Season Review 2022: Cork City

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Team: Cork City

Head Coach: Colin Healy

Top Scorer:  Barry Coffey (14 goals). Ruairi Keating has the same total, but less league goals.  

Stadium: Turner’s Cross

Highest Attendance: 6,393 (0-0 draw v Galway Utd, 15th July)

Lowest Attendance:  2,022 (2-0 win v Cobh Ramblers, 24th June)

Star Player: Aaron Bolger

Often a player can produce his best form under a manager who knows his game and trusts in their ability. This is certainly the case with Aaron Bolger and Colin Healy. The young midfielder played in the First Division with Rovers II and was sent out on loans to Longford by the Hoops after a return from England. Healy knew his talent from involvement with the under-19s and quickly brought him to the club.

Young in age but possessing a maturity and calmness beyond his years, he firmly established himself as a mainstay in the City midfield. Equally capable of sitting in front of the backline to with-hold attacks, keeping the possession with precision passes or setting up movements with spayed balls to his wingers showed his versatility.

In crucial games, or when the pressure was on, he was the man to the rescue. He was man of the match in many of these games as the Leesiders came out on top in important games. His relationship with the likes of Matt Healy, Barry Coffey and Cian Bargary proved his footballing intelligence also. He got forward to score twice with one of them being a last-minute screamer away to Athlone. 



Best Young Player: David Harrington

At just 22 years old, David Harrington has already made himself as the first choice netminder for the club. Having had his first league starts for the club at the end of last season, he firmly established as number one.

Much credit can be afforded to the rest of the defence as they were able to settle on a back-line that became one of the best in the division. He still organised them effectively, produced some match winning saves and set up many attacks. Agility, good handling and accurate kicking made him a key component of the side.

Given that the squad contained four senior keepers, he was not short of competition either. His performances also attracted the attention of the under-21 set up as he was called up on a number of occasions. And further afield as Everton lodged their interest in the youngster. City eventually deciding their bid was not enough.

An injury suffered in training meant that he missed the final three games of the season. He has a bright future ahead of him and the club might well face further competition for his signing. 

Best New Signing: Ally Gilchrist



Plenty of new arrivals made a significant impact on the side, whether it was Ruairi Keating’s goals, Matt Healy’s creativity, Jimmy Corcoran’s dependability or Kevin O’ Connor’s experience. You just have to see the difference in the defence last year as opposed to this year for the impression he has made.

Having won the First Division last year with Shelbourne, it was perhaps a surprise that he was persuaded to move south to join Cork. Immediately he begun to change the mindset at the club. Physically dominant in the air and firm in the tackle, he helped to alleviate many of the errors which blighted the season last year. Along with taking charge in his own area alongside Cian Coleman, he also caused panic in the opponents box. Two goals and two assists showing his power in the air.

The number of clean sheets and goals against this season are a demonstration of the hard work done on and off the field. The Scottish defender will be critical to next year’s top flight survival. 

What we expected they would do:

The extratime.com team put together their predictions for the First Division ahead of the 2022 season and based on that predicted to be among the chasing pack behind Waterford to make up the play-off spots. 

What they actually did:

SSE Airtricity League

Cork City went one better than that as they by-passed the play-offs to finish top of the pile. Automatic promotion secured and a return to the top flight after relegation back in 2020.

Having decent recruitment during the close-season, and having had a strong end to the previous season, expectation was high among fans of the rebel army coming into the campaign. Even taking into consideration both relegated sides and Galway United in a packed division.

A curious start to the season included a 6-0 away win in Bray, a home defeat to Galway and a scoreless draw in Longford. It was to pick up hugely from there on.

From there City embarked on a 20 game unbeaten streak which saw them go toe to toe with Galway United as league leaders. Much of their success was built on a solid defence and a good spread of goals across the side. The issue they had in Munster derbies last year was resolved as they only failed to win twice in a dozen games.

One of the most important victories came at Eamonn Deacy Park as they beat Galway 1-0 despite being down to ten men. It put them in a commanding position which they would rarely relinquish. Attendances were admirable throughout the season that never dropped below 2,000. Indeed, they ranked up with many Premier Division sides.

A late season wobble threatened to derail their automatic promotion hopes as two wins in seven briefly delayed the crowning of them as champions. This included a run of four games at Turner’s Cross without a win. The last of these in a draw against Wexford ultimately proved to be enough to secure promotion as Galway slipped up in their game.

There were large celebrations at the end of their final game of the season against Bray as they were presented with the First Division trophy. There might be issues off the field that need to be resolved regarding investment in the club, a new contract for Colin Healy and a recruitment drive to ensure their stay in the top flight is not a short one next season. For now, the management and players can reflect on a job well done and a successful campaign. 

FAI Cup

Cork City entered the cup with a short trip to near neighbours Cobh Ramblers. In a tightly fought encounter at St. Coleman’s Park, a Ruairi Keating effort from close range ultimately proved the difference. They were able to withstand late pressure from the home side to progress to the second round.

Their third-round draw saw them paired against Premier Division title chasers Derry City. Perhaps with their league campaign in mind, Healy went with a number of changes for the game at the Brandywell. It was an uphill struggle with the concession of a penalty within the first ten minutes. Patching slotting past Corcoran for the lead. The sending off of Keating early in the second-half made their task even more difficult. Sadou Diallo added to the score line and City exited the third round for the fourth year in a row. 

About Philip Morrissey

Philip is a Cork City fan for his entire adult life. From bad times to good, whether this was taking on some major European sides or in the First Division. Philip went back to college … View Full Profile