FAI Cup final preview: Drogheda United aiming to upset Derry City's apple cart

It's the biggest day in the domestic soccer calendar as following on from an extraordinary League of Ireland season, Derry City and Drogheda United are set to battle it out in the Sports Direct FAI Cup final.

The FAI have pointed out that the ticket sales for the game have already well surpassed the 30,412 people who showed up to watch Dundalk beat Cork City at the Aviva Stadium in 2018.

The significance? Today's crowd is likely to break the record for a final involving two non-Dublin clubs if everyone shows up in the capital, with over 40,000 tickets sold as of yesterday.

In a week where three clubs - Bohemians, Sligo Rovers and Wexford - have secured funding towards revamping their stadiums, it's further evidence of the growing popularity of the domestic game in Ireland.

That news came off the back of record numbers tuning in to watch the conclusion of the league season nine days ago.

Derry's season is on the line

For Derry, the game has taken on an even greater significance since their end-of-season fall off in the league.

They won just one of their last eight games, missed out on the title and, more significantly once the title was gone, slipped from second to fourth place.

After a disappointing defeat to FCB Magpies in the Conference League this summer, the Candystripes will miss out on Europe completely for next season if they fail to win this afternoon.

Such a defeat would surely have long-reaching consequences for the club heading into next season.

Derry, who only entered the FAI Cup for the first time in the mid-1980s, have a fantastic record in the competition as they prepare for their 12th appearance in the final this afternoon. They've won the cup six times, most recently just two years ago when they completely