1.30pm 24 October 2026
Irish FA Cup, Third Round
Rosario Youth Club 0 Oxford Sunnyside 2 (att 63)
Booking a football trip involving a flight is always something of a lottery, and a weekend when the British Isles were battered by two disruptive storms wasn't the ideal time to head to Ireland.
My initial plan for the Saturday was a couple of games in the Republic of Ireland's new third tier National League. One of those, at TU Dublin, was off by Friday evening, and I had doubts about the other.
Surprisingly, despite it being a grass pitch, the other game, at Carlow-based CK United, did go ahead. But had it fallen to the weather I'd have been left stranded, so I took the safer option of driving north to Belfast.
Rosario had been on my 'to do' list for this season anyway. Having taken the one vacancy in Northern Ireland's new-look third tier, the National Conference League, I needed to visit in order to complete the league.
An Irish Cup visit of fellow Conference League side Oxford Sunnyside looked a reasonable game, and the bonus of the tie being played on Rosario's artificial surface made it a safer choice in such bad weather.
The ground, Ulidia Playing Fields in South Belfast, is better than I'd feared for a 3G pitch. Unlike the usual caged set up, Rosario's pitch has spectator access and hard standing around all four sides.
There's no seats or cover for spectators, although there's plenty of space for a stand to be added. Dugouts and advertising boards on one side and a snack bar in one corner, complete a neat venue.
Blustery conditions were always going to be challenging for the players. Oxford Sunnyside scored early, and looked relatively comfortable as the home side's efforts to get back level fell short.
The visitors added a second goal in the final minute to deservedly progress to the next round. In truth it wasn't a game that will linger long in the memory, but at least it was on.
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