Cork boss happy to move top
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As Cork City moved to the top of the table by just a solitary point on Friday night, Tommy Dunne was quite satisfied with his charges as they continued their unbeaten start to the season thanks to a 1-0 win over Limerick.
Derek O’Brien, in his first start for his new club, separated the teams with a first half strike and it means Cork are out in front on their own at present, though Shelbourne are hot on their tails, a point behind with a game in hand.
“I’m happy with the three points. I know it’s early days and it’s not going to decide anything as such, but it was important for us to get a good start to the season and I think with the three games we’ve had, we’ve done that.
“The boys are happy, and they’ve worked really hard. I wouldn’t say it was the best we’ve played but at the end of it, it’s all about getting the three points.”
While the home side were deserved winners, they still endured a couple of hairy moments in the second half, but Dunne admitted that was inevitable when Limerick started to go route one. Undeniably, City were also direct during the game and although not pleasing to the eye, the tactics were spot on.
“Yeah, you’re going to get that. In fairness, they [Limerick] were pumping balls up and we had to get our heads on it. From our side of it, we went a bit more direct than we usually do. We said we’d go more direct today because they crowd midfield and try and put us under pressure.
“We went to go in behind them a bit more and I think it worked overall. We got the goal, and there were a couple of other chances within the first half where we could have killed the game off.
“I think If we want to go more direct, we have the option and looking to play a bit more through the middle, we have that option as well with the likes of Vincent [Escudé-Candau], [Shane] Duggan, Gearoid [Morrissey] and Greg [O’Halloran], who are all capable of playing centrally.
“We’ve got good options, but today we decided to go the little bit more direct and it worked.”
The victory also meant Cork bagged their second win at home on the bounce, already an improvement on their form at Turner’s Cross last season, where they struggled badly to put a run of wins together, something that pleases the Dubliner who wants to make the ‘Cross a fortress.
“That’s something we’ve spoken about. We want that, because we felt last year that we left the supporters down by not getting results at home. This year it’s about making the place a fortress and not giving teams anything to go home with.”
Derek O’Brien, in his first start for his new club, separated the teams with a first half strike and it means Cork are out in front on their own at present, though Shelbourne are hot on their tails, a point behind with a game in hand.
“I’m happy with the three points. I know it’s early days and it’s not going to decide anything as such, but it was important for us to get a good start to the season and I think with the three games we’ve had, we’ve done that.
“The boys are happy, and they’ve worked really hard. I wouldn’t say it was the best we’ve played but at the end of it, it’s all about getting the three points.”
While the home side were deserved winners, they still endured a couple of hairy moments in the second half, but Dunne admitted that was inevitable when Limerick started to go route one. Undeniably, City were also direct during the game and although not pleasing to the eye, the tactics were spot on.
“Yeah, you’re going to get that. In fairness, they [Limerick] were pumping balls up and we had to get our heads on it. From our side of it, we went a bit more direct than we usually do. We said we’d go more direct today because they crowd midfield and try and put us under pressure.
“We went to go in behind them a bit more and I think it worked overall. We got the goal, and there were a couple of other chances within the first half where we could have killed the game off.
“I think If we want to go more direct, we have the option and looking to play a bit more through the middle, we have that option as well with the likes of Vincent [Escudé-Candau], [Shane] Duggan, Gearoid [Morrissey] and Greg [O’Halloran], who are all capable of playing centrally.
“We’ve got good options, but today we decided to go the little bit more direct and it worked.”
The victory also meant Cork bagged their second win at home on the bounce, already an improvement on their form at Turner’s Cross last season, where they struggled badly to put a run of wins together, something that pleases the Dubliner who wants to make the ‘Cross a fortress.
“That’s something we’ve spoken about. We want that, because we felt last year that we left the supporters down by not getting results at home. This year it’s about making the place a fortress and not giving teams anything to go home with.”
About Alan Smith
Alan Smith works as a sub-editor for the Guardian newspaper in London. Originally from Cork, he freelances for several other newspapers and websites. Follow him on twitter @alansmith90. View Full Profile