Exciting tie in store for Longford

Away to Shamrock Rovers is the toughest draw that Longford Town could have been handed for the second round of the FAI Cup but there’s no doubting that it was the one that their centre half Oisin Hand wanted.

The Sallins man has a strong emotional attachment with Rovers having joined the club aged 14 after competing in the Kennedy Cup for the KDUL and he went on to spend seven years there.

He admitted the thought of facing them at the Tallaght Stadium on Sunday is daunting but also exciting.

“It’s a little bit of both,” said the 22-year-old.

“Obviously it will be a tough game, going up against by far the best team in the country but at the same time, it’s probably the draw that we would have liked if we were going to be drawn against one of the Premier Division teams, so we are all looking forward to it,” he said. 

There are number of players and staff still at the Tallaght based club from Hand’s time there and some of the highlights included playing against Dutch side AZ Alkmaar in the UEFA Youth League and playing a season in Division 1 when the club were allowed enter their second team in the second tier.

“I had a really good time there, loved all of it so it will be nice to go back and see a few familiar faces. There’s a good few there still that I would have played so it will be good to see them.

“I went there after playing in the Kennedy Cup for the KFUL and was there for seven years, about three and a half years around the first team. I played in the European Youth competition which was a great experience. I played a season for the B team in the First Division as well, there were some good players on that team who have gone on to have good League of Ireland careers at other clubs,” said the former Irish underage international.

Hand moved on from Rovers to sign for Longford ahead of the 2023 season and he is enjoying playing regular football again after injury destroyed last year. A nasty injury which saw him tear his groin off the bone meant he missed most of the season.

“I got a bad injury last season and then sort had a small niggle with it that set me back at the start of this season but now I’m fully fit and playing every week. I’ve had a good run of fitness and I’m just enjoying playing back to back games every week.

“I played up until April last year and got back for a few games at the end of it but for most of the season I was just on the sideline watching it. It was probably the first bad injury that I had and then you have to go through doing all the rehab by yourself. It was difficult but that just makes it all the better to be back playing now,” he said.

Hand is part of a strong Kildare contingent at Longford. Captain Dean O’Shea is from Clane, Andrew Spain, who like Hand spent time at Rovers when he was younger and was capped at underage level for Ireland, is from Moone, Osaze Irhue is from Newbridge and then Daragh Murtagh and Danny Norris are from Leixlip.

Training in Baldonel means it’s not a long trip from Kildare but Hand, who works as personal trainer in Educogym in Naas, said away trips can take their toll.

“We train in St Francis’ ground in Baldonnel so it’s not too bad travel wise for training. We’re in maybe three or four games a week and then usually if it’s an away game we play on a Friday or our home games which are on a Saturday. The home games on Saturday are nice, you have nearly a rest day on Friday to prepare and then go in on a Saturday to play.

“It can be tough though. On the bank holiday weekend, we were down in Cobh for a game on the Friday night and then were back in training on the Sunday morning for a game against Dundalk on the Monday. There is a good bit of travel involved but look, if you didn’t want to do it you’d step away from the league but we all love it,” he said.

Longford warmed up for Sunday’s game with a 2-0 win over Treaty Utd last weekend and currently lie third from bottom in the First Division table but are only seven points from the top half and Hand is hoping that they can finish the season strongly.

"It’s quite tight between the teams that around there. We’ll be hoping to go on a nice run between now and the end of the season and if we can do that we’ll definitely in around the play-offs. It’s just about being consistent as much as we can, and if we can sneak into the play-offs that would be great."

There isn’t often much glamour associated with bottom half of the First Division so Sunday’s game offers a rare chance of getting in the spotlight in a Longford jersey and Hand said the team will embrace it.

“Rovers are playing in the Europa League and then we going up there on Sunday so there will be lots of eyes on them. It will be a good occasion and we’ll just give it a right crack,” he said.