1 May 2017, Bank Holiday Monday
By Bryan Smyth
bryan@TheCork.ie
A place in the EA Sports Cup semi-finals awaits the winners, when Cork City face St Patrick’s Athletic at Turner’s Cross this afternoon at 4 pm.
City booked their place in the quarter finals thanks to a 3-0 win away to Limerick in the last round. This will be Pats’ third game in the competition this season; they have beaten Bluebell United (1-0) and Bray Wanderers (on penalties) thus far.
John Caulfield’s side come into the game off the back of a 2-1 win over Bray Wanderers on Friday night, a result which maintained their 100% start to the season. The visitors recorded a 2-2 draw away to Derry City, also on Friday night.
Speaking at his press briefing after training on Sunday morning, City manager Caulfield said: “There will be a lot of changes. Obviously, it is a cup quarter final and we have had a superb start to the season but, at the same time, we have guys coming back from injury and guys who have been on the bench who need to play. In an ideal world, maybe you might not want to make quite as many changes for this type of game, but Friday night took its toll.”
“We are well aware that Pat’s have won this competition for the last two years and will probably play their strongest team. While we will make changes, most of the guys coming in are still first team players and they expect to be in the team every week, so that is why tomorrow will be a great game for them.”
“When you do make a lot of changes, it can upset the fluency but it is a quarter final and we want to win. Winning is a great habit and there is a great buzz when you do that. We are on a phenomenal run in the league and we have another massive game at Turner’s Cross on Friday night against Finn Harps. I am sure our supporters will be out in force again for both games, as they have been all season.”
Caulfield is likely to make several changes, a number of which will be enforced due to injury. Alan Bennett and Garry Buckley both missed the win over Bray and are again ruled out. Caulfield will also have to plan for the tie without the services of Sean Maguire, Karl Sheppard and Conor McCormack, all of whom picked up knocks on Friday night. Steven Beattie and Stephen Dooley also shipped knocks in that game and will be assessed ahead of kick-off.
Injury News: Garry Buckley, Alan Bennett, Sean Maguire, Karl Sheppard, Conor McCormack
Suspensions: None
Last game: Cork City 2-1 Bray Wanderers
Last EA Sports Cup game: Limerick 0-3 Cork City
Last meeting: St. Patrick’s Athletic 0-3 Cork City
League Form (most recent game first): W W W W W W W W W W
