City kick-off pre-season in style

It is not India for Cork City in pre-season, and it may have been bitterly cold in Gannon Park, but the Leesiders were in red-hot form when they paid a visit to Malahide United on Tuesday night as they hit the Leinster Senior League side for six.

Indeed if you had thought the game was a 7.45pm kick off instead of 7.30pm like some in attendance, you would have missed the first three goals as the SSE Airtricity Premier Division team put the north County Dublin side to the sword courtesy of Stephen Dooley, Seán Maguire and Alan Bennett.

Speaking to Extratime.ie after the game, Rebel Army manager John Caulfield was firstly happy with how his charges started the game on an immaculate surface.

“To come out and play on a fantastic pitch like that, albeit the wind was strong, I think for 25 minutes we moved the ball quick,” said Caulfield. “This year we’re hoping there’s goals in the team and we’re looking at that.

“Overall it was a good workout. We’ve a tough few days ahead, but it was nice to play on a very good pitch, in a good club and we’re happy with the workout.”

The impressive Maguire made it 4-0 after half time with a header from a corner, before Karl Sheppard and an Ian Turner penalty completed the rout for the Leesiders.

The game was part of a pre-season training camp for the Leesiders that will see them also face Drogheda United on Thursday evening before returning to Cork on Friday morning. For Caulfield, it was the perfect opportunity to spend time as a team and change the training up.

“It was good to get away from the rain, that was the main thing!” Caulfield laughed. “Up until the Waterford game last Friday, we’ve been training in very difficult conditions. It’s nice to play on proper pitches where the surface is fantastic and you can move the ball quickly.

“We’ve done a lot of work on our shape, but obviously this week with new players coming in there’s a bit of bonding as well. Most importantly it’s about seeing if we can gel the team over the next couple of weeks.”

On Tuesday it certainly looked like the new recruits are certainly hitting the ground running.

“Ian (Turner) is back in there too and Séan (Maguire) up top has done great and Kenny (Browne) at the back. If you look at it that way, it’s been great that all the lads coming in have had an impact. All the lads from last year are doing very well also, but it’s still only pre-season.

“You can’t get carried away and the most important thing for us is that the lads are training hard and the fitness levels are good so we’ll drive on for the next couple of weeks.”

With a President’s Cup Final on the horizon, there are eleven starting places up for grabs and Caulfield is hoping to enter the competitive season with a full squad to choose from.

“We’re hoping that we can keep fellas away from injury, that’s the crucial thing. If we can do that, we’ll have serious competition for places and that’s what we need.

“Tonight, Johnny Dunleavy has a slight knock and Danny has a slight knock so we’ve decided to leave them out. Possibly Danny (Morrissey) will get a run against Drogheda on Thursday night but Johnny won’t even though he’s trained with us for the week.

“Colin (Healy) is sick too so we decided not to bring him. Other than that we’re hoping that everyone can stay fit and if that can happen, then there’s a lot of competition out there.”