12 October 2018
By Bryan Smyth
bryan@TheCork.ie
Fresh from booking their place in a fourth consecutive FAI Cup Final, Cork City welcome near neighbours Limerick to Turner’s Cross on Friday night.
A superb first half performance saw City defeat Bohemians two-one in Monday’s replay, and they come into the game on the back of three games without defeat after a poor run in September.
The visitors come into the game on the back of a 1-0 home defeat against Derry City, but they did win their last away fixture, securing a 2-0 win over bottom side Bray Wanderers.
The sides have met three times so far this season, with City winning two and the other, in March, ending in a draw.
Speaking at his press conference ahead of the game, City boss John Caulfield said: “We do have a number of injuries, so it will be a combination of the lads who played on Monday and the lads who played last week against Rovers. Young Ronan Hurley did very well in that game and he will play tomorrow, with the likes of Pierce Phillips, Cian Murphy and Shane Daly-Bütz likely to be involved as well.”
“We are at home, we are second in the table… obviously, the league is gone but we have our own goals to aim for between now and the end of the season. Being at home, we are hoping for another big crowd and we need to play well. The guys who are coming in will want to stake a claim for a place in the cup final.”
“We set high standards here and our standards for most of the season have been excellent. We had a horrible month in September but our record up to that had been very good and we were there or thereabouts. In the last couple of weeks, we have been back to basics and we need a strong finish to the season, starting with tomorrow.”
Alan Bennett, Steven Beattie, Colm Horgan, Karl Sheppard and Johnny Dunleavy are all ruled out, while Gearóid Morrissey and Garry Buckley are doubts ahead of the game. On the plus side for City, Ronan Hurley, Cian Murphy, Pierce Phillips and Shane Daly-Bütz are all in contention to make their first home league starts for the club.
Referee: Anthony Buttimer
Injury News: Colm Horgan, Johnny Dunleavy, Steven Beattie, Alan Bennett, Karl Sheppard, Kieran Sadlier
Suspensions: None.
Last game: Cork City 2-1 Bohemians
Last meeting: Limerick 0-2 Cork City
League Form (League, most recent game first): D L L L D
