2 October 2020
By Tom Collins
tom@TheCork.ie
Cork City return to home league action this weekend, as they welcome St. Patrick’s Athletic to Turner’s Cross on Saturday. For the first time since the restart, City will welcome a limited number of spectators back to the Cross, after a select number of season tickets holders won passes in the midweek raffle.
The Rebel Army come into the game off the back of last weekend’s 1-1 draw away to Finn Harps, as Raffaele Cretaro’s equaliser cancelled out Dylan McGlade’s opener, leaving City bottom of the table with 6 games to go. City and the Saints met earlier this season at Richmond Park in the final match before the lockdown, with the Dublin side coming out on top thanks to Billy King’s winner.
Speaking at his weekly press conference City boss Neale Fenn said: “We looked at last week’s draw against Finn Harps as a positive. A lot of people doubted us going up there, thinking that we wouldn’t have the fight in us. I think we showed that we did, we created a lot of chances, and after taking the lead it’s disappointing that we couldn’t see it out and take all three points. It’s a positive that we played well, so that gives us a bit of confidence heading into the game on Saturday. We’re determined to get out of the situation that we’re in. Everyone knows that we need to start picking up points, and the boys are all on board in trying to do that.
You look at the most consistent team at the moment – Shamrock Rovers, it’s the same players every week, they do things consistently. That’s something we are struggling to do. Putting a consistent team out has been our problem so far. Hopefully we can steer clear of injuries and suspensions for the last six games and we can have a good go at it.”
City captain Gearóid Morrissey was also on media duty, saying: “Finn Harps is a tough place to go, and it was the first time there for a lot of our squad. We created a lot of chances and played very well at times so we’ll take that into Saturday. The first thing we did this week was look at the game and look at what we did right and what we did wrong and we can take that into Saturday.
Every game is massive at the moment. We performed so well in the victory over Sligo, so that gives us the belief that we can do it again. We know that that kind of performance is in there, it’s just a case of being switched on, working hard and listening to everything the gaffer is telling us.”
On the injury front, Uniss Kargbo has resumed training, Cian Bargary started and scored for the Under 19s against Cobh Ramblers on Monday night, so both could be available for selection.
The match will be broadcast live on the SSE Airtricity League’s brand-new streaming service, #WATCHLOI! Supporters can purchase a Half-Season Pass for just €39, which will ensure access to streams of all remaining SSE Airtricity League Premier Division matches for the rest of the season, as well as select FAI Cup ties. Alternatively, you can purchase Match Passes on a game-by-game basis, priced at €5 per game at http://watchloi.ie/
Referee: Derek Tomney
Injury News: Uniss Kargbo, Cian Bargary
League form: D W L D L D