Cork City will be aiming to continue their recent good form on Friday night, as they travel to Dalymount to face Bohemians. City have claimed three wins in their last four league outings, a run that has pushed Tommy Dunne’s side up to 5th in the table, one point and two places above tomorrow’s opposition.
The sides have met twice already this season; the sides drew 1-1 at Turner’s Cross in July, while the Dubliners claimed a 1-0 win in Dalymount in April.
Speaking to CorkCityFC.net ahead of training this evening, the City manager said: “We have lost one and drawn one against Bohemians so far this season, though I think we played very well in the drawn game. We have the incentive of trying to win the game tomorrow, which would put us in a good position going into the final four games.”
“Bohs are quite a similar side to us in many ways and they have shown they are capable of beating any team in the league. Aaron Callaghan has done a fantastic job with them and they try to get the ball down and play, so we know it will be a tough game for us. We need to be better than we were in our last two meetings with them, and I would hope that we will be more competitive this time around. We have won three out of our last four, which is not a bad run of form coming into the end of the season. We have already started our preparations for next year, and we want to keep that momentum going.”
Gearóid Morrissey will miss the next two games having been given a two-game ban following his sending off against Bray Wanderers, while Ian Turner has been handed a one game ban following his dismissal in the same game. Cathal Lordan (knee) remains sidelined, as does Brian Lenihan (hamstring). Dunne also confirmed that young defenders Eoghan Murphy and Stephen Carroll have both joined College Corinthians, to allow both players to play more regular first team football.
On a more positive note, Dunne is hopeful that both John Dunleavy and Colin Healy may be available for the trip to Dublin. Dunleavy, who suffered an ankle injury in the game away to UCD has returned to training this week, while Healy is also back in training as he recovers from a torn thigh muscle. Both players will be assessed at training this evening, with Dunne hopeful that they will be available.
Injury News: John Dunleavy, Colin Healy, Cathal Lordan, Brian Lenihan
Suspensions: Ian Turner, Gearóid Morrissey