15 October 2015
By Bryan Smyth
bryan@TheCork.ie
Cork City will aim to return to winning ways on Friday night, as the FAI Cup finalists welcome Longford Town to Turner’s Cross.
City will be looking to consolidate their grip on second place in the table, while the visitors will be keen to put more daylight between themselves and the relegation places at the bottom of the table. City go into the game having drawn their last three league fixtures; away to Bray and Drogheda and at home to Derry City. The visitors are currently in eighth place in the table, two points clear of the play-off position, but they are without a win in four.
The most recent meeting between the sides took place in Longford in July, with City winning by four goals to one, thanks to a brace from Karl Sheppard and a goal apiece from Steven Beattie and Mark O’Sullivan. Their last meeting on Leeside saw City win two nil at Turner’s Cross, thanks to goals from Garry Buckley and Colin Healy.
Speaking to the media ahead of the game, City boss John Caulfield said that his side want to claim a win that would strengthen their grip on second place in the table: “Tony (Cousins) has assembled a good side and they are well capable of staying up, but they probably need a few more results. From our point of view, we are at home, it is our second last home game of the season and hopefully the crowd will come out in force as we look to box off second place.”
“Longford are battling and they probably need to pick up a few more points, so we know it will be a tough game. It is up to us to see, this week, if we can take our chances, because I am sure we will create some.”
“There are players coming back from injury and, over the next few weeks, it is about making sure players get game time, keep the sharpness up and keep pushing each other. The lads knew after Friday night (the draw against Drogheda) that I wasn’t happy, but we have had good training sessions this week and the intensity has been good, so you can see there is a good vibe out there. It is important for them to keep pushing each other and it is important for me to keep on top of the lads, so I am expecting a good performance on Friday night.”
Ross Gaynor misses the game through suspension, while John Kavanagh remains sidelined through injury. Colin Healy has returned to training but will not be considered for selection. Danny Morrissey is expected to return from injury, but Mark O’Sullivan and Gavan Holohan are both rated as doubts.
Status report
Injury News: John Kavanagh, Colin Healy, Mark O’Sullivan, Gavan Holohan
Suspensions: Ross Gaynor
Last Game: Drogheda United 1-1 Cork City
Last Meeting: Longford Town 1-4 Cork City
Last Meeting at Turner’s Cross: Cork City 2-0 Longford Town
League Form (most recent game first): D D D W W L L W W D
