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Blinkhorn expecting close contest
As Sligo Rovers step up their preparations for Sunday’s FAI Ford Cup final, Matthew Blinkhorn has warned that Sporting Fingal should not be taken lightly.

After sealing promotion to the Premier Division on Monday night following a play-off victory over Bray Wanderers, confidence is high in the Sporting camp ahead of the crunch match in Tallaght Stadium.

Blinkhorn, who scored Sligo’s winner in the cup semi-final against Waterford United, thinks that it would be foolish for his team to expect anything other than a difficult game against their Dublin-based opponents.

‘It’s a cup final, so I wouldn’t say there are any favourites. Sporting Fingal are a good team,’ said Blinkhorn.

‘You don’t get to a cup final if you’re not a good team, so we won’t be under-estimating them. As I said, you don’t get to a final if you’re a rubbish team.

‘They might be in the First Division, but they’ve got a few players who played with Drogheda when they won the league, so they’re an experienced team and it’s going to be tough game.’

The 24-year-old striker only linked up with The Bit O’Red halfway through the season, but his impact has been hard to ignore after scoring vital goals to help Paul Cook’s team secure their Premier Division survival on the final day.

After netting the winner against Waterford to send Sligo through to the final, he has become a popular figure around the town. And having experienced cup glory with former club Blackpool, he is now hoping to pick up another winner’s medal on Sunday.

With the memories of the Sligo’s cup success in 1994 reminding the current crop of players what exactly is at stake, Blinkhorn insists he is ready to carve his own bit of history by helping his team triumph in the end-of-season showpiece event.

‘When I came in the first couple of results weren’t good enough. The team was gelling and we didn’t have our strongest team out,’ he said.

‘But once we’ve got our strongest team out we’ve been flying. We’ve been more solid at the back, creating chances, scoring goals.

‘It’s been great over the last two months or so and hopefully we can end the season by winning the cup.’
 
 
 
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