RTÉ Sport confirm live coverage of two FAI Cup ties
The action begins on Friday, 12 September as holders Drogheda United welcome Shamrock Rovers to Sullivan and Lambe Park.
Coverage begins at 7pm with kick-off in Drogheda at 7.30pm.
On Sunday, 14 September, St Patrick's Athletic will host Galway United. Live coverage starts at 5.30pm with the game under way at 6pm.
Both matches will be on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player.
The remaining two quarter-finals take place on Friday night as Kerry FC host Sligo Rovers and Finn Harps welcome Cork City to Donegal.
Extra-time and penalties could be played in all four ties if they finish level.
Watch Celtic v Kairat Almaty in the Champions League play-off round on Wednesday from 7.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player
Watch Shelbourne v Linfield in the Conference League play-off round on Thursday from 7.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on this game and Santa Clara v Shamrock Rovers on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app
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The Irish Sun
16 minutes ago
- The Irish Sun
Eberechi Eze will NOT play for Crystal Palace tonight in Conference League clash with move to Arsenal on brink
He could complete his move before the weekend NEVER EZE Eberechi Eze will NOT play for Crystal Palace tonight in Conference League clash with move to Arsenal on brink EBERECHI EZE will NOT be playing for Crystal Palace tonight in the Europa Conference League, SunSport can exclusively reveal. The Gunners have agreed a deal with both Palace and the player over a £67.5million switch to the Emirates. 1 Eberechi Eze will NOT play for Crystal Palace tonight Credit: Reuters Eze had hoped to feature for the Eagles — but with his move to Arsenal now imminent, he won't be taking any risks. Advertisement The Gunners swooped in to agree a deal to sign the talisman from under the noses of their North London rivals, Tottenham Hotspur. Spurs believed that they had wrapped up a deal for Eze until last night when Arsenal made their hijack move. Oliver Glasner will now be without his star man for the Conference League clash with Norwegian outfit Fredrikstad FK. READ MORE ON FOOTBALL ISAK'S BACK! Glum Alexander Isak seen training alone at Newcastle as transfer row goes on The match is the Eagles' first in European competition in their history and they will host it at Selhurst Park. Advertisement The tie is the first leg of the playoff round in order to qualify for the league phase. Palace had originally been hoping to play in the Europa League this season but were relegated due to multi-club ownership rules by Uefa. But SunSport understands he will not have any participation in the game. More to follow... Advertisement THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY.. The Sun is your go to destination for the best football, boxing and MMA news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures and must-see us on Facebook at and follow us from our main Twitter account at @TheSunFootball.
Irish Examiner
an hour ago
- Irish Examiner
Rejected by Arsenal 14 years ago, Eze now taking the Wright route
They say good things come to those who wait. But for Eberechi Eze, it has taken 14 years for his dream to come true. The England forward made a dramatic entrance during Crystal Palace's open training session on Wednesday before their Conference League playoff when he was last to emerge from the changing room with frenzied anticipation that his expected move to Tottenham was close to being agreed. Even if he had been aware of Arsenal's intention to step up their longstanding interest in him, Eze was certainly giving nothing away when he signed autographs and spoke to supporters on his way out of Palace's training ground in Beckenham. It was later on Wednesday afternoon that the Palace chair, Steve Parish, received a call from Arsenal's executive vice-chair, Tim Lewis, indicating they were finally ready to act. The full severity of the knee injury suffered by Kai Havertz during his substitute appearance against Manchester United on Sunday is unknown, although the German forward is expected to be sidelined for the immediate future. With Arsenal facing four of last season's top seven in successive Premier League matches after they entertain Leeds on Saturday, Mikel Arteta felt he was short of numbers in attack. It is understood Parish had reluctantly agreed a fee with Spurs that effectively matched Eze's expired release clause of £67.5m (€78m), albeit with them paying less than the £60m they had asked for up front and with more bonuses included. Arsenal were well aware Palace wanted immediate funds for a replacement and were ready with an offer that satisfied both sides. Their trump card, however, was Eze. He has made no secret of his continued affiliations to the club that released him from their academy at the age of 13, even if the scars of rejection took a long time to heal. 'It's one of the hardest battles I've had,' he told the BBC before the FA Cup final in May. 'Because of what Arsenal meant to me at the time, I had tears rolling down my face.' He was also rejected by Fulham, Reading and Millwall before finally convincing Queens Park Rangers to give him a chance in 2016 as he was preparing to enrol in a local college and start working part-time at Tesco. Their faith was rewarded by Eze's breakthrough into the first team under the watchful eye of Chris Ramsey and Les Ferdinand, the former Tottenham striker who was QPR's director of football when Palace paid £19.5m to sign him in August 2020 and inserted a 15% sell-on clause on any profit. That will ensure QPR receive around £6m from the move to Arsenal. 'Sometimes, as a player, you can think, 'has my chance gone?' But he's shown great strength of character and his ability has shone through,' said Ferdinand when Eze was called up by England for Euro 2024. 'A lot of the best players have been rejected somewhere and it just pushes you on to achieve more.' It took Eze three months to score his first goal for Palace – a brilliant free-kick against Leeds at an empty Selhurst Park – because of Covid restrictions – in November 2020 – before missing most of the next season with an achilles injury that also scuppered his hopes of a first England call-up. But he has flourished since returning, scoring 29 times in the Premier League over the past three seasons and underlining his status as a Palace legend with the winning goal against Manchester City at Wembley as the club lifted their first major trophy. It seems fitting Eze chose a replica of the shirt Ian Wright and co wore in the 1990 FA Cup final for the parade a few days later, which had been donated by a fan. Wright, who joined Arsenal from Palace in September 1991 for £2.5m, was 27 at the time and proved he was more than capable of making the step up. Eze, born and raised in Greenwich – just up the road from Arsenal's original home in Woolwich – will follow Kenny Sansom, Paul Davis and David Rocastle as south Londoners who crossed the river. Eze will always have a special place in the hearts of Palace fans who will not begrudge him this deserved opportunity. As those who have followed the club for generations will testify after waving goodbye to Wright, Andy Johnson and Michael Olise over the years, it is best not to get too attached to your heroes. Guardian
The Irish Sun
an hour ago
- The Irish Sun
Inside Eberechi Eze's love of Arsenal from crying for a week to embarrassing Tottenham with hijack transfer return
EBERECHI EZE has snubbed Tottenham after Arsenal spectacularly hijacked his move to their rivals. And the Crystal Palace ace's decision to opt for the red side of North London is steeped in a history of loving the club. 9 Eberechi Eze is returning to Arsenal after being released as a kid Credit: PA 9 Mikel Arteta and Arsenal hijacked Tottenham's move for Eze at the eleventh hour Credit: Getty Of course, the lure of playing for a title challenging side who reached the latter stages of the Champions League last season will have been a temptation. But Eze's connection with Arsenal runs deep, going back to his days in the Gunners' academy as a youngster. YOUNG GUN Eze, 27, started his journey into professional football with Arsenal, rising through the youth ranks for the club and supporting the team as a kid. The attacking midfielder has recalled taking immense pride in being "the kid that plays for Arsenal". READ MORE IN FOOTBALL SPURRED ON Spurs 'decide to make club record bid for new target after Eze deal hijacked' But despite having a dream of one day lining up on the Emirates pitch with a cannon on his chest, it was all taken away from him when he was just a teenager. Aged 13, Eze was released by the Gunners, leaving him heartbroken and having to fight back the tears to search for a new opportunity. He previously told the BBC: "As a kid, that's all I knew. Arsenal was everything. "To play there, not even to understand what it meant to play first team football, but just to go in and have an Arsenal badge [on my chest]. BEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERS "I'm the kid that plays for Arsenal. During that period it was amazing. "But afterwards it became difficult because, as a kid, your identity is almost wrapped up in that. That's one of the hardest battles I've had. "Because of what Arsenal meant to me at the time, I've got tears ready to pour down my face." 9 Eze was part of Arsenal's academy as a kid KEEPING THE FAITH After being let go by Arsenal, Eze was signed and released by Fulham, Reading and Millwall before finally landing on his feet at QPR in 2016. While studying at college, Eze enjoyed a successful trial with QPR and impressed the club's technical director, Chris Ramsey. He officially signed in August 2016 and made his first-team debut five months later in an FA Cup match against Blackburn Rovers. A lot of players would have given up or felt their journey was over after being dealt the blows that Eze was, but for him it was just a matter of keeping faith. Faith is a huge part of Eze's life, as a devout Christian who is as grounded as they come in top flight football. He told the Athletic previously: "I've grown up in a Christian household, regularly going to church. "For me, it's hugely important, simply because of the peace of mind it gives me. It allows me to regulate myself and put things into perspective. 'Football can get super intense and you can get caught up in it all, but my faith allows me to realign my focus and know there's something greater and that there's a deeper purpose as to why I'm in the position I'm in.' Now Eze even shows his faith on the pitch, recognising Jesus Christ with his crucifix celebration. His down to earth attitude is also represented by his love for chess, a passion that has seen him face off against billionaire Richard Branson and even earned him £15,000 in an online chess tournament earlier this year. 9 Eze got his break at QPR Credit: Getty 9 His celebration is a nod to his Christian faith Credit: Getty 9 Eze is an avid chess player and even beat Richard Branson Credit: Instagram REAPING THE REWARDS Keeping that faith in God and, crucially, in himself, meant that Eze was able to keep plucking away at reaching his goals. Success with QPR led to a Premier League breakthrough, joining Crystal Palace from the R's in 2020 in a deal worth around £17million. Eze quickly established himself as a fan-favourite at Selhurst Park and soon became one of the club's most-important players. He has since made over 165 appearances for the Eagles, scoring 40 times and registering 28 assists. While he put the cherry on top of his time in South London by scoring the winning goal as Palace beat Manchester City 1-0 in the FA Cup final in May. Another stellar campaign meant he started attracting interest from the likes of Arsenal and Tottenham. 9 Eze scored the winning goal in the FA Cup final Credit: Getty HOMECOMING Arsenal came knocking first this summer as Arteta lined up Eze as a potential difference-maker in their hopes to finally go one better than second place. But after heavy spending on the likes of Viktor Gyokeres, Noni Madueke and Martin Zubimendi, Arsenal's interest appeared to cool. That gave their fiercest rivals Spurs a free run at Eze, or so they thought. After weeks of negotiations Tottenham had agreed a fee with Palace and personal terms with Eze, it looked for all the world that the boyhood Arsenal fan would be switching allegiances for the next step in his career. That was until Kai Havertz's unfortunate injury meant Arsenal were forced back into the market at the eleventh hour, revisiting Eze's camp and immediately turning his head. Eze's history with Arsenal, coupled with their comparative status in the league at the moment, meant he couldn't help but opt for an Emirates switch. Within hours news had spread that he had already agreed personal terms and Arteta's transfer team had struck a deal with Palace in excess of £60m. What took Spurs weeks had taken Arsenal just a day. Eze's decision only endears him even more to the Arsenal fans, who have already honoured their incoming transfer with a mural on a wall next to the Emirates Stadium - before Eze has even put pen to paper. In fact, Eze is still expected to play for Palace this evening in their Conference League qualifier against Norwegian side Fredrikstad when the Eagles play their first ever major European game at Selhurst Park - a fitting occasion for a goodbye. Eze will leave Palace as a club legend, having won them their first ever major trophy last season, but he joins Arsenal as a hero already, thanks to his love for the club and his part in giving the fans another reason to get one over their North London neighbours. 9 A mural of Eze has already been put up outside the Emirates Stadium Credit: X / northbanksyafc
