This Time!

United will attempt to get to the next round of Irish cup when they visit the Oval tomorrow night. When the draw was made for this round we knew it was going to be tough. We also knew our best hope was to win the game at the Showgrounds, even though our Oval record is quite good. Unfortunately we didn't manage to do the business when we had the chance, so tomorrow night we'll have to do it the 'hard' way. Due to suspensions we'll have to manage without transfer listed Nathan Hanly, bad enough, but even worse we'll have to manage without our inspirational Captain, Gazza. The loss of Gazza, who is the 'heartbeat' of our team, will be a huge loss to bear, but somehow we must bear it.

Hanly, may in fact have already played his last game in a Sky Blue jersey, as both Linfield and tomorrow night's opponents Glentoran have asked to speak to the young midfielder. Manager Roy Walker may need to find a permanent replacement for Hanly, while a stop-gap will do for Gazza. Rory Carson is rumoured to be almost a month away from a return to first team action, so Walker will have to dip into his reserves tomorrow night. Lee Colligan, out of favour lately might well get the nod, but he's not noted for his attacking flair, while the obvious choice, Ryan Berry, tends to 'flit in and out' of games, which will not do tomorrow night.

We have a good back four in Sparky if fit, Albert, Denver and Archie. A good front four of Eamon, Cutch, Gibbo and Andy, we just need to find the two in between. You may have noticed that we haven't mentioned Mikey as yet and yes that is deliberate as we don't have a clue if he's going to be giving his all for the Sky Blues or looking to where the grass seems greener. We at 'Sport are of the opinion that Belfast's big two are just trying to undermine us ahead of out two crucial fixtures, the replay with the Glens tomorrow night and the league game away to Linfield on Saturday. If they can bring a bit of unrest to our camp, then we may take our eyes off the big prize.

So for that reason we must be extra vigilant, whatever selection we go with, we'll need everybody fighting for the cause. We have played everybody at least twice this season, except for our dear friends at Coleraine (scum), so therefore, although we respect them all, we believe that on our day, we can beat anybody. Tomorrow night needs to be one of those days or nights to be exact and there's no reason why it can't be be the 1st leg of a big two double. Knock the Glens out of the cup tomorrow night and knock the stuffing out of Linfield on Saturday. Tomorrow night is the time to stand up and be counted, so come on Sky Blues, let's shag those old hens!