Pre-season Preview - Saturday 7 February
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Five more League of Ireland clubs kick-off their pre-season preparations in earnest this afternoon as Cork City host Waterford United at Bishopstown, while Galway United and Limerick FC meet in Ballinasloe. Longford Town also travel to Westport United.
Cork City -v- Waterford United - Bishopstown, 3pm
The most interesting of today's two clashes is undoubtedly in Cork as Paul Doolin and Stephen Henderson take charge of their new teams for the first time. Doolin recently returned to former club Drogheda United to acquire both Dan Connor and Fahrudin Kuduzovic, while he also signed Billy Dennehy from Derry City. However, today's game is one that will be used for the players Doolin currently has on trial at Turners Cross.
"I have so many guys in here on trial at the moment that the players currently under contract at the club are unlikely to play a huge part in the game," Doolin told corkcityfc.ie. "We have a small squad, and we do not want to risk injuries to the lads we have here, while, at the same time, I want to take advantage of the opportunity to have a proper look at the players who have been training with us in a match situation.
"There is no point in throwing a guy on for five minutes at the end of a game if you are trying to assess him, so the likelihood is that the trialists will feature very strongly. It’s very difficult to judge players when you are in training, even though we did play a training match, but you really have to look at them in a proper match situation.
"Pre-Season friendlies are not particularly crucial, as the hard work, on fitness and so on, is done on the training pitch, rather than in the games, but sometimes players just want to play games too. You could win every friendly game you play and then have a poor start to the season, and, on the other hand, you could lose every pre-season game and then get off to a flyer, so the result is irrelevant. The main purpose of friendlies is to get fitness and to ensure you are ready for the league when it begins."
Waterford boss Henderson has been more active than Doolin in the transfer market, after he recently swapped Cobh Ramblers to take over from Gareth Cronin at the RSC. The former goalkeeper has released a number of players from last year's squad and replaced them, largely, with players he has previously worked with, including Graham Cummins, Kevin Murray, Alan Carey and John Kearney. He has also taken in Mick Devine from Cork and Seamus Long from Douglas Hall to create what should be a very competitive Blues squad in the season ahead.
Galway United -v- Limerick FC - Ballinasloe, 2pm
An hour before Cork and Waterford begin battle, Galway United and Limerick FC will also start their journeys towards very different goals. Galway, who have narrowly avoided the drop in the last two years, will be aiming to do likewise in the coming campaign, while Limerick, who finished last season so impressively, will be looking to mount a more serious and sustained promotion challenge this time around.
The Shannonsiders have been extremely quiet in the transfer market, signing just Paul Cummins from local club Aisling Annacotty, which would suggest that manager Mike Kerley has retained the majority of last year's squad. Galway, on the other hand, have a new manager, Ian Foster, who has so far made two very shrewd signings since entering the hot-seat last month. Derek O'Brien has returned from Saint Patrick's Athletic while Barry Ryan has taken the same route. Jay O'Shea, who was due to sign for English club Derby County for around €350,000 last month, is also now staying.
extratime.ie will carry reports from both games later today.
Westport United -v- Longford Town - Westport Sports Park, 3pm
Longford Town are also in action today for the first time this year, and like Cork, Waterford and Galway, they also have a new manager in the dugout. Alan Gough was handed the reins in the close season after Vinny Perth stepped down from his caretaker role, and the recently retired goalkeeper has been shrewd in the transfer market. Gough has signed Derek Glynn, Gary Curran, Adrian Murphy and Ray Kenny, among others, and he will be looking for a positive start to life at Longford, who follow this match up with a clash against Bray Wanderers at Rathnew next Tuesday.
extratime.ie will also have news from this match later on today.
Cork City -v- Waterford United - Bishopstown, 3pm
The most interesting of today's two clashes is undoubtedly in Cork as Paul Doolin and Stephen Henderson take charge of their new teams for the first time. Doolin recently returned to former club Drogheda United to acquire both Dan Connor and Fahrudin Kuduzovic, while he also signed Billy Dennehy from Derry City. However, today's game is one that will be used for the players Doolin currently has on trial at Turners Cross.
"I have so many guys in here on trial at the moment that the players currently under contract at the club are unlikely to play a huge part in the game," Doolin told corkcityfc.ie. "We have a small squad, and we do not want to risk injuries to the lads we have here, while, at the same time, I want to take advantage of the opportunity to have a proper look at the players who have been training with us in a match situation.
"There is no point in throwing a guy on for five minutes at the end of a game if you are trying to assess him, so the likelihood is that the trialists will feature very strongly. It’s very difficult to judge players when you are in training, even though we did play a training match, but you really have to look at them in a proper match situation.
"Pre-Season friendlies are not particularly crucial, as the hard work, on fitness and so on, is done on the training pitch, rather than in the games, but sometimes players just want to play games too. You could win every friendly game you play and then have a poor start to the season, and, on the other hand, you could lose every pre-season game and then get off to a flyer, so the result is irrelevant. The main purpose of friendlies is to get fitness and to ensure you are ready for the league when it begins."
Waterford boss Henderson has been more active than Doolin in the transfer market, after he recently swapped Cobh Ramblers to take over from Gareth Cronin at the RSC. The former goalkeeper has released a number of players from last year's squad and replaced them, largely, with players he has previously worked with, including Graham Cummins, Kevin Murray, Alan Carey and John Kearney. He has also taken in Mick Devine from Cork and Seamus Long from Douglas Hall to create what should be a very competitive Blues squad in the season ahead.
Galway United -v- Limerick FC - Ballinasloe, 2pm
An hour before Cork and Waterford begin battle, Galway United and Limerick FC will also start their journeys towards very different goals. Galway, who have narrowly avoided the drop in the last two years, will be aiming to do likewise in the coming campaign, while Limerick, who finished last season so impressively, will be looking to mount a more serious and sustained promotion challenge this time around.
The Shannonsiders have been extremely quiet in the transfer market, signing just Paul Cummins from local club Aisling Annacotty, which would suggest that manager Mike Kerley has retained the majority of last year's squad. Galway, on the other hand, have a new manager, Ian Foster, who has so far made two very shrewd signings since entering the hot-seat last month. Derek O'Brien has returned from Saint Patrick's Athletic while Barry Ryan has taken the same route. Jay O'Shea, who was due to sign for English club Derby County for around €350,000 last month, is also now staying.
extratime.ie will carry reports from both games later today.
Westport United -v- Longford Town - Westport Sports Park, 3pm
Longford Town are also in action today for the first time this year, and like Cork, Waterford and Galway, they also have a new manager in the dugout. Alan Gough was handed the reins in the close season after Vinny Perth stepped down from his caretaker role, and the recently retired goalkeeper has been shrewd in the transfer market. Gough has signed Derek Glynn, Gary Curran, Adrian Murphy and Ray Kenny, among others, and he will be looking for a positive start to life at Longford, who follow this match up with a clash against Bray Wanderers at Rathnew next Tuesday.
extratime.ie will also have news from this match later on today.
