Cork City -v- Finn Harps
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Cork City will be hoping to keep their unbeaten record on track when they host a thus far lacklustre Finn Harps at Turner’s Cross on Friday night (kick-off 7.45pm).
The Leesiders picked up a magnificent three points after coming from a goal down away to Waterford United last weekend, and with three games against mid-table opposition or lower before the trip to Tolka Park to face current leaders Shelbourne, Cork will be hoping to pick up nine points from nine before a likely top of the table clash in early-May.
Of course, Harps should be a little higher than their current position, 8th with four games played, but they have only lost once (incidentally in Waterford), drawing their other three games, all at home. What will be more worrying for manager James Gallagher however, is the ill-discipline shown by his team which has culminated in three red cards to date.
Marc Brolly was the latest to be sent off after a two-footed tackle on Cian McBrien near the end of last weekend’s scoreless draw with Salthill Devon, so he’ll sit out the long-trip south. Garbhan Friel and Raymond Foy are both ruled out with knee and ankle injuries respectively, while Gareth Harkin is a doubt after picking up a knock to his ankle.
Gallagher, however, remains optimistic ahead of the journey to Turner’s Cross. “The way I’m looking at it and I know it shouldn’t be the case, but we tend to do quite well against the stronger sides, while we tend to make hard work of the lesser sides. We’re going to Cork now and I fancy us going down there with a couple of boys coming back,” the Harps boss said.
“You’d like to go down with a fully fit squad but it’s not the case for us, we have a few players coming back from injury who are not quite a hundred percent just yet. But it’s a great place to go, apparently they’ve been getting big crowds this season, so hopefully the adrenaline and atmosphere will help our boys give that bit extra.
“It’s fairly similar to the Waterford trip three weeks ago, it will be something along the same lines, though we will have a slightly stronger squad this weekend to the one we brought to the RSC. We’ll have to be disciplined, stay well organised and when one or two chances come our way, we need to try and take them, which we didn’t do in Waterford.”
City, meanwhile, will miss out on winger Derek O’Brien, who picked up a groin injury during the first half last weekend, and although Tommy Dunne will give the Kerryman every chance to prove his fitness, it looks like the former Galway player will miss out.
“It looks unlikely that Derek O’Brien will be fit for the game after he picked up a groin strain against Waterford,” Dunne said. “He’s been unlucky that he has picked up a couple of injuries since he signed and the important thing for us is that he doesn’t keep picking up knocks, and I think that when he is fully fit he will be a very exciting player for us.”
Having been on the treatment table for some time, Alan Carey and Stephen Mulcahy will both miss out yet again, though they have returned to training this week and should see some playing-time soon. For Dunne, though, the emphasis must be on being positive tomorrow night.
“We’re at home so we need to be positive and go out with the intention of winning the game. We are under no illusions that it will be a difficult game; Harps have had some good results but they’ve also had a couple of injuries and suspensions. Tomorrow night they will probably be at their strongest since their draw with Monaghan, and they will be trying to kick start their season. They dominated in games against Limerick and Monaghan, and they have some very good players, so they will make it tough for us.
“Teams like coming to Turner’s Cross because there’s a great atmosphere and it’s a good place to play, but from our point of view, we need to make sure that we start the game well and try to impose our game on them. If we go about our business, concentrate and do things properly then I believe we will give ourselves a good chance of picking up the three points we are looking for.”
Cork City
Injured: Derek O’Brien, Alan Carey, Stephen Mulcahy.
Doubtful: None.
Suspended: None.
Finn Harps
Injured: Garbhan Friel, Raymond Foy.
Doubtful: Gareth Harkin.
Suspended: Marc Brolly.
Referee: John Grimes.
Paddypower.com Odds: Cork City 8/15, Draw 13/5, Finn Harps 5/1.
ExtraTime.ie prediction: Cork should have enough on the back of last week’s win: 2-0.
The Leesiders picked up a magnificent three points after coming from a goal down away to Waterford United last weekend, and with three games against mid-table opposition or lower before the trip to Tolka Park to face current leaders Shelbourne, Cork will be hoping to pick up nine points from nine before a likely top of the table clash in early-May.
Of course, Harps should be a little higher than their current position, 8th with four games played, but they have only lost once (incidentally in Waterford), drawing their other three games, all at home. What will be more worrying for manager James Gallagher however, is the ill-discipline shown by his team which has culminated in three red cards to date.
Marc Brolly was the latest to be sent off after a two-footed tackle on Cian McBrien near the end of last weekend’s scoreless draw with Salthill Devon, so he’ll sit out the long-trip south. Garbhan Friel and Raymond Foy are both ruled out with knee and ankle injuries respectively, while Gareth Harkin is a doubt after picking up a knock to his ankle.
Gallagher, however, remains optimistic ahead of the journey to Turner’s Cross. “The way I’m looking at it and I know it shouldn’t be the case, but we tend to do quite well against the stronger sides, while we tend to make hard work of the lesser sides. We’re going to Cork now and I fancy us going down there with a couple of boys coming back,” the Harps boss said.
“You’d like to go down with a fully fit squad but it’s not the case for us, we have a few players coming back from injury who are not quite a hundred percent just yet. But it’s a great place to go, apparently they’ve been getting big crowds this season, so hopefully the adrenaline and atmosphere will help our boys give that bit extra.
“It’s fairly similar to the Waterford trip three weeks ago, it will be something along the same lines, though we will have a slightly stronger squad this weekend to the one we brought to the RSC. We’ll have to be disciplined, stay well organised and when one or two chances come our way, we need to try and take them, which we didn’t do in Waterford.”
City, meanwhile, will miss out on winger Derek O’Brien, who picked up a groin injury during the first half last weekend, and although Tommy Dunne will give the Kerryman every chance to prove his fitness, it looks like the former Galway player will miss out.
“It looks unlikely that Derek O’Brien will be fit for the game after he picked up a groin strain against Waterford,” Dunne said. “He’s been unlucky that he has picked up a couple of injuries since he signed and the important thing for us is that he doesn’t keep picking up knocks, and I think that when he is fully fit he will be a very exciting player for us.”
Having been on the treatment table for some time, Alan Carey and Stephen Mulcahy will both miss out yet again, though they have returned to training this week and should see some playing-time soon. For Dunne, though, the emphasis must be on being positive tomorrow night.
“We’re at home so we need to be positive and go out with the intention of winning the game. We are under no illusions that it will be a difficult game; Harps have had some good results but they’ve also had a couple of injuries and suspensions. Tomorrow night they will probably be at their strongest since their draw with Monaghan, and they will be trying to kick start their season. They dominated in games against Limerick and Monaghan, and they have some very good players, so they will make it tough for us.
“Teams like coming to Turner’s Cross because there’s a great atmosphere and it’s a good place to play, but from our point of view, we need to make sure that we start the game well and try to impose our game on them. If we go about our business, concentrate and do things properly then I believe we will give ourselves a good chance of picking up the three points we are looking for.”
Cork City
Injured: Derek O’Brien, Alan Carey, Stephen Mulcahy.
Doubtful: None.
Suspended: None.
Finn Harps
Injured: Garbhan Friel, Raymond Foy.
Doubtful: Gareth Harkin.
Suspended: Marc Brolly.
Referee: John Grimes.
Paddypower.com Odds: Cork City 8/15, Draw 13/5, Finn Harps 5/1.
ExtraTime.ie prediction: Cork should have enough on the back of last week’s win: 2-0.
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