 3-0. Then in the second round, the Students beat Galway 3-2 in a thrilling match.
UCD is coming off a massive victory last weekend in league play as they beat title challengers Dundalk to jump out of last place.
Shelbourne v Bohemians– Sunday 14:00 IST, Tolka Park
In this all-Premier Division matchup, Bohemians travel to Dublin to take on Shelbourne. Shelbourne has beaten Bray Wanderers and Bonagee United en route to the quarters, while Bohemians had victories over Finn Harps and Lucan United in the Cup.
It is interesting to note that Shelbourne has yet to beat Bohemians in the league this year. In their four prior matchups, Bohemians has two wins and the sides have tied twice.
Derry City v Shamrock Rovers– Sunday 17:00 IST, The Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium
This may be the most intriguing matchup of the quarterfinal round as its pits the two best teams in the League of Ireland Premier Division. Shamrock Rovers sit in first with 59 points from 28 matches, while Derry City has amassed 58 points from 30 matches.
Derry City is on a domestic five-game winning streak and the last game they lost was in the first qualifying round of the UEFA Europa Conference League qualifiers to Riga.
They welcome Shamrock Rovers, who are coming off a Conference League group stage game in Belgium against Gent on Thursday. Rovers are winless in their last two domestic away games.
If you are located in Ireland, you can watch this match on RTÉ2.
Next. Shamrock Rovers increase lead with win v. Finn Harps. dark
The FAI has yet to reveal when the ties for the semifinals of the 2022 FAI Cup will take place.