Irish Cup reaches semi final stage

The semi finals of the Irish Cup are to be played this afternoon.

Defending champions Glenavon will be looking to make up for what's been an underwhelming season, as they face Coleraine.

Gary Hamilton's men find themselves stuck in 6th place in the Premiership, after the high-flying antics of last season.

Today's opponents are also the country's in-form side. The Bannsiders are now unbeaten in 14, 3rd in the league, and perfectly poised for a spot in Europe.

That game kicks off at the Ballymena Showgrounds at 5.15pm.

Elsewhere, Linfield are up in a slightly earlier kickoff, getting underway at 3pm at Mourneview.

They're favourites as they take on Dungannon Swifts, as Healy's side are finally looking capable of catching Crusaders in the Premiership.

Going into the post-split fixtures, the gap is back to 4 points.

Healy will also be determined to set the record straight in this competition, having lost to Glenavon in last year's final in his own back yard of Windsor Park.

However, Dungannon will enjoy the underdog label, and will want to go one better after losing to Linfield in the final in 2007.