Credit:
Athlone Town -v- Cork City
- Alan Smith
- Thu, Mar 24 2011
Athlone Town will be heavily depleted when they play host to early leaders Cork City at Lissywoollen in the Airtricity League First Divsion on Friday night (kick-off 7.45pm).
This will be Town’s first home game of the season, after their fixture against Finn Harps was postponed because of a waterlogged pitch two weeks ago. It’ll be a tough home berth for the threadbare outfit though, as Mike Kerley has been forced to look at the club’s youth teams due to a lack of fit first-choice players.
Kerley has already handed debuts to seven new players in their two games to date, both draws away from home against Waterford United and Salthill Devon respectively, and they’ll find it difficult against a Cork team that has seven points out of nine in three games to date.
Town skipper Kevin Williamson is suspended after being sent off against Salthill last weekend, while Gary Higgins is ruled out after tearing his hamstring. Bobby Tier is still a while off making his Athlone debut and Jamie Carr is unlikely to feature due to a thigh problem.
Cork will welcome Ian Turner back into contention after he served a ban last week, although Shane Duggan and Gavin Kavanagh will be absent due to suspension. Stephen Mulcahy has returned to training but is still a few weeks away from playing, while Alan Carey is ruled out with an Achilles injury. Derek O’Brien should be fit, despite picking up a recurring hamstring injury against Limerick last week, and although listed officially as a doubt he expects to be fit having trained all week.
“Athlone have had a decent start to the season and they will be difficult opponents. They drew away from home against Waterford, who many people have tipped to be challenging for promotion, so there is no doubt that it will be a tough game for us,” Cork boss Tommy Dunne said ahead of the trip.
“From our own side of things, we are pleased with the start we have had, and we want to continue that form into this fixture. We need to be positive going into the game and apply ourselves well, and that will give us a good chance of getting the result we want. Our work rate has been good, and for the most part we have been good defensively, but we need to score more goals. It’s early days yet, but we have had chances that we have not taken in situations where a second goal would kill off the game, so we are looking to improve on that front. ”
Equally, Athlone assistant manager Padraig Moran is expecting a difficult challenge, with Town beleagured by injuries. "Losing Kevin (Williamson) is a very big blow, but I spoke to a few people who were on that side of the ground (to where his tackle against Salthill occurred), and they reckoned it wasn't a straight red card. Our squad is very light, so you need everyone available, especially for a game against Cork City.
"But the young lads have no fear, and the manager has no fear putting them in. The manager is trying to be careful with the younger lads. It's important we don't ask too much of them too soon, but I'm sure a few of them will see action on Friday."
Athlone Town
Injured: Gary Higgins, Bobby Tier.
Suspended: Kevin Williamson.
Doubtful: Jamie Carr.
Cork City
Injured: Stephen Mulcahy, Alan Carey.
Suspended: Shane Duggan, Gavin Kavanagh.
Doubtful: Derek O’Brien.
Referee: Rob Rogers.
PaddyPower.com Odds: Athlone Town 9/2 – Draw 13/5 – Cork City 4/7.
ExtraTime Prediction: A narrow win for the away side: 1-2.
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.