4 June 2018, Monday
By Bryan Smyth
bryan@TheCork.ie
Cork City are in action at Turner’s Cross for the second time this long weekend, as they welcome Derry City on Monday afternoon, kick-off 3 pm.
City come into the game on the back of Friday’s 3-0 win against Waterford, which was their fourth consecutive league win, and also a result which maintained their 100% record at home this season.
The visitors were also in action on Friday night, suffering a 2-0 defeat at home to Sligo Rovers. Their last away fixture saw them suffer a defeat at the RSC at the hands of Waterford.
This will be the second meeting of the sides this season; they played out an entertaining 0-0 draw at the Brandywell on May 11th.
Speaking to the media ahead of the game, City boss John Caulfield said: “The lads are in good form at the moment. Obviously, we are on a winning streak at the moment and our home form has been excellent. It is another huge game tomorrow. Conor McCormack is suspended and a few of the lads have knocks so, with the quick turnaround, we will just wait until tomorrow to assess it, but I would imagine most of them will be in contention.”
“We are at home, we are hoping for another big crowd and it is a real opportunity for us to go back top again, so there are lots of incentives. Derry are dark horses, they have tremendous players. Their form in the last few weeks has been a bit iffy, but we played them in the Brandywell five weeks ago and had a very close match which ended 0-0. They create lots of chances, so we must make sure that we give a top performance. I always say, if we do that, then we have a chance of taking the points.”
“I keep saying that we need to make sure we are up there going into the break. This is another opportunity for us to get three points; we are at home and we have a good home record. Our home form has been so good this season, so we need to try and take advantage of that.”
“Since the start of the season, we have asked the fans to buy in and support this team from the start. They have done that, and it has been phenomenal. It is a tough weekend, but the crowd have bought in, so we are hoping for another big crowd and hoping we can give a performance to match.”
Conor McCormack will miss the game through suspension, after accumulating five yellow cards. Johnny Dunleavy is hopeful of a return to the squad in the near future, while Caulfield goes into the game with question marks over Gearóid Morrissey, Alan Bennett and Steven Beattie, all of whom will be assessed ahead of kick-off.
Injury News: Johnny Dunleavy, Gearóid Morrissey, Alan Bennett, Steven Beattie
Suspensions: Conor McCormack (accumulating five yellow cards).
Last game: Cork City 3-0 Waterford
Last meeting: Derry City 0-0 Cork City
League Form (League, most recent game first): W W W W D
