Soccer/Setanta Cup: Twenty five years after Linfield's eventful journey home from Athlone with the Tyler Cup put an end to the idea that a 32 team cross-Border competition could survive the divisions between Irish football North and South, Longford Town head for the Oval in the hope that their Setanta Cup meeting with Glentoran can mark the start of a new era for the game here.

With tonight's pairing not exactly viewed as the most contentious, there seems to be little threat of trouble at the Belfast ground but it would not be considered the most glamorous of opening ties either.

Every one involved in the venture will be hoping the contest is good enough to generate enthusiasm for the fledgling competition at a time when most eyes north of the Border will be fixed on a tight title run-in that involves all three of the Irish League's entrants.

"Of course it's a bit of a distraction," admits Glentoran manager Roy Coyle whose side trail Linfield at the top of the table on goal difference.

"But once you've entered a competition you're only ever going to try to win it and there's no question but that we'll field what we see as being our strongest team in each of the games.

"We've been in good form lately, and we're going into the match on a bit of a high," adds Coyle who was in charge at Linfield the night they beat Athlone. "So there's certainly no shortage of confidence in our camp ahead of the kick-off."

Shaun Holmes and Chris Morgan face fitness tests ahead of the game after the pair picked up knocks in the weekend's 1-0 away win over Institute while Longford boss Alan Mathews expects to be without new striker Andy Myler who has a hamstring problem.

"They're a strong team, particularly through the centre where Pat McGibbon, Paul Leeman, Chris Morgan and Mark Glendinning are all good players," says Mathews, "but we're looking forward to it.

"It's a live game on television and a big occasion so it's a great way for us to kick off the new season. People within the club are excited about this and we're all keenly aware of the fact that if the first few games are good then there is the potential for it to capture the imagination of a much wider audience."

Glentoran v Longford Town, The Oval, 7.15 On TV: Setanta Sports