3 February 2025
By Roger Kennedy
roger@TheCork.ie
Sports: Soccer
After spending last year in the First Division, Cork City is once again playing in the Premier League of Ireland. The Cork-based team was dominant in the second tier of Irish football, finishing the year with 78 points from 36 games, leaving UC Dublin trailing them by 22 points. This impressive feat saw Cork City score 64 goals while only conceding 23, giving them the best attack and defense in the competition.
Cork City and their fans will hope that the same form continues in the Premier League, but it’s one thing to hope and another to deliver the results. One of the folks who sees The Rebels performing well in 2025 is Evan McLaughlin. The Northern Irishmen had fine debut seasons in the Irish First Division and want to take things further from there.
The Derry native was a bit homesick during his first year in Cork. He was musing about a potential move closer to home as he had an open invitation from Sligo Rovers. Ultimately, he wanted to finish what he started last year in the First Division and leave a mark with Cork City FC in the Premier League. Thus, a new three-year deal was penned, and Evan will be in Cork for the foreseeable future.
What made McLaughlin stay, despite a desire to move closer to home, was the connection that he developed with home fans while playing for the team in the First Division. The home crowd in Cork is a loyal one, and Evan had a chance to experience their welcome as he played 34 out of 36 games during his first year in Cork. Now, he’s ready to have more of the same, but the difference is the stage of the competition and the opponents.
In line with what Evan wants from his second year in Cork, the team will open the season at their home turf, Turners Cross, against visitors from Galway. It will be a tough match in which Cork City FC is not favored to produce a good result. While CorkCork played better during the friendly matches than Galway, they haven’t won against this opponent since 2022, losing the last game 0:4.
The second match will be a tricky visit to Shamrock to play against the Rovers, who finished last year in second position, only 2 points behind the title winners Shelbourne. This duel will be the first reality check of the year for Cork City FC, where they will have a chance to prove that they belong to the top tier of the Irish football pyramid. But, as far as the fans go, they have the date of 03.03.2024. marked in their calendars.
Cork City FC will play their first Munster Derby against Waterford away at the start of March. While not the top derby Cork has, their biggest rivals have always been the now-dissolved Limerick FC. In football, the duel against Limerick was like Barcelona vs. Real Madrid. The match against Waterford will be like Barca vs. Espanyol or RM vs. Atlético de Madrid. While Cork vs. Waterford is no El Clasico, and most readers would rather bet on Real Madrid vs Barcelona, an away day at Waterford will be a true joy for all fans of Cork City FC after their year spent in the First Division.
As far as Evan McLaughlin is concerned, despite the offers coming on for his services, he felt that he laid a good foundation on which to build further during the last year in Cork and First Division, where he was one of the team;’ standout performers. The last year was the year of maturation for McLaughlin as the youngster from North Ireland just had his first year away from home after only spending time on loan at Coleraine before his Cork stint after coming through the ranks at Derry City.
When asked about the team’s ambitions for the upcoming season, McLaughlin stated that staying up is the top priority. Everything ranked above the top 7 will be a bonus for Cork in his eyes. Evan knows Cork City went straight down the last time they got promoted, so he advises caution. Unlike him, his teammates Seáni Maguire and Alex Nolan said the team was gearing up for a top-half finish.
While Evan suggests a cautious approach, he can’t look past the fact that Cork City is one of the biggest clubs in Ireland in terms of the fan base and that they’re definitely better than First Division. So, the results need to be in line with that. Suppose you believe Cork City can have a good season and have enough victories to finish in the top half. In that case, you can bet on them at Sportsbet, as they provide some of the best odds on the Irish Premier League.
What awaits Cork City FC during 2025 is hard to predict. Still, it all starts with a home opener against Galway United on the 14th of February. That may be when you’ll fall in love with Cork football.
