John Rebello, coach of defending FA Cup champions Vasco, says it's "a shame'' his club have been drawn against First Division leaders Dandy Town in the quarter-finals of the competition on February 14.

The match-up features the two hottest teams in local soccer on current form.

Rebello and Mark Trott, coach of Dandy Town, were both off the Island during Sunday's third round matches and Monday's draw, but the two offered comments about their upcoming clash yesterday.

"I think it's a shame,'' said Rebello. "I would think we both were hoping that we would meet perhaps further down the road, or hope that one of us may have been knocked out. But it's going to be a great game.

"I think that whoever wins will go pretty far. Right now I think we are the most on-form teams. Dandy Town are really on form. They have been beating everybody left, right and centre and we are finally getting into our groove, but we know that it's going to be a tough game.'' Rebello, whose team are currently in second place and offering a strong challenge to Town for the First Division lead, felt the draw was harsh on the fans as it would prevent many from seeing what could be one of the best games of the season.

With three other matches scheduled the same day, spectators would be tempted to follow their own teams regardless of their opponents and would therefore miss the feature battle at BAA Field, said Rebello.

"That's a pity because everybody wants to see a top match, especially when both teams are on top of their game,'' added the Vasco coach. "It's a shame in that it denies the fans this privilege and it also doesn't help the clubs in terms of revenue because it's surely the match of the day and would attract a huge crowd.'' The teams have met only once this season, that contest occurring in the opening league fixture at BAA on October 4 which ended in a 1-1 draw.

Trott, meanwhile, was less concerned about the draw, pointing out that it was normal for the better teams to meet each other from the quarter-final stage onwards.

"You have all good teams left most of the time at this stage and you just have to take whatever comes out of the hat. Vasco's name came out with ours and that's the situation we have and so be it,'' said Trott, who was in charge of the Bermuda Under-17 national team during the Youth World Cup tournament in Trinidad and Tobago.

Trott noted that by the time the quarter-final ties are played it's possible that any team currently at the top of their game now may have lost their edge.

"The bottom line is everybody has their own interpretation of who the best teams are. I think form-wise, probably right now Dandy Town and Vasco may well be one of the three teams around, along with North Village, who are playing well. I guess at the end of the day people would have liked these three teams kept apart from each other, but by the time the quarter-finals are played anything could have happened.

"I didn't want to avoid anybody. I am just prepared to take whatever comes our way, the reason being when you get to this stage most of the time there are only the best left anyway.''