President's Cup Preview: Cork City - V - Dundalk

FAI Cup holders Cork City host league champions Dundalk at Turner’s Cross on Friday night looking to win the President’s Cup, at the Lilywhites’ expense, for the second consecutive season.

CORK CITY:

Having put a stop to Dundalk’s head-to-head supremacy over them in 2016, with four wins from five, Cork will be aiming to overthrow the four-in-a-row title chasers as the League of Ireland’s kingpins this season.

The Rebels open their campaign by hosting the Lilywhites in Turner’s Cross tomorrow night, in a repeat of last season’s President’s Cup game which saw City win 2-0, thus giving John Caulfield his first managerial triumph over Stephen Kenny at the eighth attempt.

That victory instigated a run of wins over the Lilywhites with Cork’s only blemish from their five meetings being the 2-1 loss in Oriel Park last October, which effectively handed Dundalk the Premier Division crown.

However, Cork would get their revenge a matter of weeks later when striker Sean Maguire shattered Dundalk’s hopes of a second consecutive cup final victory over the Leesiders with a 120^th minute strike to hand the Rebels the cup for the first time in nine years.

Maguire is again expected to lead the line for Cork on Friday night and indeed for the entirety of the season should he stay fit.

 Having hit 29 goals last term, the striker signed a new deal in the off-season to fend off potential English suitors. His re-capture is surely the finest piece of business done by the Cork board, while keeping the likes of Stephen Dooley and Greg Bolger was also crucial.

Caulfield has added Dundalk native Conor McCormack and former Sligo Rovers pair Achille Campion and Jimmy Keohane to his squad, each shrewd additions with Campion brought in to fill the void left by Mark O’Sullivan who joined Waterford.

Despite still being unavailable through injury, skipper John Dunleavy has returned to training following his season ending injury last term. The Donegal native will almost be like a new signing when he returns from his long layoff in the opening weeks of the season.

However, he is joined on the treatment table by Kenny Browne and Alan Bennett with both being rated as doubtful for the clash with Dundalk.

“We are looking forward to the game,” Caulfield told corkcityfc.ie on Thursday.

“It will be a great opportunity for our new players to line out in Turner’s Cross for the first time and a first opportunity for many of our supporters to see those new players in action.

“To have a game of this quality the week before the start of the season is great and I am hoping that there will be a big crowd in Turner’s Cross tomorrow night.”

DUNDALK FC:

Having won everything there is to win over the last three seasons, there are question marks over Dundalk heading into the new term as to whether they still retain the same unwavering hunger for success.

With Stephen Kenny at the helm though you would assume that their thirst for winning is as high as ever. Yet again, Dundalk have lost some of their crown jewels over the break with Daryl Horgan and Andy Boyle having departed for Lancashire side Preston North End while Ronan Finn, Darren Meenan and Michael O’Connor have joined title rivals Shamrock Rovers.

The upside to these departures though is that it allows Kenny to inject fresh blood into his side, something which he has had to get used to doing during his time with the County Louth club, and almost always to good effect.

Oriel Park has welcomed Michael Duffy, Steven Kinsella, Jamie McGrath, Niclas Vemmelund, Conor Clifford and Sean Hoare through the door ahead of the new campaign, and all of these players are expected to hit the ground running like their predecessors managed to do starting with the President’s Cup game on Leeside.

However, McGrath won’t get the chance to make his competitive Lilywhites with injury ruling him out. David McMillan, Chris Shields, Gary Rogers, and Shane Grimes, who recently signed a new deal with the club, are also out of contention for tomorrow night.

Although Dundalk do welcome captain Stephen O’Donnell back to full fitness after his injury plagued campaign of 2016 while Michael Duffy is also winning his race against time in terms of featuring against the FAI Cup holders.

This is the third year in a row that the Lilywhites have been involved in a President’s Cup encounter with last year’s 2-0 defeat to Cork having followed their 2-1 win over St. Patrick’s Athletic the year previous.

And while winning tomorrow night may not be Kenny’s main season objective, it would still strike the first psychological blow in the race for the domestic honours in 2017.

Patrick McEleney enjoyed a stellar first year with the club, having joined from Derry City, and with so many high-profile departures the emphasis is on him to produce the levels he’s capable of on a more consistent basis.

The Foylesider spoke with dundalkfc.com ahead of tomorrow night’s meeting with the Rebels, issuing a stern warning that the Lilywhites are hell bent on winning the first of the trophies on offer this season.

“We take every competition seriously. We pride ourselves on winning trophies so we’re definitely not going to take the President’s Cup against Cork lightly,” McEleney said.

“We want to win every game. It’s another trophy, so we’ll look forward to it.

“I think we’re still going to be a big attacking threat this season. Obviously, the lads (Horgan, Finn & Boyle) are a big loss but the Gaffer has always found players. The players that have come in have done brilliant, so we’re looking forward to it.”

Referee: Anthony Buttimer

MATCH FACTS:

Should Cork win tomorrow night’s encounter they would become the first side to successfully defend the President’s Cup since its inception in 2014.

The game will see Anthony Buttimer officiate a game involving Dundalk for the first time since October 2013. His last match in charge of the Lilywhites saw him send Darren Meenan and Chris Shields off in the first-half of their FAI Cup semi-final defeat to Drogheda United.

Turner’s Cross is the venue for tomorrow night’s tie only because Oriel Park’s new surface is not ready for use yet, although it will be ready for next Friday’s league opener against Shamrock Rovers.

PREDICTION:

Cork City 1-2 Dundalk.

MATCH BETTING:

Cork City 7/5; Draw 9/4; Dundalk 9/5.

Cork City

Injured: John Dunleavy.

Doubtful: Kenny Browne, Alan Bennett.

Suspended: None.

Dundalk

Injured: Gary Rogers, David McMillan, Chris Shields, Jamie McGrath, Shane Grimes.

Doubtful: None.

Suspended: None.