Dunne pleased with first day victory

It may not have been the most impressive scoreline, but Cork City boss Tommy Dunne was evidently satisfied after his side opened their account with a 1-0 win over Wexford Youths on Friday night.

Vinny Sullivan’s goal just before half-time gave City the three points, but it could have easily been a lot more as the home side squandered a host of good opportunities in a game they dominated from start to finish.

“We’re happy with that start.” Dunne said after the game. “First games of the season are always difficult, so for us to pick up three points, keep a clean sheet and create chances is very encouraging. I’m a bit disappointed obviously with Kalen Spillane getting sent off, but there were also one or two incidents during the game, not getting too deep, where I felt we should have had a penalty.

“We had said in the dressing room, don’t be the ones that get a sucker punch on the first day, we’re happy just to come out of it. We understand it wasn’t that pretty in the end, but I think we have to be happy with that.

“We also had several chances to kill the game off and we should have taken them, but we didn’t. This year though, I think we’re going to be a bit more experienced in seeing games out, and that was a very pleasing aspect. We deserved the three points, there was no doubt about that, but there’s always a moment where you wonder if there will be a sucker punch towards the end. Thank god it never came.”

This season, it seems the Leesiders aren’t going to rest easily on their laurels and while Sullivan did grab the match winner, Dunne was still frustrated his new striker didn’t find the net again, especially early in the second half where he missed the target twice in as many minutes with glorious opportunities to kill the game off.

“Vinny did great for us and scored, but I thought the chance with the header in the second half was even easier than the earlier chance. Graham [Cummins] and Davin [O’Neill] both had a few half-chances floating around too, and I think that we should have put them away. Still, it was three points and a clean sheet, so we can’t complain about that.”

Gearoid Morrissey picked up the Man of the Match award, despite playing out wide for long spells. More suited to the centre of the park, the former Blackburn Rovers player still impressed in an unusual role, and with Spillane suspended for next week’s trip to Mervue, he is likely to move into the centre with club captain Greg O’Halloran likely to drop into the back four.

“The best thing for us, is his energy level and his running power. Compared to when he came back [from England] last year, and when he got injured, he wasn’t great fitness wise. Fair play to him, because he has worked very hard in the off-season. And you can see the fruits of it now. “I think it’s obvious that Greg will drop back from midfield with Kalen suspended, but I’ve a few more options thankfully this year, so we can maybe cover more easily when a player is sent off. It’ll be a simple choice to move Greg back, but Derek [O’Brien is in contention now and [Shane] Duggan is also there. We have a few choices now.”

Mervue United will provide the opposition for Cork on Friday, an historic moment for the Galway club as their Fahy’s Field ground hosts League of Ireland football for the first time, and the City boss is unsure of what to expect heading to the Tribe county.

“Their first game in Fahy’s Field as a League of Ireland club, means they’ll probably have a big crowd. I’m not sure what the pitch is going to be like and it’s an unknown for us in a sense, although we’ve had people checking out things for us. We’re hoping we can pick up another three points, but if there’s one thing about Johnny Glynn, it’s that Mervue are going to be fit. And we’ll need to work hard for the points.”