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Cork City v Sligo Rovers
- Alan Smith
- Thu, Apr 30 2009
Second placed Cork City welcome a depleted and struggling Sligo Rovers to Turner’s Cross tomorrow night (kick off 7.45pm), as the Leesiders look to keep the pressure on leaders Bohemians.
Contrasting Form
Both sides have had very different results of late, and find themselves on the opposite sides of the table. Cork moved up into second last weekend with a win over Galway United, while the Bit O’Red remain in a relegation battle in 8th place after a draw with bottom of the table Drogheda United. Both sides met at the Showgrounds on the opening day of the season; where Cork took the lead before a late equaliser from Stephen Parkhouse meant the spoils were shared.
Doolin’s Delight
Cork, who started poorly, have been on an excellent run of late and remain unbeaten in seven games and the Leesiders boss, Paul Doolin, is delighted with his sides current form. “In recent weeks they have had some excellent results, including a win at the Brandywell and a draw with Bohs, so they will be tough opponents.” Adding: “We are now a quarter of the way through the season, and while there is still a long way to go, I feel we are doing well. I think everyone knows that if you want to challenge for honours, then you have to be consistent, and at the moment, we are showing good consistency.”
Injury Concern
The Rebels will be without the defensive duo of Robert Mezeckis and Neal Horgan, while Davin O’Neill will miss out with an ankle injury. Stephen O’Donnell remains a long term absentee for Cork who will no doubt look to Billy Dennehy to turn in a simlar performance to last weeks game against Galway. The injuries are not worrying Doolin though, who has complete faith in the younger players at the Turner’s Cross club. “I think the fact that we are missing a number of players through injury, it gives us a chance to change things around within the limits of our squad. We have some fine young players at the club, but this league is very demanding physically and I have to strike a balance between giving a young player a chance and risking not getting the result we need.”
Weak Rovers
Sligo will struggle to field a squad, with over half a dozen players on the missing list. Stephen Parkhouse and Mauro Almeida remain sidelined but Raffael Cretaro, Brian Cash and Sean Doherty will also miss out after picking up knocks during the 0-0 draw with Drogheda United. To add to Paul Cook’s woes, Danny Ventre and Owen Morrison are ruled out after being sent off in United Park last Friday. However, former Cork midfielder, Conor O’Grady, returned to training this week and should play some part. Cook will also have to call up a couple of players from the A Championship squad, with the trio of Ross Mc Loughlin, Owen Torpey and Jason Noctor all expected to be in the squad which travels south.
Cork are strong favourites with the bookmakers and are available at 8/15, with Sligo at 9/2 and the draw priced at 5/2. Incidentally, the game will be refereed by Mr. Derek Tomney
Extratime.ie Prediction: A relatively easy win for the Leesiders. 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.