The last four of the Friends Provident International FA Cup will hopefully be decided by teatime on Saturday.

The semi-finals were meant to be played on March 3, but the recent spate of postponements has meant that the quarter-final ties are only just being played this week.

St John’s and Division Two side Castletown were set to duel it out under the floodlights of Mullen-e-Cloie as the Independent went to press on Wednesday evening.

The remaining three last-eight ties are set down to be played on Saturday afternoon.

All three of them are all-Premier League affairs with the stand-out game probably the match between St Mary’s and Corinthians at the Bowl.

The latter currently sit at the head of the top-flight standings, but will come against a Saints side that has won eight of their last nine, drawing the other game 4-4 with DHSOB.

St Mary’s player-manager Alex Harrison has spoken in the past about how his side were prioritising success in the season’s remaining cup competition and will be aiming to repeat the result of last year’s Railway Cup semi-final when they overcame the Whites.

Corinthians won the pair’s opening league fixture of the campaign 5-1 back in September, but the 3-3 draw shared between the two in December suggests a cracking cup tie awaits.

Holders St George’s will feel confident of continuing their cup defence when they travel to near-neighbours Braddan. Geordies’ season has been heavily disrupted by call-offs, but they have started moving up the gears in recent weeks beating Peel in the league last time out.

Such has been the way that this season has panned out, these two are yet to meet with both their scheduled league meetings being postponed.

The Swans have enjoyed more playing time in recent weeks, but will still face an uphill struggle to beat Chris Bass Sr’s men who have hit 32 goals in their last five outings.

Peel will also be favourites to advance into the semi-final draw as they take on Douglas Athletic at Douglas Road.

The westerners have won both of the duo’s two league meetings this campaign, winning the latter by the handsome margin of 10-3 in December.

Last season’s beaten finalists Peel have won the competition a record 31 times and will be eyeing a last-four berth with intent.

l If the weather doesn’t cause any more delays, this year’s final will take place on Easter Saturday, March 31 at the Bowl.

A decision to move the final forward from its traditional Easter Monday was made at the end of last season at the behest of the clubs.