http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/l/liverpool/8172011.stmIreland has already hosted one of the unlikeliest pre-season pairings of the summer - Shamrock Rovers and Real Madrid - but that match-up is about to be surpassed in the David versus Goliath stakes.Tiny Dunmanway Town from the southern Irish county of Cork are preparing to host the might of Liverpool - or at least a Liverpool XI, which they are assured will feature some of the club's big-name stars.
The amateur side, who play in the West Cork Soccer League, landed one of the coups of the summer when they optimistically invited last season's English Premier League runners-up to visit, only for the Reds to accept their offer.
They have since spent the summer readying the town, which has a population of around 2,500, for the arrival of one of the world's most famous club sides on Thursday.
The team has borrowed a local school's Gaelic Games pitch for the day and has drafted in just over 7,000 seats - from the same temporary stands used in Shamrock Rovers' narrow 1-0 defeat by Real Madrid in July.
"We normally play in a farmer's field in front of around 20 people," manager John Buckley told BBC Sport.
"Someone might normally bring a deckchair or something to sit on, so our capacity will go from one to 7,000 for this game."
Buckley is a lifelong Liverpool fan himself and says the one-off game has created massive excitement in the area and nationally.
"The town has been painted red to welcome Liverpool and it's just given a huge boost to the area," he said.
"There will be fans coming from all over Ireland, as well as from England and beyond."
Club treasurer Andrew Healy says the local anticipation is akin to Nick Hornby's book Fever Pitch.
The team have recent signing David Hall, a local doctor, to thank for Liverpool's visit as he used a number of football contacts and perseverance to persuade the Reds to take them up on their offer.
Hall has been made captain for the day for his efforts, but it is not the only highlight of his week as his wife is also due to give birth to their first baby on the day of the match.
"I don't think there's any chance of me missing this match," he said.
"But don't be surprised if you see me bolting from the pitch mid-way through."
The hosts have also been given permission by the Football Association of Ireland to draft in five players from teams in the League of Ireland - the country's professional and semi-professional divisions.
As for the team they will face, Liverpool say that it is likely to be made up mainly of reserves, but that there should be some big names travelling.
The Dunmanway manager, unsurprisingly, is hoping to see one name in particular on the opposing team-sheet.
"We're hoping that because Steven Gerrard didn't make the pre-season trip to Asia that he'll need the match practice," Buckley said.
"To see him here would be a dream come true.
"But I'm not bothered - even to be playing the reserves is a massive deal for us."
The tie was briefly threatened by an invasion of local rabbits, who dug holes in the pitch but have since been scared away by the construction of the temporary stands.
Hall - a Manchester United fan - is hoping his own charges will not display any "rabbit in headlights" symptoms and is confident of keeping the scores down for at least the first half.
"I'm a bit worried for my players to be honest, but we should be all right, we'll try and hold them out until half time," he said.
Buckley, meanwhile, is expecting many in the crowd to be cheering for the visitors, but is ready to put aside his Liverpool loyalties for the day and concentrate on his own team's efforts.
"We'll give it a good go and hopefully we'll outshine Shamrock Rovers' efforts against Madrid," he said
http://www.westcorkleague.com/Liverpool.htmlDunmanway Town FC will play Liverpool FC at the Maria Immaculata College in Dunmanway on August 6th
On August 6th 2009 at 2.00 PM, a Liverpool XI selection will make a visit to play Dunmanway FC XI in the Maria Immaculata Secondary School pitch in Dunmanway, West Cork.
For the day, there will be a purpose built 6,816 all seater stadium constructed, Dunmanway Town's very own Bernabeu Stadium, well for one day anyway!
To mark this special occasion, the club have produced a 68 page full colour programme, with article submissions about both Dunmanway Town FC and Liverpool FC.
The club, in association with musicians Natural Gas, have also recorded a CD called
"The 'Pool Are On The Way". It's a catchy tune that is both entertaining and captures the excitement locally for the day.
These are once off productions and will be collector's items in years to come.
Edited as a lot of advertising, to see full article click on the appropriate link.
