John Caulfield: 'Sean Maguire is a special person and is a phenomenal guy'

Cork City manager John Caulfield’s tenth game as a manager in Europe ended up in victory over Levadia Tallinn on Thursday evening.

The manager was happy with the final result but there was a few things he will note for improvement after the game.

“Phenomenal second half,” he told reporters after a second-half hat-trick from Sean Maguire saw his side come out 4-2 winners, and 6-2 on aggregate, after trailing at the break.

“We felt they had one or two opportunities. Kobzar got a good goal but it was bad defending by us as we backed off them.

“We were edgy and we weren’t playing our normal match and then Sheppard got a goal for us and we were doing okay.

“Obviously it was a hand ball for the second goal but then we let a guy turn in the box and then you are 2-1 down and it is game on.

“At the break we had a few words with the guys so we got them back to playing a typical Cork City game which is using the ball and our pace and getting the ball down, using one or two touch.

“The second goal after the break was a typical our goal with the nice touches.

Caulfield wasn't surprised by the improvement in the Levadia team from the first leg, which City won 2-0, but feels his side did enough over the two legs that the final scoreline didn't flatter them.

“It is good to win the round. Levadia aren’t a bad side and they had some very good players but over the two rounds we were the better team.”

The spirit of his charges is something that he keeps referencing in his post match press conferences this season. He did so again when asked what it was like in the dressing room at half time knowing his team were behind.

“It was a massive challenge for the side but they rallied at half time and it showed the spirit and determination in the side.

“To be fair to the lads, they tore into the game in the second half and they were fantastic.”

Sean Maguire scored a hat-trick to break the record for European goals scored by a Cork City player – beating Dan Murray's long-standing record.

“He is a special person and is a phenomenal guy. I think he will be phenomenal in Preston. He will go there in tip top form.

“He goes there for pre season after six months scoring goals and that will be a big advantage to him over there.”

City are short at the back at present with Conor McCormack having to play in a stand in centre half as Alan Bennett failed the fitness test before the game.

Caulfield said Bennett could have played if required but he opted not to take the risk as his recovery is taking sllightly longer than expected.

“We could have put him on the bench; it is taking a bit longer to recover than expected. He was okay to go on the bench tonight but as I said all year we have guys that can fill in for others. It is not ideal but anybody that has come in has been fantastic.”

Kieran Sadlier will be the only new player to be registered for City ahead of the second round as Caulfield says his budget will prohibit him from getting new players until later.