FAI Cup offers springboard for an ascendant Derry City

As the Extra.ie FAI Cup reaches the latter stages, Derry City are the overall favourites to clinch the trophy as the only club from the upper reaches of the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division still in the competition.

The Candystripes have been on a roll of late. Ruadhri Higgins' outfit are second in the league and on a run of eight successive wins in all competitions, and standing between them and a place in the 13 November decider will be First Division Treaty United.

Given that Derry will also have home advantage against their Limerick opponents, the favourites tag will shine brighter for a club very much on the rise.

That semi-final as well as the other last-four clash between Waterford and Shelbourne will both be live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player on Sunday.

And speaking on the RTÉ Soccer Podcast, former LOI and cup winner Graham Gartland and ex-UCD, Sheffield Wednesday and Shamrock Rovers midfielder Paul Corry both tipped Derry - provided they avoid an upset and go all the way - to use the cup as a springboard to greater things.

"They seem to be in the ascendancy at the minute and once you gather silverware when you are a team on the up, it gives you that hunger for more," said Gartland.

Listen to the RTÉ Soccer podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

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"Even when you listen to Shamrock Rovers players talking about now or even going back to teams who were successful years ago, it was always 'that first trophy won gave us a taste for it'.

"So it was the FAI