Salthill Devon -v- Cork City
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Salthill Devon welcome unbeaten Cork City to Drom at the unusual time of 3pm on Friday afternoon, with little else but hope of grabbing their first win of the season.
The Galway side are already rooted to the bottom of the First Division and with Cork in flying form, it’s likely to be a long 90 minutes for the home team. Tommy Dunne’s side travel to Connaught in buoyant mood having hammered Finn Harps 5-0 last weekend, and they will quietly expect another comfortable win to remain top of the league.
“We’ve looked back at the Harps game at this stage and it’s fair to say we were pretty clinical on the night,” Dunne says. “Of the seven or eight chances we had, we took five of them, so it was a good day in front of goal. We can still play better though. We need to retain the ball a little better and we’ll look to see if we can improve the work rate of the team even more, even though it has been quite good.
“The last couple of games we haven’t dominated the way we’ve dominated other games but we’ve picked up maximum points, so it has been pleasing from that side of things. Defensively, we’ve looked solid too and we’ve not been conceding too many chances apart from the game in Waterford.
“Salthill, for me, is a tough place to go,” the City boss added. “We’ll need to have a good tempo and take anything that comes our way. These games, and we’ve spoken about this within the squad, can be the difference over the season. We’ve let two slip and we can’t afford any more if possible. Saying that, these places are difficult to go to. An early goal will help but if it doesn’t come, we need to learn to be a little bit more patient and to take our chances when they come.”
Cork will travel without Alan Carey, but Stephen Mulcahy might see some minutes because he is fit again after a long lay-off. There is a doubt over Derek O’Brien however, who still hasn’t shaken off a groin injury picked up against Waterford two weeks ago.
Salthill, meanwhile, will be without five players for the game. Wes Charles, Colm Horgan and Robbie Porter are all sidelined with injuries, while Victor Collins will serve a suspension along with manager Mike Quirke. Cian McBrien remains a doubt and he’ll undergo a late fitness test, although Enda Dunne will come back into contention after returning from a shin splints injury.
Salthill Devon
Injured: Wes Charles, Colm Horgan, Robbie Porter.
Doubtful: Cian McBrien.
Suspended: Victor Collins.
Cork City
Injured: Alan Carey.
Doubtful: Derek O’Brien.
Suspended: None.
Referee: Kevin O’Regan.
Paddypower.com Odds: Salthill Devon 15/2; Draw 3/1; Cork City 1/3.
ExtraTime.ie Prediction: We can only envisage an away win: 3-0.
The Galway side are already rooted to the bottom of the First Division and with Cork in flying form, it’s likely to be a long 90 minutes for the home team. Tommy Dunne’s side travel to Connaught in buoyant mood having hammered Finn Harps 5-0 last weekend, and they will quietly expect another comfortable win to remain top of the league.
“We’ve looked back at the Harps game at this stage and it’s fair to say we were pretty clinical on the night,” Dunne says. “Of the seven or eight chances we had, we took five of them, so it was a good day in front of goal. We can still play better though. We need to retain the ball a little better and we’ll look to see if we can improve the work rate of the team even more, even though it has been quite good.
“The last couple of games we haven’t dominated the way we’ve dominated other games but we’ve picked up maximum points, so it has been pleasing from that side of things. Defensively, we’ve looked solid too and we’ve not been conceding too many chances apart from the game in Waterford.
“Salthill, for me, is a tough place to go,” the City boss added. “We’ll need to have a good tempo and take anything that comes our way. These games, and we’ve spoken about this within the squad, can be the difference over the season. We’ve let two slip and we can’t afford any more if possible. Saying that, these places are difficult to go to. An early goal will help but if it doesn’t come, we need to learn to be a little bit more patient and to take our chances when they come.”
Cork will travel without Alan Carey, but Stephen Mulcahy might see some minutes because he is fit again after a long lay-off. There is a doubt over Derek O’Brien however, who still hasn’t shaken off a groin injury picked up against Waterford two weeks ago.
Salthill, meanwhile, will be without five players for the game. Wes Charles, Colm Horgan and Robbie Porter are all sidelined with injuries, while Victor Collins will serve a suspension along with manager Mike Quirke. Cian McBrien remains a doubt and he’ll undergo a late fitness test, although Enda Dunne will come back into contention after returning from a shin splints injury.
Salthill Devon
Injured: Wes Charles, Colm Horgan, Robbie Porter.
Doubtful: Cian McBrien.
Suspended: Victor Collins.
Cork City
Injured: Alan Carey.
Doubtful: Derek O’Brien.
Suspended: None.
Referee: Kevin O’Regan.
Paddypower.com Odds: Salthill Devon 15/2; Draw 3/1; Cork City 1/3.
ExtraTime.ie Prediction: We can only envisage an away win: 3-0.
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