Wexford Youths -v- Cork City Foras Co-op

• Simon O'Gorman
• Fri, May 07 2010


Wexford Youths will be looking for their third successive win on Friday night when Cork City Foras come to Ferrycarrig Park for the first time in their short history. (Kick off 7.45pm)

Wexford Youths have taken six points from their last two games, an admirable reaction to the points deduction suffered as a result of fielding a suspended player in their match against Salthill Devon earlier in the season.

Having had an excellent season in 2009, Wexford have had a more difficult time of it this year. Key players left over the winter, including Conor Sinnott and Peter White, and a young and inexperienced side have found themselves slipping towards the wrong end of the Airtricity First Division.

A 5-1 battering by Derry City was followed by a 2-0 reverse at Jackman Park against Limerick and then came the deduction of three precious points, won against Salthill at Ferrycarrig Park in early April.

A less resilient team might have buckled but perhaps this was the shock to the system that they needed. A 2-1 win against an Athlone side that don’t give away much at the back was followed by a 1-0 win at Flancare Park where Longford had beaten high flying Waterford just three days previously.

Manager Noel O’Conner reports that confidence is high among his Wexford players and with Cork City Foras having some difficulty converting chances into goals, this could be the ideal time for his side to meet their south coast neighbours.

Cork have had a win, a draw and a defeat in their last three league outings but it is the manner of these results that offer the hint of an upset.

A narrow 1-0 defeat at Turners Cross against Monaghan was followed by a scoreless draw away at Finn Harps, both games offering plenty of chances to the Cork forwards. None of them were taken. Similarly, last Tuesday night, Salthill Devon (fresh from a 7-0 defeat at the hands of Derry City) were pummeled at ‘the Cross’ with only a single Davin O’Neill effort finding it’s way into the net.

Cork will know that three points on Friday night won’t come easy. Wexford, on their day, can be difficult to beat. Patsy Malone and Shane Dempsey offer a formidable barrier across midfield and Gary Sheahan and Danny Furlong are inventive forwards. But the battle will more likely be won or lost in the Wexford penalty area where individual errors have cost Wexford dearly in the recent past.

Defensive frailty in the vicinity of Graham Cummins and Davin O’Neill is not advisable, even if they are a little gun shy. And while Tommy Dunne’s men will be working to rediscover their touch in front of goal, Wexford’s challenge will be, quite simply, to stop them.



Wexford Youths
Injured: None.
Doubtful: None.
Suspended: None.

Cork City FORAS Co-op
Injured: Gearoid Morrissey.
Doubtful: Uros Hojan.
Suspended: None.

Referee: P Caschera

Extratime prediction: A 1-1 draw